For people of African descent, music constitutes a unique domain of expression. From traditional West African drumming to South African kwaito, from spirituals to hip-hop, Black life and history has been dynamically displayed and contested through sound. Shana Redmond excavates the sonic histories of these communities through a genre emblematic of Black solidarity and citizenship: anthems. An interdisciplinary cultural history, Anthem reveals how this "sound franchise" contributed to the growth and mobilization of the modern, Black citizen. Providing new political frames and aesthetic articulations for protest organizations and activist-musicians, Redmond reveals the anthem as a crucial musical form following World War I.
Beginning with the premise that an analysis of the composition, performance, and uses of Black anthems allows for a more complex reading of racial and political formations within the twentieth century, Redmond expands our understanding of how and why diaspora was a formative conceptual and political framework of modern Black identity. By tracing key compositions and performances around the world-from James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" that mobilized the NAACP to Nina Simone's "To Be Young, Gifted & Black" which became the Black National Anthem of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)-Anthem develops a robust recording of Black social movements in the twentieth century that will forever alter the way you hear race and nation.

Develops a robust recording of Black social movements in the twentieth century that will forever alter the way you hear race and nation.

About the Author
Shana L. Redmond is Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. She is a former musician and labor organizer.

Reviews
"Anthemis an impressively rich analysis of the songs that gave rise to and developed out of the fraught history of diasporic political movements. Redmond's blend of musicology, political history, and social engagements establishes the anthem as a densely layered text, one that invites close reading but whose ultimate meaning can only be understood in the context of its reconstructed sociopolitical moment." * MELUS *
"Music as a form of expression in the Black community is not a new phenomenon. However, Redmond offers new interpretations of this old paradigm. She depicts music as a diasporic weapon of resistance, ambitiously expanding the boundaries of Black politics by carefully towing the line between sonic manifestos, social movements, and solidarity. The author judiciously wades through literature from myriad disciplines, exposing inconsistent arguments and confronting the intersection of social movements and solidarity, while positioning music both as a repository for collective memory and mobilizing agent throughout the diaspora. Her work deftly illuminates the role of the communitive and communicative aspects of the performer and the performance.... Redmond's study is innovative and groundbreaking. She expands the boundaries of interdisciplinary studies by intersecting ethnomusicology, America political development, and Black politics. Each song travails to tap into the spirit of resistance and unity, while functioning as a balm to the wounds of domination and oppression. She clearly illustrates that music functions as a refuge, allowing performers and listeners to safely wade through "translocal" forms of state sanctioned oppression as she demonstrates and demarcates a continuum of Black music as a form of resistance." -- National Political Science Review
"Offers a model to future scholars who wish to blend the intricacies of musical analysis with other source bases or methodologies." * American Quarterly *
"Anthemsucceeds in foregrounding the significance of music as an oral tradition, and its ability to move people who may not be literate in the written word. Redmond ably traces musics elemental power to move humans, and how it connects people to ideas, movements, and other activists. In general, the book succeeds admirably in making readers think about these songs in new ways." * American Historical Review *
"In this important book, Redmond illuminates the ways that songs function as 'political acts of performance' . . . . Listen to the music as you read to appreciate even further this deeply intelligent, innovative, richly interdisciplinary, and thought-provoking book." * The Journal of American History *
"Anthemis truly atour de force.Deeply-researched, brilliantly conceived, and beautifully written, the book reveals how & anthems register both a collective sense of history and a vision of the future for aggrieved groupsnot just people of African-descent.Anthemwill stand asthemodel for transnational scholarship for years to come." -- Robin D. G. Kelley,author of Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times



Book Information
ISBN 9780814770412
Author Shana L. Redmond
Format Paperback
Page Count 356
Imprint New York University Press
Publisher New York University Press
Weight(grams) 499g