17.
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.
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.
Host, Audio Editing & Scriptwriter: Emma Beachy
Production Support: Christie Finn
Recordings:
Singers: Students from Dr. Louise Toppin’s African American Art Song Literature course during the Winter 2021 at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
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 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.
In this final program of the Singing Self, Hearing Nation Supplementary Series, Song of America Fellow Emma Beachy covers The Black Experience, a song cycle by David N. Baker that sets the poetry of Mari Evans. Emma is joined by Dr. Albert Lee to discuss this cycle, its critique of American identity, and the roles of race, class, and gender in shaping this inter- and intraracial relationships.
