JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Aug. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — The Missouri Governor’s office is mulling over an offer from the father of a six-year-old African-American violinist in Sanford, Florida, another city where violent unrest occurred following the fatal shooting of teenager Trayvon Martin.
Lennox Flynn offered to fly his prodigy daughter, Leah, to Ferguson to play “Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let It Begin with Me.”
While little Leah’s favorite song is “Let It Go” from the Disney movie ‘Frozen’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC5eMgePakk, her father, a pianist, had her start practicing “Let There Be Peace” on her violin soon after news broke about a policeman shooting Michael Brown in Ferguson, which precipitated unrest there.
“It all seemed eerily familiar to us in Sanford, so we decided to contact the Governor and offer Leah’s talent to help soothe the situation there,” said Flynn.
Flynn said Gov. Jay Nixon’s press secretary Scott Holste thanked him for the offer to bring his daughter to Ferguson.
Flynn received this email response from Holste: “Thank you for bringing Leah’s story and talents to our attention. I don’t know if we will be able to use them, but appreciate knowing those resources are there.”
“Some believe the response by the state’s political community to the crisis was confused and tardy, but I thought the criticism of Gov. Nixon was a bit over the top,” said Flynn, “which is why I figured I’d better get Leah’s violin into play.”
“I heard some lawyer activist in Kansas City call the governor’s performance woefully inadequate and Time magazine dismissed him as tone deaf. That’s when I thought Leah’s sweet violin could help get him even more engaged, while soothing feelings all around,” he continued.
“I liked the way Holste stuck up for his boss, saying the governor had been working around the clock to balance protecting protesters’ rights with the community’s safety, so I decided to contact him and offer Leah’s violin to the rescue.”
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