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Up with People
Up with People (UWP) was an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Up with People staged song and dance performances promoting themes such as multiculturalism, racial equality, and positive thinking. Critics, including some former Up with People performers, once accused the organization of exploiting its members and of contributing to moral propaganda and oppression.
UWP was born out of a split from Moral Re-Armament, a multifaith religious movement. In 1965, J. Blanton Belk dedicated his energies to creating an organization for young adults that enabled them to interact with the world through positivity and music. He created Up with People (UWP) to bring people together for the common good regardless of ideology, political affiliation, ethnicity, race, or religious affiliation. Up with People was officially incorporated as a "501(c)(3) nonprofit, apolitical, non-sectarian international educational organization" in 1968 under the leadership of Belk.
UWP traveled and performed their musical show across several countries. Notable events were performances at the Indianapolis 500, the Cotton Bowl, the White House, Super Bowl X, and the People's Republic of China. In the 1980s UWP continued their musical tour, performing at Super Bowls XIV and XVI. They performed at the 1982 World's Fair, XX, the Jerash Festival, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, U.S. President George H.W. Bush’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., and Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall. UWP toured throughout the 1990s, performing at events at the Washington Monument, the Freedom Festival in Philadelphia, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development's Earth Summit, and the first Celebration of Peace event with Colin Powell in Denver, Colorado. Companies like Exxon, Halliburton, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, General Electric, Coors, Toyota, Enron and Searle donated tens of millions of dollars to the organization. When that support started to fade, it began to charge tuition to members—up to $5,300 in 1982. By the 1990s, the organization found itself struggling to recruit youth capable of paying tuition rates that exceeded the cost of most private universities, a problem compounded by the mostly indifferent response to the group's public performance.
UWP suspended touring operations from 2000 until 2004. The program was rebranded with a more academic focus on the benefits of travel, volunteer service, performing arts, and leadership development with the sub-brand Worldsmart Leadership Program. Two years after its relaunch, the sub-brand was discontinued. Notable touring appearances during the 2000s were the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the United Nations Culture of Peace Forum at the UN Headquarters, the 400th Anniversary of Bermuda, and the 119th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. Notable performances during the 2010s were performing for Queen Silvia of Sweden at the Mentor Foundation Gala, Washington, DC; the 122nd Tournament of Roses Parade; and the 100th Anniversary of Kiwanis International in Indianapolis, Indiana. Former director Vernon C. Grigg III was hired as the president and CEO after the retirement of Dale Penny. Grigg was succeeded by Seema Srivastava as CEO in 2022.
The UWP Archives is housed at the University of Arizona Special Collections library. The archives include materials from the Up with People organization, the International Alumni Association, as well as the personal papers of the UWP Founder and Chairman Emeritus J. Blanton Belk and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Belk. Select materials from the UWP archives are accessible on the Up with People digital collection hosted on the University of Arizona Special Collections website.
In the 1970s, Up with People began to make frequent appearances at the Super Bowl; the group performed in five Super Bowl halftime shows between 1976 and 1986. Only the Grambling State University Marching Band has performed more Super Bowl halftime shows, with a total of six appearances.
Up with People has an alumni group/professional networking organization that goes by the name: the Up with People International Alumni Association (UWPIAA). It was formed in 1988 and is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The alumni body is composed of over 20,000 members from over 100 countries.
Common Beat is an organization started in Japan by South Korean Han Chu Son. Chu Son traveled as a student in Up with People, took the UWP show ‘A Common Beat’ to Japan, translated it, and performed it there.
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Up with People
Up with People (UWP) was an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Up with People staged song and dance performances promoting themes such as multiculturalism, racial equality, and positive thinking. Critics, including some former Up with People performers, once accused the organization of exploiting its members and of contributing to moral propaganda and oppression.
UWP was born out of a split from Moral Re-Armament, a multifaith religious movement. In 1965, J. Blanton Belk dedicated his energies to creating an organization for young adults that enabled them to interact with the world through positivity and music. He created Up with People (UWP) to bring people together for the common good regardless of ideology, political affiliation, ethnicity, race, or religious affiliation. Up with People was officially incorporated as a "501(c)(3) nonprofit, apolitical, non-sectarian international educational organization" in 1968 under the leadership of Belk.
UWP traveled and performed their musical show across several countries. Notable events were performances at the Indianapolis 500, the Cotton Bowl, the White House, Super Bowl X, and the People's Republic of China. In the 1980s UWP continued their musical tour, performing at Super Bowls XIV and XVI. They performed at the 1982 World's Fair, XX, the Jerash Festival, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, U.S. President George H.W. Bush’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., and Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall. UWP toured throughout the 1990s, performing at events at the Washington Monument, the Freedom Festival in Philadelphia, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development's Earth Summit, and the first Celebration of Peace event with Colin Powell in Denver, Colorado. Companies like Exxon, Halliburton, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, General Electric, Coors, Toyota, Enron and Searle donated tens of millions of dollars to the organization. When that support started to fade, it began to charge tuition to members—up to $5,300 in 1982. By the 1990s, the organization found itself struggling to recruit youth capable of paying tuition rates that exceeded the cost of most private universities, a problem compounded by the mostly indifferent response to the group's public performance.
UWP suspended touring operations from 2000 until 2004. The program was rebranded with a more academic focus on the benefits of travel, volunteer service, performing arts, and leadership development with the sub-brand Worldsmart Leadership Program. Two years after its relaunch, the sub-brand was discontinued. Notable touring appearances during the 2000s were the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the United Nations Culture of Peace Forum at the UN Headquarters, the 400th Anniversary of Bermuda, and the 119th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. Notable performances during the 2010s were performing for Queen Silvia of Sweden at the Mentor Foundation Gala, Washington, DC; the 122nd Tournament of Roses Parade; and the 100th Anniversary of Kiwanis International in Indianapolis, Indiana. Former director Vernon C. Grigg III was hired as the president and CEO after the retirement of Dale Penny. Grigg was succeeded by Seema Srivastava as CEO in 2022.
The UWP Archives is housed at the University of Arizona Special Collections library. The archives include materials from the Up with People organization, the International Alumni Association, as well as the personal papers of the UWP Founder and Chairman Emeritus J. Blanton Belk and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Belk. Select materials from the UWP archives are accessible on the Up with People digital collection hosted on the University of Arizona Special Collections website.
In the 1970s, Up with People began to make frequent appearances at the Super Bowl; the group performed in five Super Bowl halftime shows between 1976 and 1986. Only the Grambling State University Marching Band has performed more Super Bowl halftime shows, with a total of six appearances.
Up with People has an alumni group/professional networking organization that goes by the name: the Up with People International Alumni Association (UWPIAA). It was formed in 1988 and is also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The alumni body is composed of over 20,000 members from over 100 countries.
Common Beat is an organization started in Japan by South Korean Han Chu Son. Chu Son traveled as a student in Up with People, took the UWP show ‘A Common Beat’ to Japan, translated it, and performed it there.