Roots, Blues, Jazz, and ultimately all popular music, was born as an African American art form, originally created as an artistic expression and response to the oppression, dehumanization, and hatred this population has had to endure.
The Washington Blues Society stands with the musicians and members of our community past and present, who speak truth through music. All of us should be teaching our children lessons about racism in America through art and music so that the next generation can achieve the goals set by the last and preserve the artforms we cherish.
In sadness and outrage, The Washington Blues Society pays homage to the memories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmadu Arbery, Manuel Ellis and all others whose lives were abruptly, unjustly, and hatefully ended. Each of these human beings was taken because of the individual and systemic racism that has pervaded the psyche of America for over 400 years. We grieve with the families, and we will join the greater conversation for the eradication of racism in deference to the legacy of Blues, Jazz and all American Music.
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“The only normalcy that we will settle for (Yes, sir) is the normalcy that recognizes the dignity and worth of all of God’s children. The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy that allows judgment to run down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Yes, sir) The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy of brotherhood, the normalcy of true peace, the normalcy of justice.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.- Delivered in Montgomery AL. March 25, 1965 –
The Board of Directors of The Washington Blues Society
Proud recipient of the “Keeping The Blues Alive” award from the Blues Foundation
Our mission is to promote, preserve, and advance the culture
and tradition of Blues music as an art form.
