Black Music Month

Black Music Month

June

Black Music Month is observed in June each year in the United States. Created by music industry executives Kenny Gable and Ed Wright as a way to celebrate and promote black music, the special designation has been proclaimed each year since 1979 by the incumbent U.S. president.
Black Music Month concerts and activities are typically planned and sponsored on a local level by such organizations as arts councils, chambers of commerce, music associations, museums, charitable foundations, radio stations, and theme parks. At the White House in Washington, D.C., a concert and reception is held each year that features various genres of African-American music, including R&B, jazz, blues, and hip hop. In addition television networks present programming showcasing black performers in concert as well as documentary and feature films about the development and influence of African-American musical forms.
Throughout the country during Black Music Month public and private organizations host numerous educational programs and cultural festivals recognizing the achievements of black musicians. In Detroit, Mich., the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History focuses on a different musical genre each week in a month-long series of concerts, workshops, films, and lectures. Similarly, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, an area that was a center of black music and the arts during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, a series of concerts, forums, and ceremonies commemorate the development of jazz, hip hop, and R&B.

CONTACTS:
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
315 East Warren
Detroit, MI 48201
313-494-5800; fax: 313-494-5855
www.maah-detroit.org
Greater Harlem chamber of commerce
200A W. 136th St.
New York, NY 10030-7200
212-862-7200; fax: 212-862-8745
harlemdiscover.com
International Association African American Music
P.O. Box 382
Gladwyne, PA 19035
610-664-8292; fax: 610-664-5940
www.iaaam.com/home.html

SOURCES:
AAH-2007, p. 68

Celebration days: Jun 1 - Jun 30