Eighth annual Mandel Lecture in the Humanities Series
Dr. Daphne Brooks discussed protest music in America and the struggle for Black freedom at the eighth annual Mandel Lectures in the Humanities Series at Brandeis University. Brooks spoke on the work and legacy of two former slaves and how their music impacted future artists.
“By following the creative, the experimental, and the intellectual intimacies of our 19th century forebears, Wiggins and Sheppard … [unsettle and undo] the very economy of the protest music tradition,” said Brooks.
Thomas Wiggins, also known as “Blind Tom,” was a 19th century piano prodigy whose music and legacy brings up new questions about how slaves documented their subjugation, according to Brooks, especially since Wiggins did not have any writings of his own. Ella Sheppard, who was also a slave, had a remarkable influence that extended well beyond her lifetime, similar to Wiggins, Brooks explains, saying that the talents and contribut