ENGAGING MUSIC THROUGH BLACK HISTORY

By Nicole Cherry, D.M.A. Assistant Professor of Violin

The age-old Nigerian Igbo proverb “oran a azu nwa” translates into “it takes a village to raise a child.” This proverb conveys that even in crisis, we build bridges. In many ways, African American culture is the offspring of this message. While the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the injustices facing Black communities and many important issues are in question within our nation, artists have historically come to the forefront in the interest of restoration and the Black community convenes to strengthen each other.

2021 marks the 45th anniversary of Black History Month as a national celebration. Often a source of frustration given that disseminating information need not be designated to a time period, strategic practices to champion and document those that have made the world a better place is a much-needed call to action. Embracing our collective history empowers the succeeding generations and facilitates lasting change.

In my formative years, my parents reflected upon Negro History Week initiated by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926. They also reminded me that there was a time of no celebration. Amidst our mealtime dialogue, questions were posed, such as who is George Washington Carver and what books did Zora Neale Hurston write? Before the topic became current, my parents encouraged an environment that would question Jemima on a syrup bottle or the contentious “friendship” between sitcom personalities George Jefferson and Archie Bunker. As I danced frenziedly to “Billie Jean” in my room, my brother enlightened me that producer Quincy Jones was a key component in Michael Jackson’s success.

Our family discussions encouraged me to examine my own relationship within the classical music field. Over many years, I became familiar with the breadth of Black composers and music scholars. Through this search, I met esteemed musicologist, Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma (1928-2015), who specialized in Black classical music. He served as director of the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College in Chicago and was professor of music history at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, in Appleton, Wisconsin, for over 30 years. Conversations with Dr. de Lerma inevitably led to making my own connections between the African Diaspora and classical music. Margaret Bonds

In his lifetime, de Lerma published over 2000 works highlighted by many Black composers such as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges (17451799), Ignatius Sancho (1729-1780), George Bridgetower (1778-1860), Frederick Jerome Work (1871-1925), Margaret Bonds (19131972), Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989), José Silvestre White (1835-1918) and William Grant Still (1898-1978). Centuries of Black classical composers have been brought to light because of his more than 60-year tenure revising the Western canon’s longstanding framework. His diligence gave way to the extensive list of contemporary Black composers, including Pulitzer and Guggenheim prizewinners George Walker, Tania León, Pamela Z, and Anthony

Davis.

William Grant Still

Dr. de Lerma’s pioneering work has planted the seed for many resources available today, and the network of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) repertoire databases continue to expand. As we move forward, it is through interacting with each other, sharing resources and skills, and looking at our history through an inclusive and equitable lens that we build bridges. Let us be the village.

“Embracing our collective history empowers the succeeding generations...”