“I’m not a stranger to the dark
Hide away, they say
‘Cause we don’t want your broken parts
I’ve learned to be ashamed of all my scars
Run away, they say
No one will love you as you are.
But I won’t let them break me down to dust
I know that there’s a place for us
For we are glorious.”
These lyrics from the song “This Is Me,” written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for the Broadway show and movie “The Greatest Showman,” demonstrate why it’s become a fight song for people who are not accepted by society. For most of us, our time in high school was a bridge between childhood and adult responsibilities, a time when we got our legs beneath us and began to exert ourselves, tentatively for the most part, into our community. But as the Deering High School Choral Group demonstrated for us Friday, there are high schoolers who carry enormous burdens and face significant challenges in their effort to get their legs beneath them.
While many of us greet this season as one of renewal and affirmation, the singers of Deering reminded us with raw emotion and the tenderness of youth that the cost of renewal can be overwhelming. Introducing themselves by name and acknowledging their culture, we learned that they came from Maine and Tennessee, Portland and Falmouth, Iraq and Honduras, Mozambique and Angola, Finland and Rwanda, Sudan and Ecuador. One remarked that he was a WASP; another wore a hijab. The thirty or so young people, led by their outspoken advocate and director, Dr. Peter Stickney, offered beautiful insights and testimonies as they sang to us.
They shared “Love Has Broken Down the Wall,” by Mark Miller—“Cast aside your doubts and fears, love has broken down the wall.” “Make Them Hear You,” a song that could be an anthem of our disparate immigrant community from the musical Ragtime, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens: “I could not put down my sword when justice was my right.” “Let the River Run,” by Carly Simon; “I Am Willing,” by Holly Near, a song that is a reminder to embrace change: “For I am open and I am willing, so give me an ocean to hold my tears.”
Dr. Peter Stickney spoke briefly on behalf of the group. “We are singing from the heart,” he said. “This program is all of us. This is a message for all of us. You are in a position of power. You have age; you have whiteness; you have wealth. Help our school.” Dr. Stickney related that the students at Deering speak 62 languages, only 47 of which are recognized by the state of Maine. “Think about that,” he said. He said that many of the students in the group had a story of how they came to America. Many to escape death and persecution, many who have left their families. And there were those who were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. He invited everyone to attend the group’s concert on December 13 at 6:30 pm in the Deering High School auditorium.
“Look out ‘cause here I come
And I’m marching on to the beat I drum
(marching on, marching, marching on)
I’m not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me.”
(Photo L-R: President John Curran, DHS Music Director Peter Stickney, and Matt Wolcott.)