16.
This program turns to the ugliness of racism in American life with Shawn E. Okpebholo’s Two Black Churches, a song cycle that addresses two acts of white supremacist violence that happened fifty years apart. In this episode, Song of America Fellow Emma Beachy considers the role of grief, tragedy, and injustice in American identity. This program contains potentially upsetting and triggering references to racialized violence and white supremacy.
This program turns to the ugliness of racism in American life with Shawn E. Okpebholo’s Two Black Churches, a song cycle that addresses two acts of white supremacist violence that happened fifty years apart. In this episode, Song of America Fellow Emma Beachy considers the role of grief, tragedy, and injustice in American identity. This program contains potentially upsetting and triggering references to racialized violence and white supremacy.
Host, Audio Editing & Scriptwriter: Emma Beachy
Production Support: Christie Finn
Recording:
Dreams of a New Day (Cedille Records)
Will Liverman, baritone
Paul Sánchez, piano
This program was created in 2023-2024 and released in September 2024 as part of the Song of America Fellowship Program, a project of the Classic Song Research Initiative between the Hampsong Foundation and the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.
Song listings with composer / poet, performers, CD label, and CD number:
This program covers Songs for the African Violet, a song cycle by Jasmine Barnes that addresses the experiences of Black women. Song of America Fellow Emma Beachy explores the ways that race and gender are represented in American song and has the chance to speak with the composer as well as soprano Leah Hawkins.
In this program, Song of America Fellow Emma Beachy returns to Langston Hughes to examine two of his lesser-known patriotic songs written during World War II. Emma explores Hughes’ evolving relationship to American identity over time and the relationship between patriotism and working for justice.
