BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change

DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change:

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Description of Pictures: Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change
June 22, 2022 – February 20, 2024
Women’s leadership in music and social change is central to the American story. From our earliest musical encounters to the formation of complex social identities, the American musical landscape would not be what it is today without the countless contributions of women changemakers, groundbreakers, and tradition-bearers.
Music HerStory explores these contributions through unique media collections from the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, the Center for Folklife and Culture Heritage, and around the Smithsonian. Notable women featured include Ella Jenkins, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Lucy McKim Garrison, Queen Lili'uokalani, and Dolly Parton.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. MUSICH_220630_007.JPG: Music HerStory Women and Music of Social Change
2. MUSICH_220630_011.JPG: Music HerStory Women and Music of Social Change From our earliest musical encounters to the formation of complex social identities, the American musical landscape wouldn’t be what it is today without the countless contributions of women changemakers, groundbreakers, and tradition-bearers. Women’s leadership in music and social change is central to the American story. Music HerStory explores these contributions through unique media collections from across the Smithsonian.
3. MUSICH_220630_015.JPG: Tradition-Bearers Music keeps traditions alive. It can also transform them. Tradition-bearers preserve cultural heritage, songs, and stories, and pass them on to the subsequent generations. Music can also provide an outlet to influence changes within a culture.
4. MUSICH_220630_016.JPG: Children’s Music Whether teaching children folk music or connecting to other school subjects, music plays a critical role in educating children. For more than six decades, award-winning musician Ella Jenkins (born 1924) has performed multicultural music for child audiences. Her albums and songbooks teach children about a diversity of cultures, languages, musical concepts, histories, and geographies.
5. MUSICH_220630_019.JPG: Tradition-Bearers: Teaching Children Values Historically, caregivers and educators have used music as a way to teach children morals, values, and societal norms. Nursery rhymes and folk songs can both warn and inform, teach and entertain.
6. MUSICH_220630_021.JPG: Mother Goose: The Old Nursery Rhymes Illustrated by Arthur Rackham New York, 1913
7. MUSICH_220630_024.JPG: Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs, Set to Music by J.W. Elliott Springfield, Massachusetts, around 1875
8. MUSICH_220630_027.JPG: Ella Jenkins This is Rhythm New York, 1962
9. MUSICH_220630_032.JPG: GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award Issued to Ella Jenkins 2004 National Museum of African American History and Culture Gift of Ella Jenkins The GRAMMY Award Statuette and logo are registered trademarks of The Recording Academy� and are used under license
10. MUSICH_220630_038.JPG: Jazz Journal London, May 1958 Gift of the estate of Floyd Levin
11. MUSICH_220630_045.JPG: The True Mother Goose Blanche McManus Mansfield Boston, 1895 Lithographic print
12. MUSICH_220630_052.JPG: Frances Densmore Healing Songs of the American Indian Folkways Records, 1965 Photo by Harris and Ewing, Washington, D.C., 1916 Frances Densmore The staged photo on this album cover depicts Mountain Chief (Pikuni Blackfeet, 1848–1942) listening to and interpreting a song in Plains Indian sign language for musicologist Frances Densmore (1867–1957). Densmore specialized in recording and documenting Indigenous North American music at a time when Indigenous languages, traditions, and lifeways were being actively suppressed by the U.S. government. Densmore and her contemporaries were often driven by assumptions that Native traditions would soon disappear. Today, Indigenous scholars use her work as just one part of their ongoing efforts to preserve and strengthen Indigenous traditions.
13. MUSICH_220630_057.JPG: Om Kalsoum Alamphon Records Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection Alixa Naff Scholar Alixa Naff (1919–2013), the “Mother of Arab American Studies,” collected music that was popular among the first wave of Arab American immigrants who arrived in the 1880s through 1940s.
14. MUSICH_220630_060.JPG: Recording Traditions Documentarians have come from a variety of backgrounds. Some identified with the groups they recorded. Others were outsiders who wanted to record something they feared could be lost. In some cases, their audio and print recordings were the first efforts to formally collect music that had been passed from generation to generation through oral tradition.
15. MUSICH_220630_063.JPG: Joanna Colcord Roll and Go: Songs of American Sailormen Indianapolis, 1924 Front cover of the book Roll and Go, by Joanna Colcord. Joanna Colcord Born on a sailing ship and raised on the seas, Joanna Colcord (1882–1960) was an important documentarian of sailor songs and sea shanties.
16. MUSICH_220630_071.JPG: Ella Sheppard The Jubilee Singers, and Their Campaign for Twenty Thousand Dollars Gustavus D. Pike Boston and New York, 1873 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), such as Fisk University, often provided music training and opportunities to Black women who lacked access to large conservatories due to segregation.
17. MUSICH_220630_075.JPG: Zora Neale Hurston Mules and Men New York, 1969 (reprint of 1935 edition) Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston’s research included the documentation of traditional songs, music, and stories of African American culture. In Mules and Men, she documents several songs that she encountered during field work in Florida and Louisiana.
18. MUSICH_220630_077.JPG: Keepers of Tradition Women researchers, performers, and collectors have worked to document musical expressions across the United States. Their efforts have provided an invaluable record that many scholars, artists, and community members continue to use today.
19. MUSICH_220630_080.JPG: “Roll, Jordan, Roll” Slave Songs of the United States William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison New York, 1867 Lucy McKim Garrison Abolitionist musicologist Lucy McKim Garrison (1842–1877) was one of the first researchers to document and publish traditional songs sung by enslaved African Americans in the Southern United States.
20. MUSICH_220630_089.JPG: Fannie Lou Hamer Songs My Mother Taught Me Smithsonian Folkways Recordings 2015 (recorded 1963) Fannie Lou Hamer — The Fight for Suffrage Continues Fannie Lou Hamer (1917–1977) was a strong advocate for voting rights and women’s rights, as well as a talented singer. She cofounded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, sang for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and pushed for the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, which helped to clarify the bounds of the constitutional right to vote.
21. MUSICH_220630_092.JPG: Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement Carole Boston Weatherford Illustrated by Ekua Holmes Somerville, Massachusetts, 2015
22. MUSICH_220630_097.JPG: “Slave Girl Mourning Her Father” Words by The Liberty Minstrel George W. Clark New York, 1845 Abolition In the early nineteenth century, women took an active role in the Abolition Movement. Several contributed to Liberty Minstrel, written in 1844, which used the popular entertainment medium of minstrelsy to promote the abolition of slavery.
23. MUSICH_220630_108.JPG: Temperance Melodeon Asa R. Trowbridge Boston, 1844
24. MUSICH_220630_109.JPG: Prohibition Songs Women played a pivotal role in the American Temperance Movement. Their songs were not subtle, but they were catchy. Songbooks helped reinforce a sense of solidarity and resolve among performers, encouraging them to “take the pledge” against alcohol. Their efforts led to the passage of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol. The amendment was repealed in 1933.
25. MUSICH_220630_118.JPG: Changemakers: Political and Legal Change American social and political movements have had their own soundtracks. In eras with low literacy rates and limited mass media, many political movements used songs to reach public audiences. Abolition, temperance, and suffrage activists used songs to promote their causes. These political efforts resulted in the passage of the 13th, 18th, and 19th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
26. MUSICH_220630_121.JPG: “She’s Good Enough to be Your Baby’s Mother and She’s Good Enough to Vote with You” Alfred Bryan and Herman Paley New York and Detroit, 1916 Suffrage The Women’s Suffrage Movement produced a prolific song repertoire, written by both men and women, that advocated for women’s right to vote. Many songs simply created new lyrics for popular melodies, making them more accessible to everyday people.
27. MUSICH_220630_125.JPG: Building a Women’s Music Network In order to create music for women, by women, and about women, some artists built their own community of music professionals. As equipment became easier to acquire and operate, artists began producing their own work. This newfound artistic control let women artists create the image and sound they wanted without going through a male-dominated record company.
28. MUSICH_220630_129.JPG: Paid My Dues: A Quarterly Journal of Women in Music Chicago, Spring 1980 Paid My Dues Paid My Dues was a feminist music journal, published quarterly between 1974 and 1980. The publication served as an important outlet for women to express their musical point of view.
29. MUSICH_220630_131.JPG: Women’s Music Movement The women’s music community encompassed all parts of the music industry. Record companies, producers, publishers, distributors, festival organizers, bookers, magazine editors, and other roles were all a part of this system. Olivia Records was a prominent part of the Women’s Music Movement. Founded by members of the radical lesbian feminist Furies collective in Washington, D.C., it operated from 1973 to 1988.
