By G. Christopher Hunt
The Morning Call |
Many of us know that June includes the celebration of Juneteenth, (Sunday) which was legally established as a federal holiday in 2021 and is formally known as Juneteenth National Independence Day.
The holiday commemorates the official end of slavery in the U.S., which occurred when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order that did not take effect until January 1863.
June also marks LGBTQ Pride Month, which was inspired by the activism of Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman, and Sylvia Rivera, a trans Latina woman, at what is now known as the Stonewall National Monument in New York City.
But how many know that June is African American Music Month? Initiated in 1979 by former President Jimmy Carter, African American Music Month celebrates the many contributions African Americans have made in writing, producing and performing music in the United States. Some popular sayings about music in our lives are that “music is the soundtrack of your life” and “music is the universal language of mankind.” The late singer, guitarist and songwriter Jimi Hendrix once said, “Music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.”
Read more. To read the entire Op-Ed on the Morning call website, please visit Your View: African American Music Month celebrates 400-plus years of resistance, culture and innovation