272 enslaved people were sold by Georgetown University in 1838 to bring in much-needed funds to preserve itself. Recently, the university has strove to make amends for this tremendous act of inhumanity.
But composer Carlos Simon, Assistant Professor in the Department of Performing Arts at Georgetown, felt that something should be done to commemorate the enslaved through an artistic lens. Thus began a collaboration with Georgetown’s first hip-hop artist-in-residence, Memphis-based Marco Pavé, to create the Simon's debut album, "Requiem for the Enslaved," released by @deccamusic. Now the album is in the running for “Best Contemporary Classical Composition" in the 2023 Grammy Music Awards! Dr. Neal spent some time getting to know the two young musicians in this special episode of Left of Black, produced by the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke University.
Leave a Reply