Black History Through Music
An interactive Workshop for
Middle & High Schools
Program Overview
Black History Through Music is a high-energy workshop that takes students on a journey from Africa to the present through the sound and story of Black music.
With live demonstrations, call-and-response, and real historical context, students discover how music has carried our memories, documented our struggles, and sparked our movements.
This experience meets students where they are. It invites them to listen deeper, understand culture through sound, and see themselves in the continuum of Black creativity.
What Students Will learn
By the end of the workshop, students will understand:
How music acts as a time capsule of Black history
The cultural roots of African rhythm and oral tradition
The evolution of sound from spirituals → blues → jazz → soul → hip-hop
How music reflects our experiences through slavery, migration, and liberation
The role of artists in shaping identity, community, and social change
This is history made tangible. History they can feel.
Assembly
Ideal for large groups
High-energy performance experience
30–45 minutes
Classroom Breakouts
Smaller groups
More discussion and interaction
Works well for grade-level rotations
Full-Day Residency
Multiple sessions
Can include songwriting, lyric analysis, or artist Q&A
Ideal for arts integration or cultural weeks
About The Presenter
Amari “Rebel” Johnson is a musician, filmmaker, and educator with over two decades of experience of teaching African American Studies at the primary, secondary, and university levels. He’s performed and taught across the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, and South America—using music and research to help communities reconnect with culture, identity, and creative power.
Dr. Johnson holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of Under a Black Star: the Maroon Impulse in New Orleans (Minnesota 2025).