Minnesotans of different backgrounds bond through music with Waseti
MINNEAPOLIS — Inspiring a generation to connect by using culture, music and food — that is the goal of a group of diverse Minnesotans committed to bridging the gap between people of different backgrounds.
They come from different backgrounds, but all have one common goal.
"When we see each other as one, we'll treat each other differently," Waseti founder Sam Reeves said.
Waseti represents Liberia, the U.S., Sweden and Korea.
"Being Waseti, we are strong enough to inspire. We use our energy to inspire others and to encourage ourselves," Reeves said.
Their mission: to use music, culture and food to spread love and acceptance.
"One way to do that is to highlight the differences that we have and the similarities that we have in various cultures and various nationalities," Reeves said.
Reeves created Waseti and the RICE series.
"The R.I.C.E. series is Real Interactive Cultural Exchange, and we need greater unity in the world community," he said.
The basic foundation of that unity is music.
"The way that we plan to use music is as a connecting tissue, so to bring people together and in doing so we believe that when people leave, they will be more inspired to learn more about each other," Reeves said.
The latest edition of the R.I.C.E. Series features songs from Korea.
"This song is 600 years old," Jeenee Lee said of one of the works. "As you know there is division between the north and the south. The song is one thing that unifies both sides. We sing it the same."
Born in the U.S. to Korean immigrants, Lee helped teach the words and meaning of this folk song. She believes this exchange of culture is essential to breaking down barriers.
"I hope that they see all of us singing these Korean songs and going, 'Wow, that's kind of great, all these different kinds of faces singing together,'" Lee said. "And I also hope that when they hear some of the gospel songs, some of the more African American kind of songs and then they see our faces again and they're like, 'Wow, I guess it really, it just doesn't even matter because they are all together.'"
All together in the movement to stop tolerating each other's differences and start accepting and embracing them.
"My hope again is that we open some eyes to the truth that we are one, we are all one, regardless of our differences of opinions," Reeves said.
