School of Music to host a virtual event discussing art from the Harlem Renaissance.

“Harlem Sings – A Tribute to the Poets of the Harlem Renaissance” is a virtual event coming to Illinois State University through the School of Music, the School of Music Committee on Representation, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and the university’s Multi-Ethnic Cultural and Co-curricular Programming Advisory Committee. The virtual event will be at 7 p.m. on Monday.

The Harlem Renaissance, based in the mid-1910s to the ‘30s, is remembered as the manifestation of African American literature, theatre, music, and art in the Harlem community of New York and across the nation as people migrated to larger cities. The Harlem Renaissance featured artists of several genres not just because of their talent, but their expressions in their art of their personal heritage and what it meant to be African American in the early 20th century.

The movement inspired other African American artists and intellectuals throughout the following decades, and it emphasized the importance of African American art during the early and mid-1900s when violence towards African Americans and segregation soared throughout the nation.

The event will showcase poetry from artists such as Langston Hughes and Clarissa Scott Delany, some of the Harlem Renaissance’s most famous African American artists.

Patrice Eaton, American mezzo soprano, and Kyle Walker, pianist and advocate for social equality, will hold a live discussion for all attendees and then conclude the event with a Q&A session.

Those looking for more information regarding the event can contact Dr. Justin Vickers of the School of Music at vickers@ilstu.edu.