By DONNA BALANCIA
Revered Black musicians including B.B. King, Prince, Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross have brought the world beautiful music, but also made the entertainment industry billions of dollars.
Their contributions and the creative work of countless additional Black musicians to an industry that has thrived for decades are honored and appreciated not only on Blackout Tuesday, on June 2, but also every day.
Tuesday is a day to pay honor to the Black musicians who have contributed to the success of the creative industries and the financial and emotional wealth in this country. Listeners of all walks of life have been the beneficiaries of the hard work and sacrifice of not only musicians of color but music producers and those behind the microphone.
June 2 this year is known as Blackout Tuesday. It’s an initiative geared towards respect and understanding started by record industry execs Jamila Thomas and Bryana Agyemang created under the topic #TheShowMustBePaused.
We encourage everyone to take Tuesday to learn about the creations of some our favorite musicians. Many of our favorite songs are based on a range of deep and empowering ballads, songs and spirituals sung to soothe deep sorrow.
In addition to his relentless advocacy for the blues, the great B.B. King was known for his often humorous but meaningful sayings, one of which may be considered appropriate in our days today:
“I’m trying to get people to see that we are our brother’s keeper. Red, white, black, brown or yellow, rich or poor, we all have the blues.” — B.B King
