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Black Excellence

How Music Helped Us Strive, Thrive, and Resist

Oakton College Professors Will Crawford and Shedrick Daniels delve into the profound impact and ongoing significance of music within Black culture and experience.

Black music is rooted in lyrics and melodies that speak directly to the Black experience. This music confronts realities of oppression for Black people. Using lyrics from classic tunes, including "Say It Loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud!" (James Brown), "Golden" (Jill Scott), and "Changes" (Tupac Shakur), this brief history of Black music in the United States will provide context for Black music’s broader impact and ongoing significance.

This event is part of “Love beyond Freedom,” a series of events about freedom and justice that builds on the history and spirit of Juneteenth. It is a collaboration of Crossing Borders Music, Chicago History Museum, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and Skokie Public Library.

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