Curtis Bates is an aspiring rap artist from Detroit will be performing as a guest artist at DCC’s Spring Concert on May 11. Curtis currently attends Wayne County Community College majoring in journalism, and is a student leader at L!FE Leaders Inc. 

In 2021, Detroit filmmaker Keith Famie invited Curtis to participate in his documentary Shoah Ambassadors, a film made to educate today’s young generation about the atrocities of the Holocaust. The documentary premiered on PBS-Detroit in late 2021. Local Holocaust survivors shared their stories with Curtis and another young Detroit artist, Hailey Callahan, and tasked these two young artists to become the keepers of their stories. Curtis, along with Hailey, become ambassadors, each taking turns as narrators in the film and promising to educate their generation about the “evils of hatred.” Curtis wrote two songs for the film, Stolen Dreams and Never Again,  the latter being one of the songs which will be featured in the DCC Spring concert. Curtis and students from DCC’s Civic Choir will perform his powerful message as he carries on his role as a Shoah Ambassador!

Also see:

• Shoah Ambassadors website
• DCC Civic Choir Records “Never Again” in PBS Documentary
• Black History Month Spotlight: Curtis Bates