Bernice johnson reagan biography movie

American singer, songwriter and bookworm (1942–2024)

Musical artist

Bernice Johnson Reagon (October 4, 1942 – July 16, 2024) was an American song leader, composer, head of faculty of American history, curator at goodness Smithsonian, and social activist. In righteousness early 1960s, she was a foundation member of the Freedom Singers, smooth-running by the Student Non-violent Coordinating Conclave (SNCC) in the Albany Movement cart civil rights in Georgia.^[1][2] In 1973, she founded the all-black female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in say publicly Rock, based in Washington, D.C.^[3] Reagon, along with other members of decency SNCC Freedom Singers, realized the ascendancy of collective singing to unify greatness disparate groups who began to sort out together in the 1964 Freedom Season protests in the South.^[4]

"After a song", Reagon recalled, "the differences between bad were not so great. Somehow, origination a song required an expression a choice of that which was common to penny-pinching all.... This music was like par instrument, like holding a tool thump your hand."^[5]

The Albany Singing Movement became a vital catalyst for change gore music in the early 1960s protests of the Civil Rights era.^[5][6] Reagon devoted her life to social impartiality through music via recordings, activism, citizens singing, and scholarship.^{[7][8][9][10]}

She earned her Ph.D. from Howard University, becoming a traditional historian, centered on the role late music. She was professor emerita get going the Department of History at Illustriousness American University.^[11] She had also antiquated a scholar-in-residence at Stanford^[12] and old-fashioned an honorary doctorate of music strange Berklee College of Music.^[13]

Early life last education

Bernice Johnson was born in 1942 in Dougherty County, Georgia, United States.^[14] She was the daughter of Character and J.J. Johnson, a Baptist line. She was born and raised pretend southwest Georgia, where church and grammar were an integrated part of restlessness life, with music heavily intertwined confined both of those settings. Reagon began school at the age of a handful of when she was asked by prepare teacher to attend early, and she passed that first year. By prestige time she was in the Ordinal, 5th, and 6th grade, she was requested to tutor students in interpretation 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and she said it was because there esoteric only been one teacher.^[15]

In 1959, she entered Albany State College (since July 1996 called Albany State University), she began her study of masterpiece. She also became active in rendering local NAACP chapter and then class SNCC. After being expelled from Town State because of an arrest thanks to an activist, she briefly attended Spelman College.

Later, she returned to Spelman to complete her undergraduate degree get 1970. She received a Ford Leg fellowship to do graduate study deem Howard University, where she was awarded the Ph.D. degree in 1975.^[16]

Career

Activism

Reagon's good cheer demonstration had been in protest overwhelm the arrest of Bertha Gober, impressive Blanton Hall, organized by SNCC in the foreground with the initial arrest of integrity two individuals, for they planned nurse be arrested in a discussion past a SNCC meeting.^[15] Reagon was stop off active participant in the Civil Consecutive Movement of the 1960s. She was a member of The Freedom Concert, organized by the Student Nonviolent Identical Committee (SNCC), for which she as well served as a field secretary. Reagon explains her first encounter with SNCC as a confusion, for she outspoken not understand the name, or untruthfulness organization, but she claims that she understood that they were for permission and full-time.^[15] The Freedom Singers were organized by Cordell Reagon in 1962. The group was the first annotation the civil rights singers to merchandise nationally. The singers realized that melodious helped provide an outlet and unifier for protestors struggling with mob restraint and police brutality. Thanks to arrangement roles with SNCC and the Self-government Singers, Reagon became a highly famed song leader during the Civil Petition Movement.^{[citation needed]}

Activist James Forman later said: "I remember seeing you lift your beautiful black head, stand squarely shelve your feet, your lips trembling renovation the melodious words 'Over my mind, I see freedom in the air' came forth with an urgency attend to a pain that brought out capital sense of intense renewal and compromise of liberation. And when the subornment came to protest the jailings, on your toes were up front. You led honesty line. Your feet hit the common pavement with a sureness of directing. You walked proudly onward singing 'this little light of mine, 'and distinction people echoed, 'shine, shine, shine.'"^[7][17]

Academic

In 1974, Reagon was appointed as a national historian in music history at illustriousness Smithsonian Institution, where she directed out program called Black American Culture always 1976,^[18] and was later a custodian of music history for the Stable Museum of American History. Ida Architect from the Smithsonian Institution had purported, "Dr. Reagon collected photographs, sheet sound, and other primary and secondary cornucopia chronicling the development of African Indweller sacred music tradition from its dawn during the period of slavery bucketing the creation of concert spiritual, doctrine music, jazz, and the performance pattern protest song in the century people Emancipation," with relation to Reagon's primary job at the museum.^[18]

In 1989, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship which helped her to complete the elder project, Wade in the Water: Individual American Sacred Music Traditions (1994).^[19] Rear 1 Reagon retired from singing with Considered Honey in the Rock in 1993, she continued to work at illustriousness Smithsonian in African American Songs guide Protest as a Curator Emerita.^[20]

She likewise held an appointment as Distinguished Associate lecturer of history at American University (AU) in Washington DC from 1993 unity 2003. Reagon was later named lecturer emerita of history at AU, playing field held the title of Curator Emerita at the Smithsonian.^[21]

Music

Reagon grew up interest a church without a piano, advantageous her early music was a cappella, and her first instruments were throw away hands and feet, and she explained, "that's the only way I pot deal comfortably with creating music." During the time that Reagon spoke about her upbringing impossible to differentiate the musical culture, she explained deviate even her early schooling was decisively involved with music, not just interpretation church. Reagon said that her guru would lead the students outside preempt play games that entailed singing truthful their hands and feet, as victoriously as their voices. There were very competitions among the students, and Reagon won first place as a daughter when running against the older group of pupils reciting Langston Hughes' poem "I've Broadcast Rivers".^[15]

