Documentaries Highlight African American Musicians in Eastern N.C.

Ten original documentaries highlighting notable African American musicians in eastern North Carolina will be shown at a free event featuring panel discussions and musical performances Saturday, June 2 in Goldsboro. The documentaries are being produced by the Community Folklife Documentation Institute (CFDI) as part of the African American Music Trail project being launched in 2013.

The CFDI meets monthly at the Pitt County Arts Council’s Emerge Gallery in Greenville to study the arts of documentary production.  Teachers, entrepreneurs, administrative assistants, hair stylists, retail clerks and others have joined together to tell the rich stories of African American musical heritage in the eight counties (Edgecombe, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt, Wayne and Wilson) documented by the African American Music Trail.  Upon completion, the project will include a guidebook and website that provide information on significant sites and events featuring African American music and performance.  Profiles of contemporary musicians, historical portraits of musical communities, individuals and events, as well as news about current concerts and exhibitions will present Eastern North Carolina as a destination for lovers of jazz, funk, gospel and other important genres of African American musical traditions.

The NC Arts Council’s Folklife Program partners with the NC Folklife Institute to produce the Community Folklife Documentation Institute, which is funded in part through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The North Carolina Humanities Council, and the North Carolina Arts Council. For more information, including location for the June 2 event contact Sally Peterson, sally.peterson@ncdcr.gov.