June is African-American Music Appreciation Month, Let's Celebrate

It's time to celebrate African-American Music Month, the history behind it and the contribution that it continues to give to our nation and world. Started in June 1979 as Black Music Month by President Jimmy Carter, every year since then, the month pays homage to our legends, our sound and our creativeness in our music. Where does that come from you might ask?Well, it is all rooted in African rhythms that have been passed down by our ancestors from Africa.

You often hear from other cultures, that you can just feel somethings in black music and that all stems from our ancestors' experiences of slavery and the struggles we have and continue to face in this world and in the U.S. What you hear are the years of mourning, moaning, heartbreak and pain. Then in other ways, our music gives a tone of encouragement, hope, triumph, love, compassion and even the connection to our God. Out of those feeling and true emotions, it has led to the birth of many genres like, spirituals, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and roll, hip-hop, R&B, and it hasn't stopped yet. Today, the genres of black music continue to expand in its creativity, delivery and style.

The true reality is that for many whose roots trace back to Africa, find it hard to comprehend how nay-sayers of non-African descents, do not like or respect us a person but, can indulge and like our black culture, especially the music. Now considered acceptable, in our time, there was a point in history, the early 90s, when Rap music carried a bad name and image. It led to a major scare and backlash in the "White World" here in America.

An interesting fact about the month is that even though the celebration of this month started back in 1979, it wasn't until the year 2000 when an official presidential proclamation was signed. Thanks to renowned journalist and community activist, Dyana Williams who was the spearhead,as she attempted to hold a Black Music Month event during the 1998 term of President Bill Clinton. It was told to her that she could not hold an event because the absence of the presidential proclamation. She didn't give up but she and Congressman Chaka Fattah lobbied for legislation to get it on the records as official. Two years later, their efforts warranted that June would officially be declared as Black Music Month.

Since that time there has been some changes to the month, back in 2009 President Barack Obama had the honor in renaming the month, African-American Music Appreciation Month. Remember this, African-American music is not just music that consists of beats, melodies and rhythms but it's such an intrinsic part of American History. An across this nations, African-American Music Month will be celebrated by music lovers in many diverse ways including music concerts, neighborhood black parties and etc.