Annual St. Clair Drake Lecture : "Jazz Folk Here and There: A Trans-Atlantic Conversation"

Robin D.G. Kelley, Professor of History and Africana Studies, and Chair of the History Department at New York University.

Kelley's lecture, the title of which is a tribute

to St. Clair Drake's Black Folk Here and There,

will explore culture and Diasporic movement in the

history of jazz. Moving beyond debate about origins

(is jazz African or American?), Professor Kelley will

focus on the constant exchange between Africa and

America, especially after World War II. In this

period, opportunities for collaboration and travel

expanded, and many African American musicians sought spiritual alternatives to the West.