Black Music Sunday is a weekly sequence highlighting all issues Black music. That is our 250th story masking performers, genres, historical past, and extra, every that includes its personal vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll discover some acquainted tunes and maybe an introduction to one thing new.
Regardless of the assaults being waged towards each the celebration of Black Historical past Month and instructing Black historical past in U.S. faculties, it’s necessary that everybody, no matter their background, develop into each lecturers and college students and move the historical past on.
From my perspective, Black Historical past Month ought to actually be year-round, since Black historical past is an integral a part of American historical past. I’m in full settlement with former President Barack Obama, who not too long ago posted:
Many organizations are utilizing a #BH365 hashtag to encourage the instructing of Black Historical past one year a 12 months, and incorporating Black music to show that historical past. Each grownup ought to make the most of the wealthy historical past sources—together with music—which might be accessible on-line to show the kids in your life. This isn’t data solely Black children ought to study.
Be part of me in exploring a number of the available sources on-line for instructing and studying Black historical past, utilizing music that paperwork a number of Black experiences by time.
In 2019, Spotify declared that “Music is Black History.” This video emphasizes my level.
Let’s check out a number of the packages throughout the nation which might be using music to show Black historical past. Again in 2018, John Seabrook wrote in The New Yorker in regards to the founding of the TeachRock program by guitarist Stevie Van Zandt, who lots of you already know as “Little Steven.” He’s a fierce promoter of utilizing music as a instructing device. Seabrook launched his efforts.
Steven Van Zandt’s New Rock-and-Roll Excessive College
In his TeachRock program, Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” video turns into a textual content in regards to the slave commerce.He discovered the whole lot he wanted to know from rock and roll, he stated. His timing was impeccable. He was 13 on February 9, 1964, when he noticed the Beatles carry out on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” “For those of us who were already the freaks and misfits and outcasts of the future, it was literally as shocking as a flying saucer landing in Central Park,” he stated, in a voice filled with awe and Jersey.
The Beatles engaged him as his lecturers had not. “You’re responding emotionally to something,” he stated. “Bits of information come through. So, suddenly, you find yourself learning about Eastern religion”—from the Beatles—“or about orchestration. Learning about literature from Bob Dylan. You didn’t get into it to learn things, but you learn things anyway.”
For the previous decade, Van Zandt has been engaged on a method to re-create that dynamic, out-of-school studying expertise inside school rooms, by his Rock and Roll Ceaselessly Basis. The inspiration’s crew, which incorporates two ethnomusicologists, has crafted greater than 100 and twenty lesson plans based mostly on well-liked songs and movies. Van Zandt calls this system TeachRock. For instance, he stated, “The first Elvis hit single, ‘That’s All Right,’ came out the same year as Brown v. Board of Education. And it reflects what’s going on and provides a basic context.” All of the music is licensed and the lesson plans can be found to lecturers at no cost on-line.
A TeachRock promotional video from 2019 paperwork TeachRock’s curriculum in motion, as a highschool class appears to be like at U.S. historical past—by the music of Pulitzer Prize– and Grammy award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Lamar can also be headlining this 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl halftime present, which is an effective way to deliver him—and his music—right into a dialog.
TeachRock’s sources and lesson plans can be found to everybody, and a few programs may even be taught to kindergarteners!
One other wonderful and detailed supply is obtainable on the Democracy and Me web site, compiled by historical past professor Dr. David Childs. From his introduction to the “Learning music through Black history” lesson plan assortment:
A significant again drop and cultural thread by each period of Black historical past has been music. It is very important perceive the way it has formed Black tradition and in addition how Black tradition has been formed by music. Music created by African People (Black music) is various and sophisticated, coming in lots of sizes and styles. Certainly, African American music is a really broad phenomenon that describes a variety of musical kinds and genres.
Black music was formed by historic situations that was a response to a wide range of feelings together with happiness, pleasure, struggling, disappointment, despair, exhilaration and ache.
[…]
School rooms can come alive when lecturers incorporate the wealthy reservoir of African American music that may now be simply accessed by way of a pc and the Web.
Be sure you peruse and make the most of his lesson concepts.
In 2017, Detroit’s PBS station featured Quincy Stewart, a music instructor at Detroit’s Central Excessive College who integrates Black historical past into his classes. Sadly, proper after his section aired, Stewart confronted a $30,000 pay reduce and was pressured to start out instructing within the suburbs. Watching Stewart in motion reveals simply what his Detroit college students misplaced because of this.
Many curricula begin Black historical past with the Transatlantic slave commerce, or U.S. plantations, solely briefly acknowledging Africa because the homeland of Black people’ ancestors. But we’re the descendants of a number of ethnic teams, from numerous civilizations throughout the African continent. Black historical past doesn’t start with slavery.
Vocalist, songwriter, playwright, actor, and civil rights activist Oscar Brown Jr. celebrated the fantastic thing about our African heritage when he wrote the lyrics to and recorded jazz musician Mongo Santamaria’s “Afro-Blue.”
Dream of a land my soul is from
I hear a hand stroke on a drum
Shades of pleasure, cocoa hue
Wealthy as an evening, Afro blue
Give it a pay attention.
Paul Robeson’s rendition of “Go Down Moses” is an instance of enslaved individuals’s highly effective use of biblical references to sing about freedom. Within the context of instructing Black historical past, the music is additionally a wonderful leaping off level to show about Robeson himself.
Robeson and his historical past are hardly ever taught due to his leftist politics, however Black Music Sunday celebrated him.
I’ve additionally used his recording of “No More Auction Block” in my courses.
One of many ironic highlights of the Black gospel custom is “Amazing Grace.” It’s ironic as a result of it was written by slave trader-turned-minister John Newton, profiled right here on the Library of Congress web site.
There are numerous variations of it, by a number of artists, however considered one of my favorites will all the time be Aretha Franklin’s reside model. It was recorded in January 1972 on the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, that includes the Reverend James Cleveland and the Southern California Neighborhood Choir.
Escaping from enslavement and the heroic function of Harriet Tubman in these efforts are powerfully portrayed in music by Cynthia Erivo, in “Stand Up” for the movement image “Harriet.”
I admittedly have barely scratched the floor of songs which might be helpful for instructing Black historical past. I hope you’ll go to a few of our 250 previous efforts to contextualize Black music in historical past. As all the time, I look ahead to listening to your alternatives and recommendations within the feedback.
Rejoice Black Historical past 365!
