Frederick Douglass wasn’t just an abolitionist leader, author, and statesman – he was also a music lover. He wrote passionately about the importance of music in communities of enslaved people in his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In fact, he wrote that music gave him his “first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery. I can never …

Mahalia Jackson is undoubtedly one of the most influential singers of the 20th century. Learn about how musicians and music historians are changing the conversation about the “Queen of Gospel.”

Music and dance provided an outlet for enslaved people to express their sorrow, though often their cries of pain sounded quite the opposite to slave owners.

Before Nina Simone became one of America’s most iconic jazz musicians, she wanted to have a career as a classical pianist.