Latest DeLaney Center Dialogue Discussion Features Musician and Scholar Tammy L. Kernodle Kernodle will also participate in a Reading Club Breakfast discussion involving her essay “My Song is My Weapon: The Long Sonic History of Black Resistance.”

By Brian Laubscher
November 13, 2024

The DeLaney Center at Washington and Lee University will present two events on Friday, Nov. 15 featuring Tammy L. Kernodle, university distinguished professor in the Department of Music at Miami University. The first event is a Reading Club Breakfast held from 8 to 9 a.m. in the second-floor conference room at the Gin Hotel in downtown Lexington. The second event is a DeLaney Dialogue discussion held in the Watson Pavilion from noon to 1 p.m. Both events include a free meal and are open to the public.

The Reading Club Breakfast will set the stage for the DeLaney Dialogue session as participants will digest Kernodle’s essay “My Song is My Weapon: The Long Sonic History of Black Resistance.” Kernodle’s essay mixes a musical playlist and critical analysis to ponder music’s role in Black freedom struggles, including the Civil Rights Movement. While enjoying a free breakfast, guests will engage in conversation to learn more about Kernodle’s thoughts and interests.

During the DeLaney Dialogue event at noon, Kernodle will share observations about “A Soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement” and will continue to investigate Black freedom struggles through her previously referenced essay. A free lunch will be provided during the discussion.

In addition, Kernodle will participate in a third event Friday supported by the university’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter, delivering a lecture titled “All Rhythm, But None of the Blues: Black Music, Black Women and the De-Mythologizing of Post-Racial America” at 5 p.m. in University Chapel.

An internationally recognized musician and scholar, Kernodle’s research focuses on African American music, gender studies in music and race in American popular culture. She currently serves as curator of the New World Symphony’s “I Dream a World” festival, a multiyear initiative which celebrates the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance, and she was previously the president of the Society for American Music.

Kernodle is the author of the book “Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams,” which chronicles the six-decade career of educator and jazz pianist and arranger Mary Lou Williams. She was the associate editor of the three-volume “Encyclopedia of African American Music” and served on the editorial board for the revision of the “New Grove Encyclopedia of American Music.” She has written for and consulted with the American Jazz Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Walker Art Center, NPR, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the BBC and Carnegie Hall. Her scholarship has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and she has been featured in award-winning documentaries, including “Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band,” “Girls in the Band” and “Miles Davis: The Birth of Cool.”

Kernodle received her bachelor’s degree from Virginia State University and her master’s degree and doctorate from Ohio State University.

The Delaney Dialogue series was created to engage audiences in conversation about regionally resonant themes, allowing for open discourse and learning opportunities. Exhibiting innovative strategies for teaching and researching Southern racial realities, these programs allow faculty and other interested participants to imagine how this protean region fits into broader professional and public possibilities.

The DeLaney Center is an interdisciplinary academic forum that promotes teaching and research on race and Southern identity. Visit the DeLaney Center website for updates on further DeLaney Dialogues, film screenings and other programming.