MUSIC
The music of the Avenue D Boys Choir helps to dispel
stereotypes while also celebrating the achievements of its
singers. In its four-year existence, the group has had a
100 percent graduation rate from high school
BY GLORIA TAYLOR WEINBERG | PHOTOS BY GREG GARDNER
From within a small building at Avenue D and 23rd
Street in Fort Pierce, a mighty sound reverberates.
People strolling down the avenue pause to listen. It is
the Avenue D Boys Choir practicing for a concert. The
singers’ voices swell with pride, joy and confidence.
It wasn’t always so, says Executive Director Mary
Hendricks, who with her husband, Dr. Earl W. Hendricks,
helped organize the choir. “Most were forced to come by
their parents at first,” she says. “Now they come without
prodding. They’ve embraced the choir. That’s the most
rewarding part for me … seeing them blossom.”
Outside the Shakinah Christian Club, latecomers jostle and
joke like any other teens. But with one word from Dr.
Hendricks, the young men hike their pants, straighten their
shoulders, and step quietly inside. Belts are a must; bling
is forbidden.
The transformation takes place, Dr. Hendricks says,
because, “They learn here to respect themselves and others.”
“It’s not just music or academics,” he says. “We teach valuable
values and social skills, like how to open the door for
their mothers or how to speak to a young lady.”
In March of 2004, the Rev. James H. Brown of Miracle
Prayer Temple in Fort Pierce approached the Hendrickses,
newly returned from a two-and-a half-year stay in Jamaica,
with the idea for a Fort Pierce boys’ choir. Pastor Brown’s
wife traveled with a Lincoln Park choral group to Jamaica to
see a performance of the choir of Munro College, where Dr.
Hendricks was headmaster. Mary Hendricks, a Fort Pierce
63
MAKING A
JOYFUL NOISE
The Avenue D Boys Choir, above, performs in December during a concert at the Sunrise Theatre. Opposite
page, they gather on Avenue D outside their rehearsal hall during a recent practice.
>>