This Black History Month, I’m sharing art, songs, movies, and other creative expressions from and about Black women that spark joy for me. Because Black women are often not remembered for their contributions, I thought this would be one way to give flowers to those who inspire me.
For Day 16, I’m sharing this beautiful video from the talented esperanza spalding.
esperanza spalding’s mother discovered her daughter was a musical prodigy when she sat down as a toddler and reproduced a Beethoven song by ear. Lucky for esperanza and all of us, her mother encouraged her musical pursuits, and she learned to play several instruments during her K-12 years.
spalding is most known for being a bassist. When asked about why she chose the bass, she made it clear that the bass chose her. Her music teacher taught her a bass line of a blues song, and that was all it took for esperanza to fall in love with the bass. esperanza has won several awards, including five Grammys.
esperanza spalding is a person who is willing to walk away from spaces that are not aligned with her values. In 2022, she resigned from her position at Harvard, in part because the university refused to implement her Black Artist-Educators Decolonizing and Placemaking (BAEDAP)” model, which would require Harvard to rematriate the stolen land it occupies and intentionally create safe spaces for Black and Indigenous artists. For esperanza, the only way she could work at an institution like Harvard was if she could be part of pushing the university to make reparations for its participation in slavery and colonization. As Harvard, like so many businesses and institutions, was unwilling to acknowledge and repair the harm it caused, esperanza decided to walk away.
Released in 2012 on the first day of Black History Month, the song, Black Gold, is esperanza’s love letter to Black culture.
"This song is singing to our African American heritage before slavery. Over the decades, so much of the strength in the African American community has seeded from resistance and endurance. I wanted to address the part of our heritage spanning back to pre-colonial Africa and the elements of Black pride that draw from our connection to our ancestors in their own land. I particularly wanted to create something that spoke to young boys."
Thank you, esperanza, for the beautiful music you’ve given us, and for being an example of what it means to walk your talk.
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