Music Leads to Unity
My understanding of life wouldn’t be the same without music. Music has been able to give me many different perspectives through the opportunities I’ve had. From projects about societal issues, playing at nursing centers, and classroom experiences, each opportunity introduced me to what life has to offer and the goodness music contributes to life. Given the intersectionality and multi-dimensional qualities of music, it means that music is a universal force and is an infinite source of knowledge and ties together all art forms and people. Because of that, it is nearly impossible to write about one singular gig or piece of information that has been detrimental to me because each opportunity feeds into the big picture of musical knowledge. With every opportunity is a new lesson, a new perspective, and a chance for reflection and unity in all forms. Music has led me to other interests such as sociology which further shaped my understanding of life, taught me a lot about some of the societal issues we face prominently in this country such as racism, sexism, oppression, and made me passionate and invested in learning about and dealing with them. Music has also improved my general outlook on life and the world and has also shown me the tremendous power music can have on an individual and/or a society.
Being involved in music programs during high school and especially taking college courses during my senior year, gave me the “sociological imagination” and perspective of the elements of society that pertain to Jazz music which helped me deepen my understanding of life and the music. During high school, I took music classes at a community college in Cleveland, Ohio, with teachers who valued the history of the music and from many who could personally speak on what the music stands for as black musicians. What I originally just heard as music, I learned carried the weight of years and years of oppression and stood for freedom and unity. Even though it isn’t my music, because of it’s unifying quality it is a peoples music that is meant for everybody. Many of my teachers told of personal experiences of struggles as Black Americans which first introduced me to these societal issues I wasn’t aware of as a White person who grew up in an unprejudiced household. Stories such as witnessing a family member being arrested inside your own house, instances of racial profiling, and much more as if the first two weren’t impactful enough. Not being a person of color, I don’t deal with any prejudice from an individual or societal system based on race or ethnicity and to hear these stories from prominent educators really set in the reality that this could happen to anybody and that the fight for equality still persists. My education in Jazz led me to eye opening gigs where I was able to play for events such as the African American Cultural Gardens Gala, The Carl Stokes Legacy Jazz Orchestra, An MLK Jr. tribute called The Dream Endures, and more. These gigs introduced me to communities and issues I wasn’t aware of and made me feel like I was doing/being a part of something important. One of the most impactful gigs was opening for my teachers’ project, the Nine Lives Project, which is about the 9 people killed during the Charleston Church Shooting in 2015. Seeing the audiences’ reaction to this gig made me realize they’ll never forget this and that music can have this impact especially you realize that someone was compelled to stand up and clap because of it. One of the ways the project impacted me can be communicated by this Elaine Brown quote: “Songs, like all art forms, are an expression of the feelings and thoughts, the desires and hopes, and so forth of a people. They are no more than that. A song cannot change a situation, because a song does not live and breathe. People do.” This project was my introduction to how music can be used as a vehicle for communication and societal change and caused an interest in being a part of that. It also showed me that I could be a part of it and that I was already taking steps in the right direction even by just being able to open for that performance. Through my experiences and education in Jazz music, I wanted to pursue a deeper understanding of these issues which led me to sociology.
Taking sociology helped me vocalize and put names to the issues I was subconsciously and consciously aware of through jazz music and having lived around Cleveland. My teacher explained sociological terms with the backdrop of Cleveland which made the issues feel more personal. It put names to problems I had learned about prior to sociology and expanded the realness of the topics being introduced to us, especially when you are around an area with “issues” but you have no idea what those issues are and where they’re truly rooted in. It helped me further understand why on one side of the train tracks in Shaker Heights, Ohio, you have a predominantly poor, Black population. And when you cross the train tracks, it’s a rich/upper middle class, mostly White area. It led me to realize that white flight had caused this divison and that other issues such as redlining, unfair lending practices, the issues of plighted homes, the intricacies of gangs in communities, wealth inequality, etc. were all relevant in the division around the train tracks. This gave a clear reason for why things are the way they are. Through Jazz education and sociology I was starting to make connections between the two subjects, comprehend the weight and seriousness of the artform as a Black, American artform as well as become passionate about dealing with/advocating against the issues that pertain to the community I lived in.
As long as music continues to be made, the ability to learn from it and for unity is present. If people can get together and listen to or play music, they can surely engage in a rapprochement. Even as we are living during a pandemic with very little opportunities to perform live and see live music, music is developing to adapt to these temporary changes which shows the dynamic ability of music and how it will always be a force for goodness alleviating the world of its pain and creating awareness/commentary on subjects of daily life. As long as human beings exist on this Earth, music will persist to be a force for good, endless knowledge, and for unity.
Meckler, Laura. “This trail blazing suburb has tried for 60 years to tackle race. What if it isn’t trying enough?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 11 October. 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/10/11/this-trail-blazing-suburb-has-tried-years-tackle-race-what-if-trying-isnt-enough/?arc404=true
Rabinowitz, Amanda. “Shuffle: ‘Nine Lives Project’ Remembers the Charleston Church Shooting Through Song” WKSU, 25 September. 2019, https://www.wksu.org/arts-culture/2019-08-22/shuffle-nine-lives-project-remembers-the-charleston-church-shooting-through-song
Brown, Elaine. Seize the Time. Elaine Brown. Vault Records SLP-131, 1969. Liner Notes.