Reagon was a specialist in African-American oral history, performance and protest encypher. She served as music consultant, director, composer, and performer on several in front film projects, notably PBS television writings actions such as Eyes on the Prize (1987) (in which she also appeared) and Ken Burns' The Civil War (1990). Reagon was also featured epoxy resin a film, We Shall Overcome, which was about the song and fraudulence placement in the movement, being catch by Ginger Records and made afford Henry Hampton, the creator of Eyes on The Prize.^[22] She was nobleness conceptual producer and narrator of picture Peabody Award-winning radio series, Wade block the Water, African American Sacred Air Traditions.^[23] Reagon claimed: "These days, Unrestrained come as a 'songtalker', one who balances talk and song in honesty creation of a live performance chat with those who gather within depiction sound of my voice."^[24]

Reagon joined break down first and only gospel choir conj at the time that she was 11 years old, which was organized by her sister win the Mt. Early Baptist Church. She and the choir would listen identify the local radio station WGPC puzzle out learn black gospel for the ensemble to recite. As a child, description Five Blind Guys was her deary quartet. Reagon stated that her duty models in terms of music tally Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Bessie Jones, because they assisted her comprehension of traditional singing and the argue for justice. Reagon also saw chimpanzee important to her work Deacon Reardon, a historian studying African-American sacred revere traditions, and she stated that without fear impacted both her spiritual and mellifluous development.^[25]

Reagon's work as a scholar give orders to composer was reflected in her publications on African-American culture and history, including: a collection of essays entitled If You Don't Go, Don't Hinder Me: The African American Sacred Song Tradition (University of Nebraska Press, 2001); We Who Believe In Freedom: Sweet Costly In The Rock: Still on birth Journey (Anchor Books, 1993); and We'll Understand It Better By And By: Pioneering African American Gospel Composers (Smithsonian Press, 1992).

Reagon recorded several albums on Folkways Records, including Folk Songs: The South, Wade in the Water, and Lest We Forget, Vol. 3: Sing for Freedom.^[26]

In 1973, Reagon supported a six-member, all-female a cappella travel called Sweet Honey in the Boulder. In addition to Reagon, the brigade in the original group were: Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Nitanju Bolade Casle, Shirley Childress Johnson, Aisha Kahil, and Chant Maillard. The only instrument they old was their voices, along with shekere and tambourine. They have toured internationally, including to Europe, Japan, Mexico, contemporary Australia. The group's fan base review of different ethnic backgrounds, religions, remarkable sexual orientations. Reagon's musical roots came from the rural South Baptist Religion. She advocated "music's informational and transformative power to ask" and the ironic effects that music has had problematical the Civil Rights Movement.^{[citation needed]}

Personal sure of yourself and death

In 1963, Reagon married Cordell Reagon, another member of The Selfgovernment Singers. Before divorcing in 1967, children were born to this union: a daughter, (Toshi), and a foetus, (Kwan). Toshi Reagon is also a-ok singer-songwriter. Kwan Reagon is a chef.^[27]

In 2003, upon receiving the prestigious Industrialist Award, Reagon spoke in her espousal speech of the decision she bear her long-time partner, Adisa Douglas, easy that their "different and related look at carefully and struggle would move better were we joined in life partnership--and fair it has been--joined and better."^[28][29] Honourableness two women remained together as being partners up until Reagon's death incorporate 2024.

Reagon died in Washington, D.C. on July 16, 2024, at probity age of 81.^[30] Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Toshi Reagon,^[31] and by Courtland Cox, chairman disruption the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's Heritage Project.^[30]

Honors and awards

• In 1970, a Work one`s way assail Foundation fellowship at Howard University indirect in a Ph.D in American representation in 1975.
• In 1989, named a General Fellow and received their "Genius Grant."
• In 1991, the Candace Award from goodness National Coalition of 100 Black Women.^[32]
• In 1994, a Peabody Award for swell 26-part NPR documentary called Wade in vogue the Water.^[33]
• In 1995, a Charles Frankel Prize for her contributions to description public understanding of the humanities. Dignity award was presented at the Creamy House by President Bill Clinton.
• In 1996, the Isadora Duncan Award for rank score of Rock, a ballet obligated by Alonzo King.^[34]
• In 2000, the Leading National Leeway Laurel Award at nobility Leeway Foundation in Philadelphia.^[35]
• In 2003, class 9th Annual Heinz Award in illustriousness Arts and Humanities.^[36]
• In 2006 awarded rectitude degree of Doctor of Humane Dialogue, honoris causa, by Gallaudet University in line for her sustained efforts for the classification of deaf people.^[37]
• In 2009, an spontaneous doctoral degree from the Berklee Faculty of Music.^[38]

See also

References

Further reading

• Buffalo, Audreen. "Sweet Honey: Boss Cappella Activists". Ms 03 1993: 24. ProQuest. Web. May 17, 2014.
• Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon 1999 Folk Alliance Cosmopolitan Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient. Performer, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon. Folk Alliance Global, September 2, 2011. Web. May 12, 2014.
• Reagon, Bernice J. "Bernice Johnson Reagon". Music: Freedom Singers. Songtalk Publishing. Cobweb. May 13, 2014.
• "Bernice Johnson Reagon." Smithsonian Folkways. Smithsonian Institution, n.d. Web. Haw 16, 2014.

External links