30. MUSICH_220630_140.JPG: Roadwork Presents: Women on the Road Flyers promoting Bernice Johnson Reagon, Cris Williamson, Mary Watkins, and June Millington Washington, D.C., 1979
31. MUSICH_220630_144.JPG: “Sweet Honey in the Rock: A Capella Activists” Ms. magazine March/April 1993 Sweet Honey in the Rock In 1973, Bernice Johnson Reagon founded the Grammy-nominated all-woman African American acapella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, an important voice for Black women's experiences in the women's music movement and beyond.
32. MUSICH_220630_147.JPG: Entre Hermanas/ Between Sisters: Women's Songs in Spanish Suni Paz Folkways Records, 1977 Suni Paz Argentinian American musician Suni Paz was an early Latina voice in the women’s rights movement of the 1970s.
33. MUSICH_220630_149.JPG: Destellos y sombras: de la inocencia a la madurez (Sparkles and Shadows: From Innocence to Wisdom) Suni Paz California, 2007
34. MUSICH_220630_152.JPG: Ladyslipper Catalog: Records & Tapes by Women Durham, North Carolina, 1980 Ladyslipper Ladyslipper was a catalog and review publication dedicated to publicizing women musicians. It was a key discovery tool in the women’s music community.
35. MUSICH_220630_158.JPG: Music for Women, by Women, about Women Through topical songs and strong networks, women musicians have flourished making music for women and about women. These artists have challenged stereotypes and brought a purposefully gendered lens to the fore of artistic expression.
36. MUSICH_220630_163.JPG: Changemakers: Labor Reforms Women’s labor music expresses the conditions, desires, and experiences of women workers and organizers. Through the years, the labor movement has won legal protections for workers and instituted labor laws that benefited women’s working conditions in the United States. Music has played an important role in creating and maintaining cohesion in the movement, conveying values and warnings across geographies, and strengthening resolve among advocates.
37. MUSICH_220630_173.JPG: I’m Gonna Be an Engineer Peggy Seeger’s album Different Therefore Equal (1979) was groundbreaking in its exclusive focus on women’s issues, ranging from gender conditioning in childhood to women’s health and education. Perhaps her most well-known song, “I’m Gonna Be an Engineer,” tackles the marginalization and determination of women in engineering.
38. MUSICH_220630_182.JPG: They’ll Never Keep Us Down: Women’s Coal Mining Songs Hazel Dickens Rounder Records, 1984
39. MUSICH_220630_189.JPG: Which Side Are You On? The Story of a Song George Ella Lyon El Paso, 2011
40. MUSICH_220630_192.JPG: Which Side Are You On? Florence Reece penned the famous labor anthem “Which Side Are You On?” after she and her family were threatened with police violence for her husband’s organizing work with miners in Harlan County, Kentucky. Decades later, the song’s lyrics would be reworked across different contexts, playing a prominent role not only labor, but in the civil rights movement as well.
41. MUSICH_220630_198.JPG: Lydia Mendoza First Queen of Tejano Music Arhoolie Records, 1996 Lydia Mendoza Lydia Mendoza (1916–2007), the “Queen of Tejano,” started out in a family band. She popularized Tejano (Tex-Mex) music, which blends the musical traditions of Mexican, Spanish, Polish, German, and Czech immigrants.
42. MUSICH_220630_202.JPG: Lydia Mendoza Part 1: First Recordings 1928–1938 Folk-Lyric Records, 1980 Lydia Mendoza Lydia Mendoza (1916–2007), the “Queen of Tejano,” started out in a family band. She popularized Tejano (Tex-Mex) music, which blends the musical traditions of Mexican, Spanish, Polish, German, and Czech immigrants.
43. MUSICH_220630_205.JPG: Evolving Traditions Some musicians pushed the boundaries of what religious music sounded like. The “Queen of Gospel” Mahalia Jackson (1911–1972) used the words and music of gospel to support social causes, such as civil rights and desegregation efforts. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the “Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” rose to prominence in the 1930s as a pioneer of mixing “secular sounds,” such as electric guitar, with sacred lyrics.
44. MUSICH_220630_211.JPG: Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens Nina Nolan; illustrations by John Holyfield New York, 2015
45. MUSICH_220630_216.JPG: Sister Rosetta Tharpe Eighteen Original Negro Spirituals New York, 1938 Courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture Gift of Gayle Wald Sister Rosetta Tharpe Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the “Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” rose to prominence in the 1930s as a pioneer of mixing “secular sounds,” such as electric guitar, with sacred lyrics.
