Music & Arts Contributes to Woodson Segment on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’

A special Jan. 15 segment on The Kelly Clarkson Show in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day featured Mr. Coleman Woodson Jr., a middle school music educator from Montgomery, Alabama, who, 59 years earlier, walked alongside MLK and fellow civil rights advocates in the landmark Selma to Montgomery marches. Currently teaching at the Floyd Middle Magnet School, Woodson, who has been teaching for the past 25 years, discussed the significant role music had during the Civil Rights Movement and discussed the values he instills in his students today to guide and encourage them.

Woodson reminisced about the role of music in the community’s mass meetings, where songs like “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” by The Freedom Singers and the classic gospel song “This Little Light Of Mine” became timeless tools for resistance and beacons of hope and perseverance. Woodson said that these musical expressions not only lifted spirits but also provided the courage to face the adversities encountered during the civil rights movement.

“But I try not to just teach music; I try to instill in them discipline, good character,” Woodson said during the segment. “Those are the things that are important. I tell them to follow the rules of life. And I know that sometimes rules get broken when you’re trying to go your own way, but just stay on the path of righteousness and you can’t go wrong.”

During the show’s segment, Kelly Clarkson announced, “Our friends at Music & Arts, they love how you’re using music to spread the message of equality. And that’s why, in honor, they are donating $5,000 to your school,” to which Woodson was surprised.

Clarkson continued, “Just keep being you. I think the best teachers are the ones who actually don’t need to verbatim give you the lesson. They walk that walk and they teach you by example. That’s the best kind of teacher I think that you can be, and that’s who you are. So, thank you so much. We need teachers like you.”

The donation will help to supplement Woodson’s classroom, providing musical instruments and supplies during a time where financial support for music programs in schools has been constrained. “It is our pleasure to partner with extraordinary individuals, such as Coleman Woodson, to increase musical opportunities in education,” said Laura Lawrence, director of marketing for Music & Arts. “We strongly believe that educators are the lifeline of the arts continuing to prosper, and we feel grateful to be able to support that.”

— By Kimberly Kapela