All Rhythm but None of the Blues: Black Music, Black Women and the De-Mythologizing of Post-Racial America - The 2024 Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Lecture Presented by Tammy Kernodle

As part of Phi Beta Kappa's ongoing visiting scholar program, Loyola will host Tammy Kernodle as she addresses topics in race, gender, and pop culture. This year's title is "All Rhythm but None of the Blues: Black Music, Black Women and the De-Mythologizing of Post-Racial America"

In the wake of Barack Obama's election in 2008, political pundits and cultural critics began declaring that the election of the first African American President was representative of America moving into a period of post-racialism. This notion of post-racialism was not simply based in political ideology, but also in the continuous globalization of black culture, especially black music. First through playlist and later through performances at the White House, Obama used music as a means of cultivating a form of nationalistic unity that was multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and intergenerational. On the surface, he had seemingly created a soundtrack for post-racial America. However, just as Obama prepared to launch his re-election campaign, a series of violent events began to undermine this notion of post-racialism. This resulted not only in the awakening of new social movements, but also new forms of protest culture. These presentation looks at four key events that occurred between 2012 and 2016 as a lens to understanding the current wave of protest and socially conscious music. It will specifically focus on the music and cultural responses of black women as a method of illuminating the long and varied history of black women musicians in shaping and promoting a public rhetoric of social change. Professor Kernodle is also the 2024-2025 Frank M. Updike Memorial Scholar.

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