The Era is using dance to save Chicago’s black youth from violence

Footwork is a type of dance and music genre that grew out of the African-American community in Chicago. The Era Footwork Crew is one of the city’s most well-known dance crews. The group has toured the world, collaborated with Chance the Rapper and are using their unique art form to help youth in Chicago find a creative outlet. They recently became involved with a new nonprofit called Open the Circle that will provide resources for creative projects within Chicago’s underserved communities, like footwork workshops.

Despite all the reports of violence in Chicago, this dance crew says footwork has the ability to open doors to opportunities that can uplift the next generations of black youth in the city.

Check out this segment in episode 2 of Mic Dispatch above — only on Facebook Watch.

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