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Feet haven't failed artistic outpost The Unity Community Center has been sharing African culture in Camden for a quarter-century. By Teresa Anicola For The Inquirer In the evenings on Mount Ephraim Avenue in Camden, most storefronts are darkened and locked. One, however, remains open, shining a welcoming light into a neighborhood where people live amid boarded-up buildings, violence, poverty, and the open-air drug trade. It's the Unity Community Center, now celebrating its 25th year thanks to the determination of the Dickerson family. There, three generations work, teach, and, in the case of the little ones, learn music, dance and martial arts. "To the rest of the world, it looks like we're sitting right in the belly of the beast," said Jamal Dickerson, an award-winning music teacher at Creative Arts High School in Camden. Dickerson takes a hands-on approach at the center, including being one of the lead instructors of the Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble, the UCC Royal Brass Band, and the UCC Music and Jazz Ensemble. He and his siblings grew up in an art-enriched environment, so the center's work comes naturally to them. "It's a place that is needed and is working," said Dickerson, who won a national Milken Educator Award in the fall. "There are profound things that are happening for us, and we're just young - in our 20s and 30s. Monumental things are happening, and it's a direct result of what my parents have done." His parents are Robert and Wanda Dickerson, who have worked diligently to ensure the center's success since its founding. The Unity Community Center has taught about 12,000 students, with about 200 currently in its programs. "We love Africa, and we're here to teach all cultures about the beauty of the African culture," said Nasir Dickerson, Jamal's brother and a music teacher at Camden's Morgan Village Middle School. "I believe if you're going to teach someone about the beauty of your culture, it will spark in them an interest to learn about their own culture." The center's biggest problem is a lack of space. On a recent Wednesday night, about 75 students were learning a celebration dance to djembe drums made by the Dickerson family based on knowledge gained during African travels. Surrounded by symbols of African heritage and black pride, the group executed complicated steps in amazing precision. The drums told the dancers when to start and stop and how to keep the pace. As the storefront that houses the center is no larger than a living room, dancers had to take turns practicing, as not all could fit at one time. The family thought it had solved its expansion dreams eight years ago when a supporter named Marlene Craig donated a large building at 1427-29 Haddon Ave. The building came with a $79,000 city tax lien, however. Although the community center is a licensed nonprofit not required to pay property taxes, it would have to clear the debt to take possession of the property. When the Dickersons beseeched the city to forgive the debt so they could refurbish the building as a performing-arts center, they said, they were told help would be coming. The center, which operates primarily on the money it earns from performing, is still waiting. Robert Dickerson said he saw a ray of hope on the horizon. He reached out again for help in April by writing to Theodore Davis, Camden's latest chief operating officer. Davis has seen performances by the Unity Community Center, and he's impressed. "I'm ecstatic about their work," said Davis, who has pledged to look into forgiving the tax lien. "I don't think anyone can surpass it in the region." If the debt is forgiven, the center will strive to raise $2.3 million to transform the building into a state-of-the-art performance center. The family already has explored hiring an architect and seeking project grants. For Wanda Dickerson, the center is becoming all she had hoped from its inception. "Our goal was to make it happen like this," she said. "We're true ambassadors of the culture." CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT OUR FUND RAISING EFFORTS FOR THIS BUILDING |
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