Library Offers ‘Bond Of Rhythm’ Program Saturday
The Local History Center at Glasgow Public Library will present the fourth event in its “Bond” series, an annual celebration and recognition of Black History Month, this Saturday, Feb. 21.
The program, “Bond of Rhythm: Connecting with Music,” will feature speakers, music from church groups, and various dancers who emphasize the history of Black music, with a focus on spirituals.
Spirituals deeply influenced American music, laying the groundwork of gospel, jazz, blues, R&B, and rock and roll, and remain a testament to the enduring spirit and cultural richness of African Americans.
The event will begin at 2 p.m. at Lylburn Downing Middle School in Lexington.
Gregory Parker, a music professor at Washington and Lee University, will be the keynote speaker and guide audience members through the evolution of spirituals.
“If we sing together, we’re more likely to understand one another because humans are innately musical,” said Parker in a recent interview.
He plans to talk about the natural rhythm we carry with us and where to find it in our everyday lives.
“You have a heartbeat that’s rhythmic, you have breathing that’s rhythmic … so we’re innately rhythmic,” said Parker. “And we’re innately musical. Everybody on the planet is musical in some ways, and it creates a point of connection.”
Parker teaches a spiritual class at the university to introduce students to the different eras of Black music. In his fast-paced class “Ebony and Ivory,” students learn the importance of spirituals and the secrets they were meant to communicate through presentations and research.
“Church music has always been a big part of my existence. We sang spiritual arrangements in high school choir and my college choir, and many of them made their way to hymnals over the years,” Parker said. “So I just grew up with those. And I thought that I could put together a class that would focus on all of that.”
After Parker’s presentation, music will be presented by Union Baptist Church of Glasgow’s choir and the First Baptist Church of Natural Bridge. The program will also include a presentation on the history of the Black bands from Rockbridge County, dances from Halestone Dance Studio, and poetry read by Tabata Peters.
Rodney and Donald Early, now members of a Baptist music group, grew up playing in a variety of bands in the Rockbridge area. They began with a group called the HiLos, then, after serving in the military, they played for bands such as Swingmasters and Charisma.
Between the bands they participated in, the brothers played multiple times for Washington and Lee University fraternities and Virginia Military Institute monthly events, and they also performed in Roanoke, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
“We used to be all over,” Rodney Early said in a phone interview. “I really just liked performing.”
THE RHYTHM MAKERS was a notable band formed in Lexington in the early 1950s by teenagers. The group, which lasted until 1971, played throughout Virginia and North Carolina. Members included (from left) Lewis Watts, Billy Huffman, U.V. Broadneaux, Frank Woodly at the keyboard, Sticks Thompson, and Napoleon Borgus. (photo courtesy of Lylburn Downing Alumni Association, Downing Heritage Room, Lexington Public Schools) They also traveled to some spots on the East Coast with their group Charisma, which was based in Glasgow.
THESSALONIA LEE MACK, a former Lexington resident, was part of Black National Opera in New York City. (photo circa 1940, courtesy of her son, William Mack)
LOLITA YOUNG and the Swingmasters was a swing and jazz-influenced dance musical group active in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Members included (from left) Donald Early, William Mack (age 12), Charlie Sensabaugh on drums, Bobby Williams, Carl Lewis, and Lolita Young. (photo courtesy of William Mack)
Music has always been a part of the early brothers’ lives. Their love of music and performing continues today as they accompany the Union Baptist choir. Donald and Rodney share their talent every Sunday at their church.
Penny Dudley, manager of the Local History Center, conceived the “Bond” series when she began her position at the library in 2022.
The first event was “Bond of Family,” which featured descendants of the Buffalo Forge industrial and agricultural slaves. If one theme stood out above all others in the history of Buffalo Forge, it is the transcendent importance of family in the lives of the enslaved community and their descendants in Rockbridge County, said Dudley.
Next was “Bond of Faith,” which featured the story of Sam Williams, an enslaved man at Buffalo Forge who endured slavery with strength, dignity, and devotion to faith, family, and hard work. He was the first Black man to be baptized in the Lexington Baptist Church, now Manly Memorial Baptist Church. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Mount Lydia Church. Speakers talked about their connection to faith and sang impressive spiritual solos, said Dudley.
Last year, the library hosted “Bond of Friendship,” at which Maxine Gray presented her book “The Crows’ Post.” Her story described the bench where Black men could sit during the mid-20th century and talk openly with others without being judged.
Previous events in the “Bond” series have featured musical performances, but haven’t focused on music as much as “Bond of Rhythm” plans to.
Residence, Dudley explained, took many forms. For some, choosing not to attempt physical escape meant finding freedom in other ways. Singing was a “superpower” that freed their souls and told stories of flight, struggle, hope and justice, she said.
In the celebrated author Kwame Alexander’s book, “How Sweet The Sound,” he states that we should “Listen to the soundtrack of America, a symphony of refuse and redemption, the sweet sound of people surviving and thriving all the while learning to love themselves by singing it LOUD and PROUD.”
“Bond of Rhythm” will highlight the blending of songs and music that maintained African musical aesthetics while blending diverse traditions with stories of flight, struggle, hope, and justice.
“We need to learn from history, and we need to look inside ourselves,” Dudley said. “All these programs showcase the History Center’s belief that history has the power to connect, empower, and inspire. It is my hope that we all leave ‘Bond of Rhythm’ knowing that change can come from all people working together and singing in one voice.”
For more information about this weekend’s event, email Dudley at [email protected] or call (540) 258-2509.
MEMBERS of the group Charisma included (from left) Mark Craney, Rodney Early, William Mack, Pandora Dixon, Rodney Hubbard, Anthony Moses, and Donald Early. They performed locally from the 1970s through the 1990s.
PARKER
