Amazing Grace: The American Spiritual
Race & Classical Music
The Amazing Grace experience doesn’t end with the performance. We have curated a selection of resources about Black history and race in classical music to complement the concert and enrich your understanding.
Read
articles
Why Is American Classical Music So White? – NPR
9 Black composers who changed the course of classical music history – Classic FM
That sound you’re hearing is classical music’s long overdue reckoning with racism – Washington Post
The Real Story Behind 'Amazing Grace' – Biography
The racist children's songs you might not have known were racist – Vox
books
Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement by Naomi Andrew
In her new book, Andrew unveils Black opera’s force in fighting oppression and pushing for social change.
It’s Our Music Too: The Black Experience in Classical Music by Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Though many books have analyzed many facets of classical music, this is the first to share how musicians of African descent were instrumental in shaping classical music throughout history.
Miles by Miles Davis
In his extraordinarily honest autobiography, one of the greatest musicians of all time shares his remarkable stories of grappling with racism and addiction while defining a genre.
Singing in My Soul: Black Gospel Music in a Secular Age by Jerma Jackson
Jackson explores how consumerism, gender, and culture are intertwined in the history of Black gospel music.
Podcasts & Talk Shows
1619 Podcast Episode 3: The Birth of American Music
Host Nikole Hannah-Jones & critic-at-large Wesley Morris discuss how Black music, forged in captivity, became the sound of complete artistic freedom – and the sound of America.
Melanated Moments in Classical Music – Classical Music Indy
Black hosts opera soprano Angela Brown and music sociologist Joshua Thompson share and discuss classical music by Black composers.
Rising Voices
A new interview show about improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the choral field.
Websites
Check out Music by Black Composers: Classical Music from Africa and the African Diasporas, a project of the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation, for resources, music, and more.
Read the Black Voices Matter Pledge, coauthored by nine Black musicians including Reginald Mobley, to learn more about how we can make the music industry more antiracist.
Visit the Institute for Composer Diversity and use their resources, including the Composer Diversity Database and Works Diversity Database.
Use the Composers of Color Resource Project for music theory resources, including a list of public domain scores by composers of color.
Music educators: check out Decolonizing the Music Room for a wealth of related materials and information.
Find new music and recordings from the Spirituals Database.