Music Reconstructed: Adia Victoria and the Landscape of the Blues – w/ Charles L. Hughes

When we consider the trauma of white supremacy during the Jim Crow era—what writer Ralph Ellison describes as “the brutal experience”—it’s important to understand the resilience and joy that sustained Black communities. We can experience that all through the “near-comic, near-tragic lyricism” of the blues. In part 3 of this series, acclaimed musician, songwriter and poet Adia Victoria shows how the bittersweet nature of blues does “the very emotionally mature work of acknowledging” this complex history. And for helpful classroom resources, check out the enhanced full transcript of this episode.

Om Podcasten

What we don’t know about American history hurts us all. Teaching Hard History begins with the long legacy of slavery and reaches through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement into the present day. Brought to you by Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) and hosted by Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Dr. Bethany Jay, Teaching Hard History brings us the lessons we should have learned in school through the voices of scholars and educators. It’s great advice for teachers and good information for everybody.