Up with People

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.[5]

UWP was born out of a split from Moral Re-Armament. 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[6]" in 1968 under the leadership of Belk.[7]

UWP traveled and performed their musical show across several countries. Notable events were performances at the Indianapolis 500,[8] the Cotton Bowl, the White House, Super Bowl X,[9] and the People's Republic of China.[6]

UWP continued their musical tour, performing at Super Bowls XIV, XVI, and XX,[9] 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. This is also the first decade in which Up with People introduced a named show called Beat of the Future in 1985.[6]

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. [6]

UWP suspended touring operations temporarily at the end of 2000 until 2004, relaunching the program with a more academic focus and their current program aspects 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 removed, leaving the program branded solely as Up with People again. 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.[6]

UWP continued their program with a more comprehensive focus on travel, performance, volunteering, and leadership development. 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. Camp Up with People was also started during this decade in 2011.[6]

Up with People hired former director Vernon C. Grigg III as the president and CEO after the retirement of Dale Penny. Grigg was succeeded by Seema Srivastava as CEO in 2022.[10]

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 (with Grambling State University Marching Band being the only other group having that many returns to the Super Bowl halftime show with its six appearances), and performed at the pre-game show of Super Bowl XXV in 1991. By the 1990s, the style of halftime performance they helped define during the 1970s and 1980s (which centered on themed, musical-style spectacles which aimed to "fill the field") were frequently lambasted by critics for being too dated and not in touch with modern popular culture, leading organizers to shift toward popular musicians for future halftime shows.[11]

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.[13] They host a reunion event for previous travelers once a year.

Camp Up with People is a 3-week-long sleep-away summer camp in Virginia for ages 13–17 years old. The curriculum has a similar structure to the Up with People touring program, focusing on the arts, leadership, and volunteer service. It also incorporates standard camp activities such as ropes courses. The main notable difference is that the camp occurs only in one U.S. location instead of traveling like the tour program.[14]

Up with People, Jr. is a program of Up with People composed of week long summer day camps for ages 8–12 years old. The camps occur in multiple countries such as the United States, Canada, and Belgium. They focus on teaching arts and crafts, international culture, interpersonal skills, and leadership; ultimately ending in a short musical performance by the campers.[15]

Common Beat is an organization started in Japan by Han Chuson. Chuson traveled as a student in Up with People, took the UWP show ‘A Common Beat’ to Japan, translated it, and performed it there. This grew into the current annual program which has had over 1500 participants since its inception. Common Beat also consistently provides scholarships to Japanese young adults so they may participate in the Up with People program.