POSTPONED: Music's Road to "Black Lives Matter"

Being Black in America has been captured in song lyrics for more than a century of recorded music. From 1906, when entertainer Bert Williams’ “Nobody” was the #1 best-selling record for nine weeks to 2020, when “I Can’t Breathe” by H.E.R. won Grammy’s “Song of the Year” award, music has reflected our country’s racial history. Whether the genre is Pop or Blues, Gospel or Folk, Soul or Hip Hop, Rock ‘n’ Roll or Rap, songs by or about Blacks have marked significant changes in the road that today is at a point called “Black Lives Matter.” You will hear from Billie Holiday and Nat “King” Cole, Little Richard and Sam Cooke, James Brown and Stevie Wonder, LL Cool, Common and Beyoncé. You will also hear songs about important figures such as Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks and of course, Martin Luther King, Jr. With the tumultuous 1960s as its mid-point, the program also will illustrate how the Vietnam War and urban unrest in the 1980s and early ‘90s influenced a generation of Black artists to focus on themes such as profiling and police brutality. Some of their tracks have been downloaded or streamed millions of times.

Presenter Bio: Dr. Hugo Keesing is a retired University of Maryland professor, and Grammy-nominated music historian. Dr. Keesing has researched and written about connections between music and history for more than five decades. A 40-year Columbia resident, Dr. Keesing has presented his programs that pair iconic images with audio at libraries, museums, senior centers, high schools and other venues, locally, around the country, and abroad.

This event is in partnership with the Columbia Association's International Exchange and Multicultural Programs.