Black music is almost as old as America itself, yet the month-long celebration that commemorates it—Black Music Month, was only created in 1979. How did it come about? Who is behind it? And why do we need it when Black music has been a dominant cultural force around the globe for centuries?Music-industry icon and radio personality Dyana Williams, along with her ex-husband, Kenny Gamble, founder and owner of Philadelphia International, were the architects behind Black Music Month.Williams began her music career while she was a student at City College of New York at the radio station WCCR-AM. There she fell in love with the records, the microphones, the turntables and saw herself running things. After learning the basics of the board, she became the music director. She eventually became the producer and would book shows. She had dreams of becoming a jazz musician and studied with Jimmy Heath. She hosted her own show called Ebony Moonbeams. Ebony Moonbeams would become her radio handle when she eventually landed at WHUR-FM in Washington, D.C. as a radio deejay. She would go on to work at major market stations like WBLS-FM in New York and WDAS-FM in Philadelphia. In 1990, she along with Sheila Eldridge launched the Association of African American Music and co-wrote House Concurrent Bill 509 which helped establish Black Music Month.Williams, often called the Godmother of Black Music Month, cites Black music, culture and artistry as being among the greatest U.S. exports, all to the tune of several billion dollars around the globe. “For the month, we just take time aside to say these are the people that generate this great cultural, majestic resource that’s indigenous to America and is also one of our greatest exports from America, because it’s not just music; we’re exporting culture with the music, fashion and language,” she says. READ MORE>>
