Black Music and Social Protest

UMBC’s Department of English presents a talk by Dr. Guthrie P. Ramsey, “Black Music and Social Protest: From Du Bois’ Souls to Kendrick Lamar,” discussing the ways that African-American music has been instrumental in social protest and empowerment from slavery to present and features live music from Dr Guthrie Ramsey and vocalist Vince Anthony

Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr. is a musicologist, pianist, composer and the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania.  A widely published author, he’s the author of Race Music:  Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop, The Amazing Bud Powell:  Black Genius, Jazz History and the Challenge of Bebop and AfricanAmerican Music:  Grove Music Essentials (Kindle Edition).  He is currently completing two new books, a collection of mid-career essays titled Who Hears Here?  and a monograph history of African American music from the slave-era to the present.  As the leader of the band Dr. Guy’s MusiQology, he has released three CDs (Y the Q, The Colored Waiting Room and B Eclecticand has performed at Venues such as The Blue Note in New York and the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia.  Among his other musical works is “Someone Is Listening,” a commission written with poet Elizabeth Alexander commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the NAACP.  His three-movement suite for voice and jazz ensemble, Art Songs in the Kingdom of Culture, which premiered in February 2012 was written in honor of W.E.B. DuBois.

Dr. Ramsey was invited to UMBC as part of the Eminent Scholars Program sponsored by the Provost’s office.