Bringing Hip Hop to the Forefront

by Ally Galagher

Child of this Culture is a nonprofit organization focused on bringing hip hop and breaking to new communities.

It all started with a t-shirt. Cindy Foley’s twin sister, Candy, called her ten years ago. Candy was teaching young kids and families breakdancing, or “breaking” as the hip-hop community calls it. She wanted to make t-shirts for her workshop. A friend created the design and the “I’m a child of this culture” shirts went to print.

“Of course I said, ‘well, that’s all you want to do? Maybe we could do more for people,’” Foley says. Her sister agreed, and the Child of this Culture Foundation was born. “And now we’re a 501c3 organization helping people do all sorts of wonderful, awesome things.”

Child of this Culture is a nonprofit organization focused on bringing hip hop and breaking to new communities. Foley and her organization partner with programs across the globe to earn grants, come together as a community, plan events, and create a safe environment for youth in hip hop.

The twins were involved in hip hop long before creating Child of this Culture. They first saw breaking in the late ‘90s and loved it from the start.

“We were introduced to it as a cultural movement,” Foley says. “It wasn’t just choreography or steps; the guys that showed us what it was totally invited us into it as a cultural movement.

“We broke gender boundaries back then because we were all women. About five or six of us, and we were all related. We competed in the underground circuits of hip-hop dance. And that gave us kind of a legacy in where we go,” she says.

Foley brought that legacy to Colorado Springs in August 2020, when her husband, Col. Patrick Foley, was stationed at Peterson Space Force Base. Now Child of this Culture partners with clubs in Aurora, Denver, Thornton, and Colorado Springs.

Foley also teaches at Pikes Peak State College in downtown Colorado Springs. She leads energizing classes with the mentality that “if you can move, you can dance.”

“What you’ll see is a diverse group of people moving,” Foley says, describing her classes. “And I think the big part about it is you don’t have to escape where you come from when you’re doing it....You take yourself and you get to evolve that and celebrate that.”

It’s not just Foley teaching classes and getting involved at the ground level; 278 volunteers and artists also help. One of those is Destin Mwano.

Mwano immigrated to the U.S. from the Congo in 2000. His family of seven, including his four brothers, was selected to leave their refugee camp and start a life in New Hampshire. Immediately, Mwano and his brothers found hip hop.

“Hip hop is one of the first things that connected me and my brothers to the U.S. We fell in love with the dance,” Mwano says.

As he got older, Mwano spent hours at a time practicing in his garage, getting lost in the artform.

College brought him to Colorado Springs, where he found Child of this Culture and Jus Steez, a competitive hip-hop group.

“By the time I moved out here, I knew if I connect with people through music and dance, I’ll be fine,” Mwano says. “I’m going to find long-lasting relationships; I’m not going to be alone.”

Mwano surrounded himself with the Colorado Springs hip-hop culture; he now represents the area in competitions around the country and teaches others at multiple schools and organizations, including Child of this Culture.

Due to her husband’s military career, Foley knows she’ll be moving from Colorado Springs when he is stationed elsewhere. But, with volunteers like Mwano involved, she’s confident in Child of this Culture’s continued local presence.

“I have no worries about the future. It looks bright,” Foley says.