That poignant question was posed the other day by a participant in our MIC JAMMS program with a group of refugee, immigrant, and American-born teens in Springfield, MA. It is a question we've asked ourselves often and we know the answer to be a resounding "YES". But even better than unlearning hate is never learning it to begin with. At it's core, THAT is what Music in Common does. We teach understanding, compassion, curiosity, and mutual respect so that hate has no room to breed.

Working with refugee and immigrant youth is always an eye-opening experience. The challenges, the sacrifices, the hardships and heartaches, and the triumphs and joys they experience are all part of the journey. As we examine more deeply, we come to see that no matter where we were born we all share this experience in one way or another. In the words of one of the many immigrant youth we've had the honor of working with, "it may be different, but we all go through something".