Girls, trans and gender-expansive youth – what they have in common at Girls Rock! Chicago is they want to play rock music.
Madeline Leahy, operations manager, is one of the staff members teaching them how.
Girls Rock! has summer camps for kids 8 to 16.
"We recently had a drummer who has come through our program, and they are trans. And I think that at camp, they really sort of solidified their identity with that,” Leahy said. "They came in using she/her pronouns. And now they're using he/him pronouns."
Kids learn an instrument, form a band, write a song and perform and record it--all in one week.
"They learn a lot about each other through the week, too. Some kids' experiences, being from different socioeconomic backgrounds, just aren't the same. But they get to play music together, and they get to learn together.
And create together."
For more information, go to girlsrockchicago.org.