Earlier this month, over three celebratory days at the Chicago Symphony Center, our School Program singers and Voice of Chicago honored Black History Month (BHM) at our Black Futures Concert Series. In addition, our Neighborhood Choir Programs and Dimension came together at the Chicago Cultural Center for a day of workshops.
This immersive experience explored past, present, and future through Afrofuturism—the convergence of art, science, technology, and accurate histories of Africana civilizations in pursuit of infinite liberation and possibility. We honored not just the contributions and achievements of people of African descent throughout history but also today’s visionaries, inspiring a new generation of free thinkers, leaders, innovators and advocates.
A staple of our world-class music education programs are our learning packets for pillar events, provided to singers at every level of our programs. They serve as tools to help our singers learn both the songs themselves as well as their cultural contexts, heritage, and importance to the event overall.
This blog post is the next in our series of annotated learning packets, as we share a sample page of the packet with our audiences so you can see how our conductors use these packets as learning tools in the classroom. Our singers don’t just learn music from many genres, cultures and languages, but understand how the music is created and engage in conversation about the historical and social context of the songs. The Black Future Concert Series curriculum packet content follows the story of Kendrick, a composite character, who represents perspectives born out of real cultural experiences.
Lonnie Norwood, Jr., our Director of Africana Studies, curated the program alongside Farlanda Buchannon and Bailey Haynes, and worked with Heather Stewart and Amanda Wolff of the Social-Emotional Learning team to create an educational packet used by all Uniting Voices singers across the city. The curriculum packet was designed by Kell Fahey, Multimedia Designer.
We spoke with Lonnie about the experience of curating the curriculum and leading the three-day Concert Series. Check out our annotated packet below!
1. The Portals
Uniting Voices Chicago: What do each of the portals represent?
Lonnie Norwood: Each portal offers the reader/listener chances to experience Kendrick’s worldview and imagination in action. Singers then consider how they see the world and, furthermore, how they can activate their imaginations to create something outside of themselves and meaningful.
UVC: For this Portal, what is the most important takeaway topic?
LN: Afrofuturism as a limitless framework for removing barriers and imagining change creatively for a better and stronger world was introduced here. For instance, Kendrick showed us that he could invent his own language called Alkebulanian, and we love Kendrick for his audacity to think beyond the obvious! Afrofuturism is not always wildly abstract with sights like Egyptian deserts in outer space. Some ideas are closer to practical. For instance, Kendrick reaches back 200+ years to reference a freedom concept, the “Sweet Chariot,” from the spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and he materializes the concept into a mode of transportation that travels on land, air, and water, removing barriers to travel near and far for those without access.
UVC: Why was afrofuturism included as a concept in the packets for the singers?
LN: Afrofuturism is the theme of our curricular year! We know the world we live in is less than perfect, and it’s impossible to shield children from the trauma and tragedies happening at aggressive rates. This bitter reality can stifle a child’s ability to dream. The Black History Month and Social-Emotional Learning conductor teams enlisted Dr. Shaun Ginwright’s Healing-Centered Engagement as a response to trauma to help young people identify the issues, and see the world beyond the trouble by using their imaginations freely to lay a foundation for the future world they want to see. Our hope is that they walk away knowing that they are the change we need.
2. Now Activate!
UVC: Describe the decision to include the fictional language of Alkebulanian and the world of Nubtopia in the curriculum.
LN: All languages and civilizations were made up at some point. It’s the template for singers to stretch their minds and creativity to visualize their worlds from the ground up. We probed our singers with entry point questions, just as Miss Howard probed Kendrick in his music class, “Where will you live? What will you call this new world? Who will be your tribe? How do people travel? What is the language(s)? Are there any laws? What do people eat? What do they wear? What do they do for fun?”
UVC: What are the Missions in each Portal?
LN: The formula is to first relate, meaning singers use their reading and listening skills to hear with comprehension and discuss Kendrick's journey. The second piece is to activate, meaning that singers consider what has been heard and discussed to bring character into the piece they will perform, and to complete the activities that require their undivided creative attention.
3. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
UVC: Why was this song chosen and why was this specific arrangement chosen?
LN: Choosing this piece is an overt ode to the African-American spiritual and its West African influences. This is part of our Sankofa mindset - looking at the past to inform our present and future decisions. Future destinations are not developed without an examination of what was and what is across civilizations. Curtis Gulledge’s arrangement is a brilliant example of taking a concept from the past, retaining its important messaging, and redefining the musical setting for a newer generation to study and appreciate. There’s no dreaming in this new-age setting of a free world. The world free of oppression of our youth’s devising is now realized!
