Hip-Hop Moves: School Students and Population Decline

hip-hop moves: Bernard Weil / Toronto Star By Marina Jimenez Foreign Affairs Writer Fri., Dec. 30, 2016 UTICA, N.Y. Inside the hall of a former Episcopalian church, Somali Bantu high school students sit in a circle, giggling as a speaker shares tips on applying for summer jobs, according to Toronto Star. Sneakers and pants peek out from beneath long skirts and, behind the girls' hijabs, faces glow with expertly applied eyeliner, crimson lipstick and bronze contour. An influx of refugees in Utica, New York has helped the working-class city spring back to life, and reverse years of population decline. On another side of the room, where the wall is lined with mirrors, four Karen teens from Burma perfect hip-hop moves to a Korean boy band song. When I'm here I can let loose a bit, said Layla Ali, 17, fiddling with her hand-me-down iPhone. No space is too small for Toxik, as they call themselves. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.