{"id":3681,"date":"2023-06-19T19:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/?p=3681"},"modified":"2023-11-15T21:16:36","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T21:16:36","slug":"juneteenth-reflection-celebrating-the-power-of-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/juneteenth-reflection-celebrating-the-power-of-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the Power of Music: A Juneteenth Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Shannon Andino<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a little girl growing up in the\u00a0\u201890s,\u00a0I vividly remember\u00a0listening to music\u00a0sitting on\u00a0my stoop in South Jamaica, Queens. Back then, we\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0have social media or Apple Music, so if I wanted to hear my favorite jam multiple times, I had to record it on the radio or\u00a0purchase\u00a0a cassette tape.\u00a0Any\u00a0problem could\u00a0be solved\u00a0when I listened to music, it gave me\u00a0a sense of\u00a0peace and\u00a0perhaps more\u00a0accurately,\u00a0refuge. As I grew into\u00a0adulthood, I realized\u00a0music is\u00a0a\u00a0critical\u00a0component\u00a0of Black culture.\u00a0In\u00a0times of crisis and during difficult moments, music is what\u00a0brings Black\u00a0people together.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My father often told me stories about how my grandmother hung out with James Brown. He lived a few blocks down from my childhood church, and I can still hear the famous \u201cSay it Loud: I\u2019m Black and I\u2019m Proud\u201d that rang out the third Sunday of every month. Brown even visited our church once (he did not perform) and he sung a few Gospels songs with our choir. As I stop to reflect on Juneteenth and the rich history of Black culture, I\u2019ve come to realize how critical music was in the shaping of our history and roots and continues to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enslaved Black people used melodies in place of written communication to discuss life, death and emotions related to slavery. Music communicated life at a time when Black people felt unseen, unheard and less than. They sang songs like \u201cCornfield Holler\u201d and \u201cI Be So Glad, When the Sun Goes Down\u201d to keep upbeat and hopeful that a new day would come.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 19, 1865, troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to share the news that Black people who were still enslaved were to be let free. Nearly 160 years later, this is symbolic date is recognized as a federal holiday in the United States to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans — a day to celebrate Black joy, excellence, resilience and culture. Music was freedom for our ancestors, and it is still freedom today. Freedom for Black people is intertwined with joy, pain, sorrow, excitement, connection and comfort. For me, music echoes the struggles of my ancestors, but also the incredible amount of hope and faith they had to push forward.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I continue to appreciate how deeply rooted Black culture is in music, and how music has transformed over time. From somber melodies like \u201cA Change Is Gonna Come\u201d by Sam Cooke or the famous Black National Anthem \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing\u201d to upbeat tunes like \u201cAlready\u201d by Beyonce or \u201cDon\u2019t Touch My Hair\u201d by Solange. I appreciate and recognize the variety of genres of Black music, Rhythm & Blues (R&B), Hip-Hop, Gospel, Jazz, Disco, Folk, Reggae, Dancehall, House, Rock and Roll and Rap, to name a few, and the culture relevance each genre has had on Black culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 31, 2023, A Proclamation on Black Music Month<\/a> was signed and introduced to pay homage to Black Musical legends of American history in June. It is no surprise that this proclamation was signed for execution in June, the same month freedom was granted to all Black American people. My mother used to mimic an adage from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., \u201cNo one is free until we are all free,\u201d and that saying continues to remain true.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Black people still work toward equity and equality, Juneteenth is a celebration (and reminder) that Black people\u2019s resilience, fortitude and faith have perpetuated a culture of creativity and talent. Their contribution to music culture is undeniably excellent. And as we continue to ascend forward in greatness, we must not look back — we must continue to glide forward, full speed ahead in positivity and gracefulness. Ase ase, Happy Juneteenth! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shannon Andino leads our employee relations function and is responsible for addressing the needs and concerns of the agency’s employees.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s a registered yoga teacher and spends her free time volunteering with her sorority and advocating for issues that impact BIPOC women in our community. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Shannon Andino As a little girl growing up in the\u00a0\u201890s,\u00a0I vividly remember\u00a0listening to music\u00a0sitting on\u00a0my stoop in South Jamaica, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCelebrating the Power of Music: A Juneteenth Reflection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Juneteenth Reflection: Celebrating the Power of Music\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allisonworldwide.com\/juneteenth-reflection-celebrating-the-power-of-music\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrating the Power of Music: 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