For a lot of Black classical Musicians, we tend to find ourselves in a two-sided battle. For some of us we are talented, passionate and diligent. Not only does our work ethic push us to the top, but because we happen to be surrounded by people who choose not to judge us because of our skin tone, we make it big and find success. Then there are the others. They are also talented, passionate and diligent. They continuously persevere. But because they weren’t as lucky to have the right people around them, they are kept from rising to the top. Instead they find themselves surrounded by the gatekeepers of white supremacy and are actively trying to find their way out. What if I told you that both of these individuals are victims?
Both of these individuals are victims because one person’s set of talents are used as a performative prop. They’ve found success but their exceptional abilities aren’t always appreciated for what they really are. Their playing is profound and touches the hearts of many. They want to affect change and see more Black musicians in orchestras, but unfortunately the integrity of their message can be misused by the wrong people. Often their skin tone is used as someone else’s agenda. That agenda is to appear inclusive, but as I stated in my previous blog, that isn’t always the case. The other persons talents either never get the chance to develop or is overshadowed by that same agenda seeker. The constant struggle to have their voice heard takes a toll. Unfortunately, in our society and especially classical music, the agenda seekers make up the majority. People tend to put their own best interest first.
Black musicians have witnessed this situation first hand. The unfortunate result is not only the fear that our talents won’t be recognized but the lie implemented into our subconscious that there can only be very few successful black musicians at a time. I myself have even fallen victim to this type of toxic mentality. If we do find success in this field, it is because our skill level and ability have to surpass others at an uncommonly high level while our white counterparts aren’t held to as high of a standard. We have to be the exceptional black musician.
To put these ideas into a clearer perspective, I’m going to discuss a colleague of mines experiences. While working in the East Coast with a major symphony orchestra’s after school program, he saw the negative effects of an institution that only had an agenda. This is a program that was created to implement social change and develop future musicians, but It’s important to highlight that it currently consists of mostly young Black and Latinx children. For someone like my colleague, a black musician himself, the idea of a program meant to teach young minority youth probably seemed like an amazing opportunity. Once he was hired, he soon found out that the organizers of this program didn’t really have the kids’ best interest at heart. He described to me how the kids never once learned important subject matters like music history or music theory. No one ever taught the kids how to read music. Before my colleague’s arrival, often they would be given instruments and only be taught by ear or participate in “creative compositions” where they would use triangles, squares, or trapezoids to represent musical patterns. They even participated in an activity called “Bucket Band” where the kids would drum on orange trash buckets. Not once did the kids actually learn anything about classical music. Often when my colleague brought his concerns to the head organizers he was dismissed. His cries for the children to actually have a proper music education were not listened to and caused him great conflict. Eventually he left. Out of the 10 kids who started in that program, only 2 went on to actually pursue music. Often when people were hired, they wouldn’t stay for long after realizing how disorganized and unauthentic the program actually was. Unfortunately, this is only one example of the barriers that keep young minorities and especially Black children from having the chance at a proper music education. And this very program is led by an institution who claims that they want to see diversity and change.
The irony in this whole situation is that sometime later, they invited the exceptional black musician to come perform on their stage. They had the photo-ops and a segment on the news highlighting their diversity efforts. They even had the black musician come play with the children in their after-school program. This is where I want to highlight something very important. It’s imperative to remember who the two victims are in this situation. If this institution really believed in those children and the idea of implementing social change, if they really believed in the exceptional black soloist and their idea of seeing more black faces in classical music, why is the program that’s meant to reflect those ideas, doing the exact opposite? It comes back to the agenda I mentioned earlier: appearing inclusive. They get the accolades, the applause, but the children they’re mentoring still don’t get the same level of music education that even they had. Do they truly care about the minority children whose lives they claim they’re changing? What are they learning by drumming on orange trash buckets? What knowledge are they gaining when no one’s teaching them how to read music or the history behind it?
These institutions need to begin to actually care about minority and Black youth. We can’t keep being victims to the lack of opportunity or the misuse of our talents when they see fit. The cycle of performative action is something that not only needs to be recognized but changed.