 The newly-elected officers of the National Association of Negro Musicians in 1925; standing, from left, Camille Nickerson, Henry Grant, Lillian Lemon, J. Wesley Jones, Lillian Carpenter, Adelaide Herriot; seated, from left, Mildred Bryant Jones, Carl Rossini Diton, Alice Carter Simmons, Robert Nathaniel Dett, Martha Broadus Anderson, and Clarence Cameron White. | |
| Formation | 1919 |
|---|---|
| Website | Official website  |
The National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. is one of the oldest organizations in the United States dedicated to the preservation, encouragement, and advocacy of all genres of the music of African-Americans.[1][2][3][4] NANM had its beginning on May 3, 1919 in Washington, D.C. at a temporary initial conference of “Negro” musicians under the leadership of Henry Grant and Nora Holt.[5] In concert with the Chicago Music Association,[6] its first national convention was held in Chicago, Illinois in the same year.[7] The organization is dedicated to encouraging an inclusive musical culture throughout the country. Within NANM, members lend their support and influence—educators and professional musicians share their musical knowledge, amateurs and enthusiasts grow in their musical enjoyment, and people of all ages come together to share and participate in the musical experience.
Since its inception, NANM has provided encouragement and support to thousands of African American musicians, many of whom have become widely respected figures in music and have contributed significantly to American culture and music history. The organization has awarded scholarships to scores of talented young musicians throughout the country, including Marian Anderson (the first scholarship award recipient in 1919), William L. Dawson, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Warren George Wilson, James Frazier, Julia Perry, Grace Bumbry, Leon Bates, Joseph Joubert and Awadagin Pratt.[8]
Over the years, many international personalities have been presented in performance, including Lena Horne, Todd Duncan, John W. Work, R. Nathaniel Dett, Marian Anderson, Edward Boatner, Camille Nickerson, Clarence Cameron White, Margaret Bonds, Florence B. Price, Etta Moten, Betty Allen, Natalie Hinderas, Adele Addison, Kermit Moore, Simon Estes, George Shirley, Robert McFerrin, Shirley Verrett, Jessye Norman, Carl Rossini Diton, Sanford Allen, Derek Lee Ragin, the Uptown String Quartet, Esther Hinds, Ruby Hinds, Wilhelmenia Fernandez, the Hinds Sisters, William Warfield, Benjamin Matthews, the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, Harolyn Blackwell, Billy Taylor, Delphin and Romain, Greg Hopkins, Martina Arroyo, and Nina Simone (Eunice Waymon).[9]
Clinicians and lecturers of note include Carl Diton, Warner Lawson, Frederick Hall, Kemper Harreld, Wendell Whalum, Eileen Southern, Doris Evans McGinty, Alain Locke, Grace Bumbry, Sylvia Olden Lee, James Cleveland, Raoul Abdul, Matthew Kennedy, Geneva Handy Southall, Sowah Mensah, Willis Patterson, Roland Carter, Brazeal Dennard, Robert Harris, and Shirley Verrett.
There are several regional chapters of the national organization. NANM hosts a national convention annually in various cities.[10][11]
- ^ "National Association of Negro Musicians - Dictionary definition of National Association of Negro Musicians - Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary". www.encyclopedia.com.
- ^ McGinty, Doris Evans (3 May 2018). A Documentary History of the National Association of Negro Musicians. Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago. ISBN 9780929911106 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Rose Library Blog - Geneva H. Southall papers: Printed material". scholarblogs.emory.edu.
- ^ Lerma, Dominique-René de (2016). "National Association of Negro Musicians - Grove Music". doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2292490. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
- ^ "Nora Douglas Holt: Co-founder of the National Association of Negro Musicians - Black Then". blackthen.com. 26 March 2022.
- ^ "Chicago Music Association collection, 1936-1972 | Amistad Research Center". amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ "The Chicago whip., August 15, 1919".
- ^ "The National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. Letter to MLK - The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change". www.thekingcenter.org.
- ^ https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/collection/search?edan_q=*:*&edan_fq[]=p.edanmdm.indexedstructured.name:%22National+Association+of+Negro+Musicians,+Inc.%22&edan_local=1&op=Search
- ^ REEL URBANNEWS (17 August 2014). "National Association of Negro Musicians 95th Convention" – via YouTube.
- ^ "Live Music Movement » National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. Convention to Spotlight Youth, Music and History of NANM". www.livemusicmovement.com.