Mon Rovia was born Janjay Lowe in Liberia during the first civil war. (Note his stage name is derived from the capital of Liberia.)He was adopted by a missionary couple, then came to the U.S. He returned during the second civil war, but returned to the U.S. again, settling in Tennessee. Playing the ukulele, he… Read more »
Category: North America
Margaret Bonds, “The Montgomery Variations”
“The Montgomery Variations” is a group of freestyle variations based on the Negro Spiritual theme “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.” Bonds begins with a bold statement of the theme which continues in dramatic variations throughout the piece in the same key, major and minor. Bonds wrote “The Montgomery Variations” following a visit to… Read more »
Bells from Bullets–Stephanie Mercedes
Artist Stephanie Mercedes from Washington, D.C. is an artist of transformation, turning bullets into bells, weapons into music (click here for her personal website). She sees bells as a spiritual sound medium that purify space. Also, in a time when there is so much gun violence, bells are instruments of mourning, ways to express our… Read more »
Babatunde Olatunji (1927-2003)
Babatunde Olatunji was a Yoruba born in southwestern Nigeria. He began playing traditional African music at an early age, especially drums and percussive instruments. In 1950 he received a Rotary International Scholarship and went to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia to study. After graduating he went to New York University. He founded a percussion music… Read more »
Charlotta Bass
Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass was the first African-American woman to be nominated for Vice President by a major political party in the United States. She was nominated to be the running mate of Vincent Hallinan for the Progressive Party in 1952. To read her amazing and powerful speech to the Progressive Party convention, a speech… Read more »