“To all the youth in New Orleans, Bring me a gun and I’ll give you a trumpet, no questions asked. I’m doing this until I run out of trumpets.” That was the message posted to his Instagram account by New Orleans trumpet player Shamarr Allen last July. He started a buy-back program where he gives kids trumpets and musical instruments in exchange for guns.
"People don't understand that these kids are trying and wanting to do other things," Allen says. "But there's just nothing for them to do." He told LiveforMusic.com, "The trumpet became a weapon that really saved my life, so I figured it may be able to have the same impact for another young person from New Orleans."
Video: WWLTV.com