Black Song
A Manifesto for Music and Justice
Connecting music and history to engage more deeply and respectfully with Black musical traditions
Description
Black Song: A Manifesto for Music and Justice centers acts of musical creation and performance that emerge from Black experiences, affirm Black humanity, and connect to Black communities. Written for scholars, performers, and music fans, the book shows that learning about Black Song and its creation is central to understanding both American music and Black American experiences. By providing a more inclusive, just, and accurate understanding of the art of Black Song, the authors disrupt and expand musical canons.
Black Song shines a spotlight on the response, resistance, and community building that occur in musical creation in Black spaces, past and present. The authors explore histories and performances across musical styles—from classical to country to hiphop to opera to jazz to gospel to many others. They offer practical advice on how to perform, research, teach, and listen to this music. As they center Black Song in American history and music, they show that this music is a valuable tool for promoting productive and healing dialogues about race, justice, and history. Encouraging empathy and understanding, Black Song shows how to approach Black music and spaces with knowledge and respect.
The Singing Justice Collective is a research group of eleven musicians and scholars formed through the University of Michigan Humanities Collaboratory. The members of the collective are Stephen A. Berrey, Tyrese Byrd, Mark Clague, Caroline Helton, and Louise Toppin (University of Michigan); Naomi André (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill); Christie Finn (Hochschule für Musik Freiburg); Thomas Hampson (independent artist); Cody Ebright-Jones (independent scholar); Traci Lombré (Chicago Public Library); and Samantha Rose Williams (independent artist).
Reviews
“Black Song: A Manifesto for Music and Justice challenges the canons of American and Western European music and fosters critical conversations about race, social justice, and the Black experience. This timely and exciting project offers provocative food for thought, introducing critical frameworks for engaging with Black music and musicians. Black Song highlights the cultural, historical, and social processes that define Black music and how those processes explore issues of social justice, cultural appropriation, and cross-racial dialogue and understanding.”
- Dwandalyn Reece, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
“Black Song is a vital volume that highlights the rich potential of a great American genre, as well as the culture, politics, aspirations, and beauty that surround it. The Singing Justice Collective takes an honest and much-needed look at our troubled racial past, through song and singing, while still acknowledging the greatness of the country that spawned Black song. This is an indispensable work for music educators, historians, and performers alike. Well done!”
- Philip Ewell, author of On Music Theory, and Making Music More Welcoming for Everyone