46. MUSICH_220630_222.JPG: Jean Ritchie’s Dulcimer Made by George Pickow Viper, Kentucky, 1951 Jean Ritchie Esteemed folk artist Jean Ritchie (1922–2015) was born into a musical family. She performed traditional Appalachian songs, composed original material, raised environmental awareness, and reinvigorated interest in the mountain dulcimer.
47. MUSICH_220630_229.JPG: Jean Ritchie The Appalachian Dulcimer: An Instruction Record Smithsonian Folkways, 1964 Jean Ritchie Esteemed folk artist Jean Ritchie (1922–2015) was born into a musical family. She performed traditional Appalachian songs, composed original material, raised environmental awareness, and reinvigorated interest in the mountain dulcimer.
48. MUSICH_220630_231.JPG: Groundbreakers Innovation. Courage. Perseverance. Countless women musicians have broken new ground in their careers, expanding opportunities for themselves and paving the way for others. From being “first” in their field to serving as a voice of their people, groundbreaking women made music history.
49. MUSICH_220630_235.JPG: Shaping Genres: Country, Folk, and Bluegrass  Women have always had an important place in country, folk, and bluegrass music, even if their work has not always been elevated. As recently as 2019, researchers at the University of Southern California found that women comprised just 10 percent of charting artists on country radio, due in part to the predominance of male disc jockeys. However, women’s rich contributions have shaped, and continue to define, these musical genres across generations. 
50. MUSICH_220630_240.JPG: “Loretta Lynn’s ‘Pill’ is Hard for Some Fans to Swallow”   People magazine   March 31, 1975  Loretta Lynn Country star Loretta Lynn often sang from a feminist point of view, breaking new ground with hits like "The Pill," a song about birth control.
51. MUSICH_220630_245.JPG: Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten Best known for her song "Freight Train," Cotten (1895–1987) built her musical legacy on a firm foundation of late 19th- and early 20th-century African American instrumental traditions. A self-taught guitarist, the left-handed Cotten played a right-handed guitar “upside down.” Her fingerpicking technique was innovative and continues to be referred to as the “Cotten” style.
52. MUSICH_220630_247.JPG: Dolly Parton, Gender, and Country Music Leigh H. Edwards Bloomington, Indiana, 2018  Dolly Parton Dolly Parton consistently centers women’s stories and experiences in her music. She became the first woman to win a country music award.
53. MUSICH_220630_250.JPG: Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten Elizabeth Cotten: Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar Folkways Records, 1958  Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten Best known for her song "Freight Train," Cotten (1895–1987) built her musical legacy on a firm foundation of late 19th- and early 20th-century African American instrumental traditions. A self-taught guitarist, the left-handed Cotten played a right-handed guitar “upside down.” Her fingerpicking technique was innovative and continues to be referred to as the “Cotten” style.
54. MUSICH_220630_254.JPG: Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten Laura Viers San Francisco, 2018
55. MUSICH_220630_257.JPG: Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard Won’t You Come & Sing for Me? Folkways Records, 1973 Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard were among the earliest women to front a bluegrass band. Their groundbreaking work went on to inspire generations of women performers.
56. MUSICH_220630_261.JPG: Kitty Wells “I Heard the Juke Box Playing” Words and music by Webb Pierce, Linda Baggett, and Kitty Wells  New York, 1952  Kitty Wells, “The Queen of Country Music”  In the 1950s, many country songs blamed women for the demise of relationships, but Wells (1918–2012) flipped the script with her recording of “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.” The 1952 hit, written by J.D. Miller and recorded for Decca, was a lyrical response to Hank Thompson’s “The Wild Side of Life.” Initially banned by some radio stations, it quickly topped the country chart—a first for a solo woman artist—making Wells into a country music superstar. 
57. MUSICH_220630_268.JPG: Why is it so dark in here?
58. MUSICH_220630_276.JPG: Groundbreakers: Instrumentalists and Composers For much of American history, women musicians have primarily achieved distinction as vocalists. Women instrumentalists and composers, while perhaps less prominent, have been foundational figures of rock 'n' roll, jazz, and other genres. These artists have made lasting contributions that influence many generations of musicians.
59. MUSICH_220630_282.JPG: Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala-Ša, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist Gina Capaldi and Q. L. Pearce Minneapolis, 2011 Zitkala-Ša Musician, educator, and Indigenous rights activist Zitkala-Ša (Red Bird) (1876–1938), composed one of the first Native American operas, The Sun Dance Opera, in 1913. She was of Yankton Dakota and European descent.
