[John Blanke, Trumpeter in the Court of King Henry VIII, Westminster Tournament, 1511 (National Archives, United Kingdom)]
The Guest Book at AfriClassical.com has over 600 entries. It continues to be a source of information and inspiration for us and our many visitors. Occasionally, AfriClassical posts a comment. Here is an enthusiastic entry made yesterday in support of the site's mission:
Carol Watford
Saturday, 7/24/10, 7:39 PM “What a great and resourceful site. This wealth of information should be mandated to be in the public school curriculums across the United States!” From: New York City
Carol Watford makes an excellent point! We appreciate her post very much! Teachers and students should not have to rely on a website to learn that England's King Henry VIII employed John Blanke, a Black musician, as a Royal Trumpeter! Nor that Beethoven originally dedicated the “Kreutzer Sonata” to George Bridgetower, the Black violin virtuoso who premiered the work with Beethoven in 1803!
History textbooks should explain that Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) was a leading fencer, violinist, composer and conductor of Afro-French heritage, with a mother who was a slave owned by his father. We firmly believe such information is essential to the education of people of all races, if they are to have an accurate understanding of humanity's past and present.
1 comment:
Ms. Watford,
The timing of such a large-scale conversation about the presence of musicians of African descent couldn't come at a more appropriate time...just as school boards are making decisions to cut the very programs that would directly inculcate this priceless information to the next generation!! Just think...if this generation doesn't get it because it isn't made available to them , the information could be lost to them...meaning that it could take as much as another half-century before a receptive generation receives and runs with this information!! The implications of the current situation (e.g., in the Detroit Public Schools presently) is grave indeed!! Thank you for your notice!!!
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