How Black banjo players are changing Americana music
Originating with enslaved Africans, the banjo is now being reclaimed by Black musicians in contemporary music
TL;DR
- The banjo's precursor is the akonting, a gourd-bodied lute from West Africa.
- Enslaved Africans brought the instrument to the Americas, where it was played for centuries.
- The instrument was largely absent from popular Black music during the Harlem Renaissance but has seen a resurgence in recent decades.
- Events like the Black Banjo Gathering in 2005 helped spark a revival and community among Black banjo players.
- Musicians and organizations like the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the Black Banjo Reclamation Project are key to this cultural revival.
- The banjo's history includes appropriation by white minstrel performers, which led to its temporary distancing by some Black musicians.
- Contemporary Black banjo players are using the instrument to connect with their ancestry, resist erasure, and create new forms of music.
- The reclaiming of the banjo is seen as a way to reclaim ancestral identities and assert a presence on the world stage.