In his 1697 play “The Mourning Bride,” William Congreve wrote: “Music has charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.”

Ever since the ancestors were brought here in the bowels of a slave ship, songs gave voice to their suffering and longing for freedom.

The experience of the enslaved is “the wellspring of Black music” (h/t Amiri Baraka).

From Black Suffering to Black Joy, there is a message in our music.

It was an honor and pleasure to tell the story of Black music using music scores, documents, photographs, books and ephemera in the archives of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for their new exhibit, Voices of the Community: Local Black Preservation.

The exhibit “explores the history, migration, and preservation” of African American communities in Philadelphia, and Lawnside, New Jersey.

The opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 12, 2025, from 6pm to 8pm. The event is free and open to the public. To register for the reception, please go here.