"Lift Every Voice and Sing," sometimes referred to as the Black National Anthem, has been sung everywhere from protests to concert halls in the United States for well over a century. The song's origins, however, come directly from the mind of educator James Weldon Johnson and the needs of his school community. This article recounts the…

The story of John Henry, dating back to the late nineteenth century, is one of the most enduring folktales of American culture. As the legend goes, John Henry was an African American "steel-driving man" whose job was to drive spikes through rocks in the construction of a railroad tunnel. So powerful was John Henry that he defeated a…

Hip-hop is a truly African-American art form in every sense of the phrase. Multiple decades after its development into the genre that we recognize it as today, hip-hop firmly remains a fundamental and unique element of African-American culture that has experienced international presence and regard. As a direct result of deep involvement with…

Contemporary African-American classical composers Cedric Adderley, John Lane, and Trevor Weston intertwine strands of culture and individual experience to produce musical works whose distinct designs offer cultural resources that music educators can use to integrate diversity into instructional settings. Of special interest is their ability to…

The word gospel means "good news," and gospel music is the good news of the message of Jesus of Nazareth in song. African American gospel is a style that is growing in popularity. The number of twenty-four-hour gospel radio stations in the United States is increasing, and sales of gospel music recordings are on the rise. Gospel music…

This article presents a model of an effective unit of study in which music played a vital role. The unit of study was created and implemented in a New York City middle school, and students examined an African American community in the borough of Brooklyn. The unit enabled students to explore the history, heritage, and culture of a local community…