60. MUSICH_220630_288.JPG: Big Mama Thornton Big Mama Thornton with the Muddy Waters Blues Band - 1966 Arhoolie Records, 1966 Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton (1926–1984) was a blues pioneer and harmonica virtuoso. In 1952 she was the first to record the rock and roll staple “Hound Dog.” She was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984.
61. MUSICH_220630_290.JPG: Swing Sisters: The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm Karen Deans  Illustrated by Joe Cepeda New York, 2015 International Sweethearts of Rhythm America’s first racially integrated all-female jazz band to tour nationally rose to prominence during World War II, when many male jazz musicians were serving overseas. A band with diverse racial backgrounds—Black, White, Latina, Asian—was unique for the time period. One of their strategies for enduring travel in the Jim Crow South was to sleep and eat on the tour bus rather than patronize segregated facilities. 
62. MUSICH_220630_297.JPG: Queen Liliʻuokalani “Aloha ʻOe” (Farewell to Thee) Los Angeles, 1912 Liliʻuokalani, Queen of Hawaiʻi  Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha (1838–1917), known better as Queen Liliʻuokalani, was the last sovereign monarch of Hawaiʻi. In addition to her savvy political skills, she was a gifted musician and composer. Best known for her song “Aloha ‘Oe” (Farewell to Thee), her compositions inspired, and continue to inspire, Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians).
63. MUSICH_220630_307.JPG: Hawaii's Story, by Hawaii's Queen Queen Liliʻuokalani Boston, 1898   Hawaii’s Story was published by the queen in 1898, five years after U.S.-backed forces overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom. 
64. MUSICH_220630_311.JPG: The Mother Goose nursery rhyme "My Lady Wind" warns children about the dangers of malicious gossip, encouraging listeners to "restrain [their] tongue."
65. MUSICH_220630_317.JPG: Country Star Loretta Lynn often sang from a feminist point of view, breaking new ground with hits like "The Pill," a song about birth control.
66. MUSICH_220630_324.JPG: Argentinian American musician Suni Paz was an early Latina voice in the women's rights movement of the 1970s.
67. MUSICH_220630_330.JPG: The landmark hit song "The Message," produced by Sylvia Robinson on her hip-hop label Sugar Hill Records, brought attention to urban issues facing the Black community,
68. MUSICH_220630_336.JPG: Women in the Industry: Expanding Roles Women work in every facet of the music industry. Throughout the twentieth century, women broke significant ground as record label executives, talent developers, editors, engineers, and photojournalists, among other professions. As more women become decision-makers in the music industry, they bring diverse perspectives, talent, and creativity to the profession.
69. MUSICH_220630_340.JPG: Marian Distler, cofounder of Folkways Records Making People’s Music: Moe Asch and Folkways Records Peter Goldsmith Washington, D.C., 1998 Photo by David Gahr Moses Asch (right), cofounder of Folkways Records Making People’s Music: Moe Asch and Folkways Records Peter Goldsmith Washington, D.C., 1998 Photo by David Gahr Marian Distler In 1948, Marian Distler (1919–1964) and Moses Asch (1905–1986) cofounded Folkways Records, an innovative label dedicated to recording and documenting culturally diverse music and sounds. In 1987, the Smithsonian purchased Folkways Records from the Asch estate.
70. MUSICH_220630_344.JPG: Women-Owned Record Labels Barbara Dane Paredon Records, cofounded by Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber in the early 1970s, set out to amplify the voices of artists and activists that were full of hope, and sometimes desperation—voices that expressed the struggles and victories of people standing up for peace, equity, and social justice. Dane’s Paredon Records donated their holdings to the Smithsonian in 1991.
71. MUSICH_220630_350.JPG: Ani DiFranco “A Label of One’s Own: Inside Women-Owned Record Labels” ROCKRGRL March/April 1999 Ani DiFranco Folk singer Ani DiFranco founded Righteous Babe Records in 1990 to publish her own material and that of like-minded artists.
72. MUSICH_220630_354.JPG: The Message Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Sugar Hill Records, 1982 Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson was a groundbreaking singer, songwriter, producer, and record label executive. As co-founder and CEO of Sugar Hill Records, Robinson produced and released one of hip hop’s earliest commercially successful songs of sociopolitical commentary, “The Message” by Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five (1982).
