Watch: Dyana Williams on the importance of Black Music Month

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Black Music Month might be something you’ve just been hearing about recently, but President Jimmy Carter established it in 1979. Producer Kenny Gamble started the Black Music Association, “building a network of high-level supporters including Stevie Wonder, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, and Reverend Jesse Jackson.” After lobbying for some time, Black Music Month was founded by Kenny Gamble, Radio and Music industry professional Dyana Williams, and DJ Ed Wright.

TheGrio’s Eboni K. Williams talks to the “Mother of Black Music Month” Dyana Williams about the use of AI in the music industry, the importance of Black Music Month, and what it means to her legacy.

The following is a transcript of their conversation.

Eboni K. Williams [00:00:03] Welcome back. Before the break, we were talking to Dyana Williams. She’s the “Mother of Black Music Month”, which was established 44 years ago under the Carter administration. Now, I asked her how she thinks that the new technology of A.I. will impact the music industry.

This all comes as Ice Cube has threatened to sue anyone who uses artificial intelligence to recreate his voice. And other artists are proposing using A.I. to collaborate with musicians who’ve passed away. Well, here’s what Dyana Williams had to say.

Dyana Williams [00:00:36] It’s not going away. And, one of the record labels, I wanted to say that it was Capital some months ago, signed an A.I. artist and folks were up in arms and they then released that artist. We’re going to have to figure out…we’re using technology right now…we’re going to have to figure out how to adapt and integrate the A.I.s.

I know one thing, I don’t want to go to a concert and see an AI of Whitney Houston. I saw Whitney Houston in real life, in real-time, and that’s how I want to, my appetite for consuming music.

So we all have to figure out how we’re going to navigate technology. We are living in the digital era. It has changed the music industry grammatically. Remember Napster? I know you do, Eboni.

Eboni K. Williams [00:01:26] Yes, I do. Yes.

Dyana Williams [00:01:30] But now it’s basically a digital. I know there are people I still love vinyl. I still buy it, but at the end of the day, I’m consuming a lot of my music via the various platforms. So, but, during June Black Music Month, I want to encourage everybody: talk to your children.

If you’re a guardian, sit with a young person, listen to what they’re listening to. Share with them what you love. Go to live concerts. Buy the merch of your favorite artists. Support them in their philanthropy. There’s so many different ways for us to consume and enjoy June, Black Music Month and shout out to Kenny Gamble, whose idea it was initially.

We happened to be a couple at the time and also to DJ Ed Wright and to any and everybody who has been touched by Black music because it is the soundtrack to our lives.

Eboni K. Williams [00:02:19] One last point, Miss Dyana, as we talk about the significance of Black Music Month and the Carter administration and everything that you and all these leaders did to make this an official observable holiday for us and month for us, how important does this feel for your legacy?

Dyana Williams [00:02:37] Oh, my goodness. I’m so excited. I just went to the White House the other day for the first inaugural Juneteenth celebration and during President Biden’s speech, he acknowledged June Black Music Month.

It was a proud moment because for some time I’ve been lobbying the White House administration since the Obama administration to make the name back to what Gamble, Ed Wright, and I called it and still referred to it, which is Black Music Month.

During the Obama administration, the name got changed to African American Music Appreciation Month, created a lot of confusion. People thought that President Obama had established it. We are now in our 44th year and what’s in a name? Everything. 

We cannot change the “her-story” and the history of Kenny Gamble, Ed Wright, Dyana Williams, and the many names that we can’t cite in this segment of people who supported the “Black Music is Green” campaign, making people over stand that it is also an economic force to be reckoned with.

It’s not just our creative expression. And so I fought valiantly, wrote tons of emails to the White House to the point where the White House wrote me an email said, “Dyana, we have all your emails.” I was like, “good” because I’m not going to stop writing. I’m not going to stop pushing and advocating for the story to be told accurately. And shout out to The Godfather, Clarence Abbott, who made the initial call to the Carter administration for the Black Music Association, to say, let us declare June as Black Music Month in America for all the citizens, regardless of your race, creed, religious beliefs, to celebrate our own creative art forms made right here in America and given as a gift to, I want to say, the galaxies to the aliens. I know they’re listening.

Eboni K. Williams [00:04:29] All the way, all the way to Mars.

Dyana Williams [00:04:32] All the way beyond.

Eboni K. Williams [00:04:33] Indeed, indeed. I know you read my mind, Miss Dyana, I was thinking I was talking to my producer before we started taping. I said something tells me, Mr. Clarence Abbott had a little something to do with this because his hand was always in the mix of the business, the politics and the music.

Dyana Williams, my Queen of Black Music Month, we thank you. It has been an honor to have you on our show.

Dyana Williams [00:04:55] Oh, and Eboni, you’re now my official cousin, and I just want everybody to visit the National Museum of African American Music, “NMAAM dot org.” It’s on Fifth and Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee.

I’m a proud board member, and I want people to know that there is a museum dedicated to all genres and subgenres of our music. Happy Black Music Month.

Eboni K. Williams [00:05:17] We all want to echo Dyana’s call to action, and that’s for all of us to check out the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s the only museum in the country dedicated to honoring our contributions to all genres of music.

And we again thank Dyana Williams, the mother of Black Music Month, for taking the time to sit down with us today.

Check out the full clip above and tune into “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” at 6 p.m. ET every weeknight on theGrio cable channel.

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