Chuck Brown, the godfather of Go-Go, Random Acts at NPR. Photo by Keith Jenkins on Flickr.

When I applied to work as an intern with Knight Foundation this summer, I wanted to learn how people in the real world were applying the knowledge that I’m learning in college. I hoped my major, urban space and culture, could complement Knight Foundation’s mission of supporting informed and engaged communities. But, as a rising senior at Harvard, I also hoped this internship would magically cure my anxiety for life after graduation.

My major incorrectly suggests that I aspire to be an urban planner. I do find urban theory and design fascinating, but it is not my passion. My passion is music. I wanted my internship with Knight to connect this passion back to my education. Many Knight-funded projects have used art, and particularly music, to foster civic engagement and build community. As a result, I believed this internship would be a great fit for me.

As I reflect, I realize that my summer has been everything I hoped. I was privileged with the ability to explore the dynamic relationship between music and urban space in a natural, hands-on manner. Working with George Abbott on the Knight Cities Challenge, I grew to understand music’s innovative potential to program spaces and build community.

In this way I figured out what I wanted to write my senior thesis on: the go-go community of Washington, D.C. Go-go is a funk-based music genre that started in our nation’s capital. I grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, right next to the District of Columbia, and go-go legends such as Chuck Brown and Rare Essence scored the majority of my childhood soundtrack. My mom spent her high school years in a go-go band and used to reminisce when radio DJs played their records. Even though I was too shy to dance around the house with her, I can still remember loving the groove.

An NPR Tiny Desk concert of Chuck Brown.

Seeing the innovative ways Knight-funded projects foster community through art and place made me think, Go-go has been doing the same thing with D.C.’s African-American community since the mid-’60s. A go-go event uses music to bridge cultural gaps in ways that resemble the community-building projects funded by Knight. Now, after a few conversations with my academic adviser, I can spend my senior year growing both artistically and intellectually, dissecting the ways community is built through music and place.

In part I owe this inspiration to the experiences that I’ve had throughout my internship. For example I had an inspiring conversation with Tayyib Smith, founder of the Institute of Hip-Hop Entrepreneurship. As a winner of the 2016 Knight Cities Challenge, Tayyib will use hip-hop to teach young adults about entrepreneurship. Our conversation gave me a newfound respect for hip-hop pioneers such as Sean Combs and Dr. Dre. These artists have effectively harnessed hip-hop’s power to become better businessmen. The Institute of Hip-Hop Entrepreneurship will deconstruct their approach and apply it to the social sector. Though music, Tayyib and his team will give young adults the tools to uplift their communities through entrepreneurship.

This summer, I also visited the Sunset Lounge, a historic music venue in West Palm Beach, Florida. This project, titled The Sunset Rises Again, was also a winner of the 2016 Knight Cities Challenge. When I walked into the venue I was awestruck. I was in the same building where Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Duke Ellington performed. Even though the Sunset Lounge had aged over the years, I could still feel their energy. West Palm’s Community Redevelopment Agency teamed up with Team Better Block and 8 80 Cities to restore the lounge and help revitalize the greater historic northwest community. They are using the venue’s rich social and musical history to unite local community leaders, receive feedback and bring the Sunset Lounge back to its glory days.

I hold these experiences close to my heart. By some miracle, this summer has turned my fear of graduation into excitement. I have had the privilege to learn about the role music plays in community building from the leaders in the field. Not only did my experience at Knight inspire my thesis, but it also gave me the vision to pursue a career in music once I graduate. A lot of people are doing really dope things in the world right now. I’m excited to join them.

Darien Carr is a community and national initiatives intern at Knight Foundation. Email him at [email protected] and follow him at @unknown_dc