Dr. Eileen Southern (1920-2002)
Herb Boyd
7/26/18
A recent visit to the National Museum of African-American History and
Culture was made all the more stunning with the discovery of a quote
from famed musicologist and historian Dr. Eileen Southern. “The enduring
feature of Black music is neither protest nor self-expression; it is
communication, and one cannot imagine a time when Black musicians will
have nothing to say, either to others or to God,” is Southern’s quote
that appears in the museum’s official guide.
That is just a sample of her expansive insight on the evolution of
Black music, much of which she dispensed in lectures, classrooms,
articles, interviews and books, none more popular than her seminal “The
Music of Black Americans” (1971).
Born Eileen Jackson in Minneapolis, Minn., Feb. 19, 1920, she spent
her formative years in Minneapolis, Chicago and Sioux Falls, S.D. She
was the eldest of three children and raised alternately by divorced
parents. No matter the location or parent, the piano lessons were
consistent, and at age 7 she performed her first concert. Music was such
a part of the household—her father was a competent violinist and her
sisters sang—that she thought all families were similarly involved.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of
Chicago in 1940 and 1941, respectively, keeping to the study of
classical music as her mother insisted, although she often delved into
the blues and jazz. With her degrees in hand, she accepted a teaching
position at Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical College in Texas.
It was there she met Joseph Southern and they married immediately. Along
with her maternal duties—the couple had a daughter Myra and adopted
Edward—Southern acquired additional training at Boston University and
Juilliard, all of which enhanced the numerous concert engagements across
the country.
In 1951, she attended New York University to work on her doctorate,
focusing on Renaissance music. It wasn’t long before she was a tenured
professor at York College in Queens. When students at Brooklyn College
began demanding Black Studies, a music curriculum was developed and
Southern’s expertise was invaluable. This commitment and activity were
instrumental in pushing her deeper into the study of the music and the
desire for a more extensive discussion of it. “The Music of Black
Americans” was the result and it gave her increased renown and a sense
of fulfillment.
No comments:
Post a Comment