About the Timeline
From the drumbeats of Mother Africa to the work songs and Spirituals created in a new land, a path can be traced to the blues, gospel, jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, and hip-hop expressions of African Americans that are celebrated throughout the world.
The Timeline of African American Music represents decades of scholarship conducted and led by Dr. Portia K. Maultsby, a pioneer in the study of African American music, as well as the contributions of numerous scholars. From the earliest folk traditions to present-day popular music, the timeline is a detailed view of the evolution of African American musical genres that span the past 400 years. This celebration of African American musical traditions reveals the unique characteristics of each genre and style, while also offering in-depth studies of pioneering musicians who created some of America’s most timeless artistic expressions.
In 2009, soprano Jessye Norman brought Dr. Maultsby and her work to Carnegie Hall as part of the festival HONOR! A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy. As a cornerstone of the festival, Miss Norman wanted educational initiatives to expand the audience’s journey of discovery, including the first interactive version of the timeline. After the festival, the timeline became an integral part of Carnegie Hall’s online educational resources and continued to serve music lovers, educators, and students around the world for more than a decade.
Through generous support from the NEH and NEA, and in collaboration with Synoptic Office, the timeline has been reimagined and updated to serve a new generation of audiences.
Visitors to the timeline can expand their knowledge through multimedia stories, recordings of legendary musicians, and rarely seen historical images from Carnegie Hall’s Rose Archives. Closely connected to Carnegie Hall, this interactive presentation of the timeline examines seminal African American musical, cultural, and political events that have taken place at the Hall throughout the past 130 years. The timeline is a superb historical study and a celebration of living musical traditions for all to explore.