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As has often been the case throughout its half-a-century existence, the most recent graduation ceremony at Duke Ellington School of the Arts (DESA) was as much a major stage production as it was a celebration of student artistic potential fulfilled.
For DESA’s Class of 2024 however, the pomp, circumstance — and pizazz — of June 15 represented much more.
This graduating class, 136 strong, overcame an unprecedented, and mentally and emotionally taxing pandemic to achieve a 100% graduation rate and the accumulation of more than $42 million in scholarships. Within a couple of months, graduates will matriculate to The Juilliard School, University of Pittsburgh, University of North Carolina A&T, Howard University, and University of Southern California, among several other colleges, universities, and institutes.
If Class of 2024 salutatorian Reb Spring’s address serves as any indication of what’s to come for DESA’s newly minted alumni, then it’s safe to say that many, if not all of them, will use their artistic skills to affect significant change on the world stage.
“Our generation is facing a lot of crises — terrible genocides are going on in Palestine, Congo, Sudan and many other places,” said Reb, a DESA graduate and Leadership Award recipient who studied cinematic arts and media production. “No one is free until all oppressed people are free. We won’t put up with our government’s endless cycle of violence. What if we stopped our fighting and came together to make art? What if we put down our guns and picked up our instruments?”
A Graduation Full of Messages
Reb’s salutatorian address counted among several instances on June 15 when graduates used their art to make bold statements about a tumultuous coming of age. Rosemary Godfrey Sellers, DESA’s Class of 2024 valedictorian, took classmates on a walk down memory lane before encouraging them to use their art as activism and emerge as societal leaders.
Ariel Elise Russell, a DESA theatre major, performed an Adam Clayton Powell monologue chock full of Biblical and historical allusions, along with questions of “What’s in your hand?” The Duke Ellington Chorale and Senior Instrumental Ensemble sang Kirk Franklin’s “My Life Is In Your Hands” while dance major Kelis Johnson gave it her all in her dance number, titled “Surrender.”
Jayla Norwood, a DESA 2024 graduate who studied vocal music, led graduates, faculty, staff, family and friends in the singing of James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Throughout the more-than-two–hour program, everyone watched video montages produced by DESA cinematic arts and media production graduates that featured those who earned diplomas in that artistic track, as well as dance, instrumental music, museum studies, technical design and production, theatre, visual arts and vocal music.
Graduates heard congratulatory remarks from D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) Deputy Chancellor Patrick Ashley, along with Edward Ellington, Jr. and April Ellington, children of the late Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, for whom DESA is named.
The Ellington children passed along messages from Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge.
Later, graduates received awards from Amber Golden, president of the DESA Project, Ari Fitzgerald, president of the Ellington Fund, and Zach Cafritz, vice president of the Ellington Fund and son of Peggy Cooper Cafritz, DESA’s late co-founder.
Perhaps no award was greater than the words of affirmation from veteran singer-songwriter, rapper and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, the 2024 commencement speaker.
Ndegeocello, a former DESA student who later transferred to Oxon Hill High School, received an honorary DESA diploma on June 15. Minutes later, she congratulated DESA’s Class of 2024 for reaching a crucial milestone. Her advice, she told them, was informed by her longtime efforts to stay true to herself while in the music industry.
“Do not invalidate what is different. Resist,” Ndegeocello said. “We must support each other. You are in a fellowship. A life in art is not a competition. The people around you are an advantage in addition to yourself. In adulthood, you must foster this fellowship yourself by believing in it. Competition among artists means one could win, but we must all win for the art to be powerful and the power to be infinite.”
DESA Graduates Look Back and Reflect on Next Steps
As DESA graduate Anjai King, 18, prepares to go to Columbia College Chicago, she’s emboldened to grow into her own and pay it forward. The newly minted graduate told The Informer that, had it not been for her mother, she wouldn’t have known about DESA, a school where she honed her skills in the dance department.
“The best part of this experience was getting better at my craft,” she said. “I came from not knowing a lot but now I do. I hope to be a choreographer and help others with my creativity. Future students [at DESA] shouldn’t be scared. Your peers will encourage you.”
Darius Redo, a DESA visual arts graduate, looked back on the several hours spent on campus — and at home — growing as an artist. As he walked out of DESA for the last time on June 15, he passed his very own works of art that hung on the walls of the school’s gallery.
“There’s no school like Duke Ellington, the best arts high school in the world,” said Darius, who’s on his way to Virginia Commonwealth University to study communication arts. “Staying up late and working on projects never felt like work. It came from my heart. I gave love to this school and the school spoke to me. I don’t think I would do well elsewhere.”
Willow Star Singleton, 18, a DESA theatre department graduate, said she’s going to New York University Tisch School of the Arts buoyed by the confidence that staff members at her alma mater instilled in her. On Saturday, she celebrated her graduation not only with DESA family, but representatives of the College Bound program, of which she has been a member throughout her high school career.
“I’m able to hold my own as an African-American artist with my skill set,” she told The Informer. “This helped me to find my purpose as an artist and [fulfill] my oath to myself and my community. We are liberators. We allow people to connect to and explore the deepest part of themselves so they see their value.”
Though he didn’t complete the vocal music track of DESA’s program, Bry’kiuse Lewis, 18, a DESA diploma holder, told The Informer that he made a lot of memories in the department. One of the most recent, he said, was singing the National Anthem alongside classmates at Nationals Stadium earlier this year when the Washington Nationals played the Atlanta Braves.
“With my vocal experience, I got gigs for a lot of great shows,” the trained singer and aspiring real estate investor said. “This is the beginning of a new chapter and moving on to the next part of my life.”
In Search of Truth, as Told by Principal Sandi Logan
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, members of what would eventually become DESA’s Class of 2024 auditioned for, and later completed coursework in, their academic and artistic programs virtually. As they struggled to build community in their gradual transition to in-person learning, students and DESA community members also endured battles with DCPS leadership that wanted to take control of the dual-enrollment curriculum.
Despite those hurdles, Class of 2024 would become the first class since the pandemic to achieve 100% graduation.
In her remarks to graduates, Sandi Logan, DESA principal, heralded that achievement as a testament to the greater purpose that these 136 young people will serve as they go out into the world.
“You sought the truth about yourself, your art and the world,” Logan said. “Your voice matters, and your contributions can shape a better future. Movements were led by and illuminated by artists. They show us the power that creativity drives. It’s the youth [in] the creative community that will be the antidote to ignorance. Your voice, art and community can lead to a more compassionate world.”
