Elvis to the Rescue

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In Romania Tudor Lakatos is fighting discrimination against the Roma people, one Elvis Presley song at a time. He dresses similarly to Elvis and sings songs like “Blue Suede Shoes” at different venues in the country. For example, “Don’t step on my blue suede shoes” doesn’t make sense to many of the children he teaches because they are so poor, Lakatos said. In his version, the lyric Elvis made famous becomes simply “don’t step on my bare feet.” It’s a message that Elvis—born in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, during the Great Depression—probably would have understood. But don’t call him an Elvis impersonator. Lakatos prefers to say that he “channels” the King of rock ‘n’ roll’s global appeal to break down stereotypes about the Roma and provide a positive role model for Roma children.