73. MUSICH_220630_357.JPG: When We Make It Through Barbara Dane Paredon Records, 1982 Barbara Dane Paredon Records, cofounded by Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber in the early 1970s, set out to amplify the voices of artists and activists that were full of hope, and sometimes desperation—voices that expressed the struggles and victories of people standing up for peace, equity, and social justice. Dane’s Paredon Records donated their holdings to the Smithsonian in 1991.
74. MUSICH_220630_360.JPG: Industry Professionals Producing and disseminating music is a massive undertaking. Roles unrelated to performance are critical to success in the music industry. Whether behind the scenes, administering business activities, or working with artists, women contribute in a variety of roles.
75. MUSICH_220630_370.JPG: Girl Power In the 1990s, rock and roll took center stage with the creation of new networks, movements, and media aimed at supporting young women and girls. The Riot Grrrl punk movement broke taboos with zine publications and songwriting about gender harassment, women’s health, self-image, reproductive choices, free expression, and sexual violence.
76. MUSICH_220630_379.JPG: “A Tribute to Rock Moms” ROCKRGRL magazine Mercer Island, Washington May/June 1997 ROCKRGRL Founded by Carla DeSantis Black (born 1958), ROCKRGRL was the first nationally distributed magazine that specifically targeted women musicians. Through its run, ROCKRGRL published 57 issues, and at its peak, it had a circulation of approximately 20,000.
77. MUSICH_220630_384.JPG: Zines Riot Grrrl zines were popular, self-published periodicals, distributed freely through an informal economy of punk music fans.
78. MUSICH_220630_389.JPG: Girl Germs (no. 3) Molly Neuman and Allison Wolfe Olympia, Washington, around 1992 (reprint) Gift of Meredith Holmgren Published by Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman, both of the band Bratmobile, Girl Germs was an influential zine of the feminist riot grrrl movement.
79. MUSICH_220630_400.JPG: Patch from Girls Rock! DC Camp Washington D.C., around 2012 Bobbie Dougherty Collection, DC Punk Archive In the early 2000s, Girls Rock! and We Rock! camps emerged to foster a safe environment for women and girls to develop their musical talents.
80. MUSICH_220630_409.JPG: Musicians Fighting for Civil Rights During the civil rights movement, many renowned women musicians were practicing activists. They used their music to protest and raise awareness about injustices facing the Black community. Music of the civil rights movement was intentionally catchy and compelling. Artists wrote songs designed to unify the voices of protesters, strengthen their resolve, and communicate with the public at large.
81. MUSICH_220630_411.JPG: Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Life magazine April 24, 1939
82. MUSICH_220630_420.JPG: When Marian Sang Pam Mu�oz Ryan Illustrated by Brian Selznick New York, 2002 Marian Anderson In 1939, Marian Anderson (1897–1993) boldly sang at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied a performance at Constitution Hall because of her race. The concert became a defining moment in the desegregation movement. In 1955, she performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, becoming the first African American to sing a leading role within the company.
83. MUSICH_220630_421.JPG: “Breaking the White Barrier: Lena Horne Speaks on the Artist and the Negro Revolt” Show: The Magazine of the Arts September 1963 Lena Horne Lena Horne (1917–2010) broke the color barrier as a singer, actress, and civil rights activist. During World War II, she advocated for fair treatment of Black soldiers, refusing to sing for segregated military audiences. She performed at civil rights rallies throughout the South and at the 1963 March on Washington.
84. MUSICH_220630_427.JPG: Bernice Johnson Reagon (born 1942) Photo by Diane A. Penland, 1981 Bernice Johnson Reagon Bernice Johnson Reagon—along with Cordell Reagon, Rutha Harris, and Charles Neblett—founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Freedom Singers, an early and influential group of civil rights singers. She would later cofound the women’s a capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock and work as Director of the Program in Black American Culture at the National Museum of American History.
85. MUSICH_220630_429.JPG: Sing for Freedom: Lest We Forget, Vol. 3 Various Artists Folkways Records, 1980 (Recorded 1964)
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2022 photos: This year included major setbacks -- including Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the Supreme Court imposing the evangelical version of sharia law -- but also some steps forward like the results of the midterms. This website had its 20th anniversary in August, 2022. Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. Trips this year: (February) a visit to see Dad and Dixie in Asheville, NC with some other members of my family, (July) a trip out west for the return of San Diego Comic-Con, and (October) a long weekend in New York to cover New York Comic-Con. Number of photos taken this year: about 386,000, up 2020 and 2021 levels but still way below pre-pandemic levels.
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