Article: Richfield Celebrates Its Elders

Richfield celebrates its elders

In a celebration of community, Richfield Middle School hosted a song-filled event Wednesday, March 12, honoring three elders from different walks of life.

Twenty-five years ago, Larry Long began "Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song," an intergenerational and interdisciplinary approach to building community through the arts.

"The music I've written my whole life has been rooted in the stories of the people," said Long, a recording artist who helps build bridges between communities of difference. "I've taken this folk process of listening and honoring people in song into school curriculum."

A Minnesota resident, Long created the program along with a non-profit organization that brings together children and elders of different backgrounds to celebrate commonalities and differences.

Long works with the West Metro Education Program (WMEP) to organize "Elders Wisdom, Children's Song" events like this one for local schools. Schools select to honor elders who represent old and new immigrants of the community and honor them together, Long explained.

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