Thief can't stop inner city music

DOVER - June 23, 2008 Last week, a thief made off with donated instruments left in a room and thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment at Dover's Kirkwood Community Center.

"I just can't believe people would come in and take things from the children. We're trying to do things for the community out here and keep the kids off the streets and people just don't care; it's sad, very sad," instructor Michael Brown said.

Members of the Inner City Cultural League have been meeting at the Kirkwood Center while plans to build a new home are in the works.

Director Reuben Salters also plans to form a traditional orchestra, which is why he was collecting the instruments that were stolen.

"I envision an artistic program that would have no basketball, no football, just the arts," Salters said.

Dexter Brown says whoever broke into this room couldn't have considered how important the free music program is to local kids. Brown is a member of Sankofa, which is a drum and dance group that will perform in front of legislative hall this weekend, just as it has for years for Dover's widely attended African American festival.

"It means everything to me. This is like most of my life coming here Wednesdays and Saturdays ever since I was 4 and I'm 15 now. I mean, it means a lot," Brown said.

Organizers hope this story strikes a cord with someone who may have an old guitar or saxophone hidden in a basement somewhere because despite what happened, dreams of starting an orchestra and a brand new cultural center are very much alive.

The Inner City Cultural League can be contacted at 109 Bertrand Drive Dover, Delaware 19904 or via phone at (302) 736-0101.