Even Cowboys Sing the Blues (w/Christopher Fuller & Dr. Michael C. Mason)

Welcome back, Classmates! And thank you so much for joining us for episode 2 of Lincoln Center's ART CLASS! This week is all about preserving the legacy of Black art and culture, specifically Black music. COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd in 2020 brought about a racial reckoning here in the US, the likes of which hadn't been seen in decades. In 2024, however, with the conservative backlash against progressive ideals and initiatives like Critical Race Theory and DEI gaining momentum in many places, it seems the pendulum has swung hard back in the other direction. This week, we talk with two scholars and artists working tirelessly to keep Black stories, Black culture, and Black art at the forefront of the national imagination. First, we chat with Dr. Michael C. Mason, PhD the first chair of the new Africana Studies Department at the Berklee College of Music, all about the creation of this exciting new program at one of the most prestigious music schools in the country (0:26:37). And later, Paige sits down with Christopher Fuller, the creator of the Black Music Project, for the first installment of their series, Kinfolk (0:57:49). They talk all about how this invaluable repository of Black history and art came to be and make the case that the story of Black music is the story of American music. All that plus, the Morning Announcements with Emile (0:54:52) and a bit of Pure Black Joy (1:32:06) to get you through the rest of the week. Class is in session, y'all!

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Hosts: Lee Bynum, Rocky Jones, Paige Reynolds

Guests: Christopher Fuller, Dr. Michael C. Mason

Contributor: Emilia Mettenbrink

Producer: Rocky Jones

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Links

• Africana Studies at Berklee College of Music (Website) (Insta)
• Black Music Project (Website)
• Josh Evans Big Band: Music of the Diaspora (Tickets)
• Border Crossings Gallery Tour (NYPL.org)

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Reading List

If you're interested in learning more about the topics discussed today, here are some resources we recommend:

• Collins, Patricia Hill. Intersectionality as Critical Social Theory. Durham: Duke UP, 2019.
• Crenshaw, Kimberlé. On Intersectionality: Essential Writings. The New Press: New York, 2017.
• Katznelson, Ira. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-century America. W. W. Norton & Company: New York, 2005.
• Muhammad, Khalil Gibran. The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America. Harvard UP: Cambridge, 2010.

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