By: Kisma Jordan, Program Manager for the Cranbrook Project
Music can shape cultures, tell stories, and bring people together across generations. When we celebrate African American contributions to music, we honor a legacy of resilience, creativity, and innovation that has profoundly influenced us all. Black musicians have continually reshaped musical expression from the spirituals sung by enslaved communities to the emergence of jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, hip-hop, and beyond.
Our inaugural concert celebration, put on by the Cranbrook Project, Look What God Has Done (2024), was a compelling display! The energy of the performances—the rhythm, the lyrics, the emotion—was profoundly moving. This year, we continue to raise our immeasurable heritage through The Good Lord’s Work, an experience featuring the music of legendary figures like Quincy Jones and Judith Jamison—and the contemporary artists who carry their influence forward.
But beyond the performances, this celebration should also be a time for reflection and gratitude. Music has a way of breaking barriers and connecting people, and being in a space that celebrates this legacy could inspire a sense of unity, reflection, and personal creativity. African American music has been a soundtrack to both struggle and triumph, a force for activism, and a source of joy. By honoring these contributions, we recognize the creative brilliance that has shaped American music and music worldwide.