A long way from 30 East Livingston Street

"I believe the next Nina Simone is in a third-grade classroom in North Carolina. I want to help that third-grader. I want to show children what the option of art looks like." Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, Tift Merritt, co-Chair of the 2007 Medal of Arts Awards, Raleigh, North Carolina

"Early in the evening, Merritt established a recurring theme in her call for taking the arts into the classroom. She said she often thought about great artists such as the late jazz musicians John Coltrane and Nina Simone, who were once children in North Carolina." The Raleigh News & Observer, Sunday November 18, 2007