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News & Events
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Zebra Kids Learning and Art Center Programs
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Dances and Tribes
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Class Locations: Bel Air City 443-616-5685
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Zebra Kids: The Movie
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Welcome to Zebra Kids Online |
Zebra Kids Inc was initially formed on September of 2002 to try and expose children to the cultural arts and ancestry of the Ivory Coast. I realized as a young man growing up in Africa the simplicity of life and the richness of our culture expressed through dance, drumming, chanting, singing, and storytelling. We used our art forms as creative outlets for our frustrations, joys and struggles. Our problems were different than some of the issues that our children have to address today. This organization strives to expose our children to ancestral life through music, dance and visual arts as a means of engaging them and creating possibilities. Our mission is to create a performing, visual arts ensemble rich in tribal history with its own cultural center, whereby various ethnic artists throughout the third world can collaborate and teach their art forms to our children as a manner of cultural exchange.
Through philanthropic efforts Zebra Kids Inc has been able to work with school-aged children in Baltimore City schools such as The Barclay School and Robert Poole Middle School, Stoneleigh Elementary School in Towson, Hillcrest in Catonsville, and YMCA of Maryland.
Studies have shown that music and art education increases ones vocabulary and mathematical skills. However, one third of public schools in Baltimore City do not have a music or art program. Sixty percent of students in the Baltimore City Public School system graduate from high school. Thirty five percent of Baltimore city residents live below the poverty line compared to eighteen percent nationally.
 Why is it important to establish an avenue for cultural exchange and traditions for children? How can we use this project as a means of addressing our societal concerns or community problems? Whereas, the possible solutions to these concerns are complicated and will require collaborative efforts, one underlying truth is apparent. Children require and demand a sense of self worth. This comes from our history, our goals and accomplishments. A confident individual is able to persevere through life’s obstacles. If we are subject to the stresses and distress of inner city living such as poverty, drugs and violence then the negativity in that environment is displayed in our attitudes and behavior. Exposure to art creates an outlet, by giving children an interest, a voice, to escape their situation for that particular moment or by allowing them to express their fear, hopelessness, sadness and/or anger through artistic forms. It helps to create self-esteem by exposing them to an ethnic based endeavor rooted in their cultural traditions. It is the goal of this organization to provide this education.
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