This Black History Month is the perfect time to revisit “Music, Movement and Drama,” a presentation from The North Carol...

This Black History Month is the perfect time to revisit “Music, Movement and Drama,” a presentation from The North Carolina Museum’s (@ncmuseumhistory) African American Cultural Celebration in 2021. The virtual event, now archived for posterity, was jammed packed with exciting modules highlighting different facets of AA experience, including: a performance of The Black National Anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by a virtual choir of HBCU students; a breakdown of the importance of black church bands featuring Mt. Airy’s sacred steel group The Allen Boys; and a ring shout performance of dance and song alongside the Catawba River. Ring shout, a circular collective dance performed by the enslaved to celebrate their Christian faith, was amongst other things an important precursor to blues and gospel music in the US. Image: A number of HBCU students sing “Lift Every Voice & Sing” on Zoom, screenshot from “Music, Movement and Drama” Alt. text: the Zoom images of 14 individuals singing, arrayed around a central conductor