There was quite a bit of noise from our local music college this past week, with Berklee unveiling two efforts in honor of young people of color killed by police. The school’s Danroy “DJ” Henry Social Change Scholarship “was created in honor of [the] Pace University student from Easton whose life was tragically cut short in 2010.” 

“The recent death of George Floyd has been a traumatic reminder for our family, and has served as a wake-up call to the world,” Angella and Dan Henry of the Henry family said in a statement. The latter is a member of Berklee’s Presidential Advisory Council. They continued, “We ask our community to listen to the pain of those who are suffering and take peaceful action in order to achieve change.”

On the same campus, renowned jazz trumpeter Jason Palmer released a dozen instrumental duo tracks with videos in honor of slain EMT Breonna Taylor. An assistant professor at Berklee, Palmer “was inspired by saxophonist John Ellis, who made a similar video to honor George Floyd, whose death by police violence has inspired protests and calls for racial justice around the world.”