The practice started under President Jimmy Carter on June 7, 1979 at the urging of legendary music producer Kenny Gamble. Since then all US presidents have issued proclamations celebrating Black Music Month which is now referred to since 2009 as African American Music Appreciation Month.
I've posted more than a few articles here about my favorite artists, forms of music and making the case that certain decades were better than others in terms of the quality of music. One thing that will never change is my love for our music in all its forms.
Be it gospel, jazz, hip hop, funk, soul, divas like Denyse Graves and Kathleen Battle singing arias, the great Charley Pride and now Miko Marks singing country, it's not just the music of our people. It connects us with the rest of the Diaspora through the music traditions that came with us from the African continent.
So happy African American Music Appreciation month!
