WILMINGTON, N.C. — The Port City Diamondbacks are a marching band drumline put together by three men who saw the power of drums in getting their own lives on the right track.

Tyshoan White and Lamar Carr are determined to end the cycle of teenage violence in their community, and they firmly believe drums can be a part of that.

“We want a whole diversity of races of kids, we want white, Black, Indian, it don't matter,” White emphasizes. “We want this to be a family thing, we want kids to be safe - that's what we've been fighting for.”

Their goal is to pull kids off the streets and away from the pressures and influences of the world. Band practice gives the kids somewhere to go that's safe, where they can let everything out.

They see themselves as the first chance to catch these kids before it's too late and give them an opportunity to choose a better path for their lives than what gun violence leads to.

“We try to get them young, reach them, keep their mind occupied so they won't venture off when they get older and want to be interested in guns, and money, and violence, and all that because there's more to the world than that,” Carr explains. “There's way more out there.”

The team goes to competitions and events where the kids can build up confidence in their abilities and a sense of pride in being part of something powerful. 

All of the fundraising and hours of practice is worth it to White if the kids leave with a smile on their face. He says as long as they're having fun, that's all that matters.

“They need to see better examples of people that look like them, and that's what we try to do,” Carr adds. “It's never too late to change the community.”

They started with just five people in the group in 2016, and now they have up to 30 members at each practice. Carr says each member is one more child who might realize their destiny isn't already planned for them just because of the community they grew up in.