Battling Against Poverty, One Band at a Time

Explosive sounds from Legion Field's stage could be heard from several streets away as local Athenians gathered for the Battle Against Poverty concert last month.

More than 300 people came to the University of Georgia's Legion Field to support Partners for a Prosperous Athens and Amnesty International, whose mission was to help spread awareness about poverty throughout the community. There were also over 50 volunteers which included students from UGA and various high schools.

There were 10 artists that played throughout the day, followed by a rap battle that evening which was hosted by local rapper Ishues. "We had 35-40 different bands to pick from for the battle," said Judy Bau, the Senior Class President of Cedar Shoals High School and the organizer of the event.

The high school portion of the show was my favorite because it involved kids that were my age, and that is what the whole show was about, getting kids involved. There were three high school bands all of which included students from Clarke Central. These groups were Stab the Cook, Connelly Crowe and Sub Par. Crowe, who won the high school battle of the bands portion, is now scheduled to play at Athfest.
"Battle Against Poverty 2007 brought a link between awareness and entertainment," said Bau, "Music is definitely a good way to get an idea through to a lot of the Athens community," she said.

"In creating this type of concert we have targeted a younger audience," said Bau, who believes getting kids involved is a necessity. "We might be young, but that doesn't mean we can't do stuff to help out. We are the future generation so that means we have a lot of say involving our future."

This was the first year a Battle Against Poverty concert has been arranged. I feel like it was very effective in getting kids involved; however there is still a lot of room for it to grow. They should be able to pull it off without a problem next year if they decide to do it annually.

During the show there were two keynote speakers: PPA Chair Judge Steve Jones in the afternoon and PPA Steering Committee Member Monica Knight in the evening, both of which discussed issues facing Athens today. Mayor Heidi Davison also made an appearance and spoke at the beginning of the show. "We are fortunate in Athens to have a younger generation who is knowledgeable of and concerned about local issues who also desire to perticipate in a meaningful way to effect change for the betterment of the community," said Davison.

I enjoyed listening to the speakers from PPA; they were very informative and they inspired me to help out in my community. I learned that it is really important that kids begin to take some initiative and do their part to make Athens a better place to live.