Black History Month & MUSIC

by Stephen Furlow
OMA Associate Director for Community Engagement & Partnership

This is the start of Black History Month, a celebration of Black American culture that spawned from Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week. We are often reminded that Black History as it is presented here in the United States, has its roots in stories of this nation’s slave trade, segregation, Jim Crow laws, separate but equal education systems, school to prison pipelines, Civil Rights demonstrations, eminent domain, and redlining practices. However even with such a somber past displayed before the world, we look forward to honoring the relatively legendary beings that personify the phoenix metaphor within our loving and unique communities across the country.

This year I will be posting 1 artist & song per week along with a little bit of the historical significance as to how this genre of music and this artist has contributed to the rich tapestry that is the Black experience.
I think I know just where we will start...

“May the church say, Amen? Amen!”

For some time now, religious affiliation and finding community through praise and worship have been essential characteristics of the Black household. One could speculate that religious influence is sparked from the earliest enslaved Africans only being given Bible passages and various scriptures to read. As a result, for many Black people, the church remains an essential place to gain knowledge of self, a sense of belonging, and education beyond the traditional textbook. Church can also be the space for innovation and the discovery of talents that lead to musical evolution and the creation of modern Gospel Music.

Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993), was the son of a Baptist preacher, and a fecund jazz and blues pianist and composer, who many attest to being the father of contemporary Gospel Music. Prior to his influence, the church would simply recite early spirituals or hymns without musical accompaniment. Black religious leaders initially objected to the mixing of secular music with the church traditions, but between the 1940’s and the late 1960’s Dorsey had been able to work with a number of notable artists. This includes singer Mahalia Jackson, whose powerful voice and willingness to work beyond the church and conduct street performances in Chicago while traveling around the country to spread this new sound, changed the ears of the people. Songs like "Oh Happy Day" by the Edwin Hawkins Singers garnered not only the respect of Black churchgoers in 1943; it also received acclaim allowing Edwin Hawkins to receive a Grammy!

This week I challenge you to research a song written by Thomas A Dorsey or listen to the Grammy winning song "Oh Happy Day" by the Edwin Hawkins Singers.

To assist you, check out this link and enjoy a happy start to Black History Month!

• The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America: African American Gospel

SCHOLARSHIPS!!
 

OMA Unity Banquet Scholarship Award

The Office of Multicultural Affairs invites underrepresented minority undergraduate & graduate/professional students to apply for the OMA Scholarship Award. This award was established to help support the success, retention, and college experience of underrepresented minority students and will be presented at the annual Unity Banquet and Scholarship Benefit.

Black Faculty & Staff Resource Group Leadership Award

This weekend

Next Week