by Michelle Cassidy

The Kennedy Center announced on Tuesday plans for a new youth engagement project. According to TBD, the most captivating part of the event was when a choir from our neighbors up at Duke Ellington  School of the Arts came onstage to sing with John Legend.

Earlier in the day the singer had surprised the students by joining them during rehearsal. During the press event, he invited the choir to come up for a performance of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”

Legend is highly involved in this new project, dubbed the What’s Going On… NOW Campaign. The main event will be a concert featuring Legend and the National Symphony Orchestra Pops on the 40th anniversary of Gaye’s performance at the Kennedy Center.  Their goal is to lead a “national conversation around the issues and ideas on the record,” and ask young people to respond to Gaye’s question in their own artistic way.

The campaign invites people to submit their artistic responses – selected pieces will be incorporated into the May 1st concert. Submissions can be in any medium (writing, spoken word poetry, song, dance, sculpture, etc.) as long as they creatively respond to the topic at hand. They even provide some inspiration if you’re thinking about entering, but having trouble coming up with an idea.