4. Kendrick’s Posters
UVC: How did you choose the cultural icons to include in these posters?
LN: These icons, who are mostly ancestors, are synonymous with Afrofuturism. You can’t talk about Afrofuturism without mentioning two of the architects: musician-philosopher Sun Ra and author Octavia Butler. We want our singers to be aware of today’s torch carriers in Afrofuturism like Chicago author-artist Ytasha Womack and musician Janelle Monae.
5. Lyrics
UVC: Why is it important to include translations of the lyrics
LN: We can’t properly express a piece or expect our listeners to absorb its meaning without first understanding what we as performers are singing about. No character development can happen without understanding the language and culture from which it comes.
UVC: Why is it important to teach songs in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) to our singers?
LN: Every student of American academia should know the origin story of AAVE and its continued worldwide impact. It is the official language of the African American spiritual, the first American-identified form of music from the mouths of the enslaved who had zero rights to conventional education. This speaks to the often overlooked brilliance and resilience of this community. AAVE has influenced every proceeding American musical genre to some extent. The soulful language is widespread because African American music is a force of nature around the world. The language and music work in tandem! No practitioners can sing African American music well without a deep, comprehensive study of AAVE.
6. Kendrick’s Design
UVC: Who inspired the character of Kendrick?
LN: The name Kendrick was a nod to rapper Kendrick Lamar. A student from our Englewood Neighborhood Choir was the inspiration behind the precocious Kendrick Wise character.
UVC: What are some significant aspects of his design here?
Kell Fahey, Multimedia Designer: There were many elements of Kendrick’s design that were intentionally symbolic. As Kendrick, he wears purple, which is widely associated with royalty, spirituality and wisdom in African culture and art. In the story, Kendrick is anointed and rises up as a “young giant” and a leader as Kemet Temek. As Kemet, he is adorned in gold and purple, emphasizing prosperity and his strength of character. The triangle symbol is present for both Kendrick and Kemet. It evokes the pyramids of the Nubian people, which are important elements of Kendrick’s dream world, “Nubtopia,” and serves as a nod to the strong use of geometry and pattern in African textiles and art.
7. Now Activate!
UVC: Why does the organization focus on songwriting for our young singers?
LN: Songwriting is a discipline that teaches our singers how to be creative, critical thinkers while adhering to the rules of engagement. It is our hope that personal practice encourages a deeper appreciation for the time and thought composers and arrangers put into creating the music Uniting Voices singers love to perform.
8. Tschansa
UVC: What was the songwriting process like for your original song, “Tschansa?”
LN: Easy. I listen to a great deal of Afrobeat and have absorbed numerous continental African sounds. I knew I wanted a mixed bag of Africana ingredients texturally for the music (smooth Afrobeat percussion to carry the message, a call and response component, spoken word, satisfying parallel harmonies, polyphony or melodic independence of voice sections, and wordplay) to complement the Alkebulanian language we created. I also wanted to mix in past languages we’ve studied (Ghanaian Twi, Nigerian Pidgin, South African Zulu and Xhosa, and AAVE) to continue developing our singers eyes, ears and voices for these delicious sounds.
UVC: What was it like hearing thousands of singers perform your original music?
LN: It was a whole vibe! I was astounded by the singer’s reaction throughout the learning process and their genuine hype during the performances. It’s not everyday that a choral arts organization can turn up at the Chicago Symphony Center on an Afrobeat song in a pretend language!
UVC: Why did we include and write an original song for the curriculum?
LN: Our curriculum doubled as a scripted, animated program with the immutable artistic expertise of Kell Fahey. It was necessary to have a song that expressed the hopeful sentiment of our protagonist Kendrick in his words after witnessing the futuristic world of Nubtopia he created. There is no choral stage making music with an Afrobeat framework. I admire our BHM team (Farlanda Buchannon and Bailey Haynes). We don’t wait for others to create the innovative projects we want to see. We strategize collectively and write those things that aren’t into existence.
9. Language
UVC: We talked a bit earlier about the fictional language of Alkebulanian. How much of the language did you actually create? What inspired it?
LN: I created all of it, very basic phrases and expressions. It was inspired by Creole and tribal languages from the continent of Africa, and the brevity in syntax structure in other Niger-Congo languages.
UVC: How did the singers respond to the new language?
LN: From hearing them sing, there was a seeming awareness of the translations behind Alkebulanian. They sang it with much conviction. Can’t ask for more than that.
