WKRN’s Local On 2 Highlights Black History Month at NMAAM
Nashville news station, WKRN (Channel 2), is featuring the National Museum of African American Music during their Friday morning live show each week of Black History Month for a segment called “Music Starts Here: From Roots To Resonance”. On Friday, February 13th, NMAAM’s Deputy Director of Strategy and Advancement, Dexter Evans, went on air to let the community know about some of the major events and exhibitions coming up at the museum during our 5th anniversary year.
Among the highlighted events were some of the museum’s special Valentine’s Day programs, including Heartbeat Saturday (a health & wellness initiative featuring a live DJ and dancing) and R&B Bingo (a late-night game where DJ Smoke returns to spin a soundtrack curated to align with the bingo cards). Mr. Evans also shouted out some of the museum’s ongoing community programming, such as Story Soundz (an educational program focused on early literacy engagement for young children) and Nissan Free Wednesdays, where gallery admission is free to all (thanks to Nissan!) on the first Wednesday of every month.
Community engagement is at the center of our work at NMAAM. The museum is designed as an intergenerational space, welcoming guests from all walks of life to experience Black history and culture through music. WKRN’s program on the 13th showcased some of the best community gathering spots across the museum, from the Amplify Store and Main Concourse, to the Rivers of Rhythm, where interactive touch screens allow visitors to discover sound recordings from all across American history, and to learn the context in which the songs were created. The segment exhibited how the hands-on engagement opportunities throughout the museum inspire reflection, creativity, and connection with the contents of the galleries.
Tune in to Channel 2 this Friday, 2/20, at 9 a.m, to hear from our Education Director, Nikki Walker, with more about what you can look forward to in each of our galleries, as well as some of our other programs coming up in the second half of the month. The final installment of this series will be at the same time on Friday, 2/27, as we begin to transition from celebrating Black History Month into Women’s History Month.
Click the links below to view clips from Local on 2’s February 13th episode:
