The Source Material
Vol. 1, Father's Day Issue | June 15, 2025 -What four piano chords, a box of records, and hip hop taught me about grief, awakening, and inheritance.
CURATOR’S NOTE
Four piano chords.
A breath.
An exhalation.
They arrive in the summer of 1994.
I am 17, lying on my bed six days after my father died. A voice enters. Warm, measured. It sings about someone gone too soon. An upright bass walks underneath. Patient. Prayerful.
My stereo, a tower of black plastic with a three-disc changer, has been feeding me the expected soundtrack. Acoustic confessions. Orchestral promises. Screaming that matched what would soon happen inside my chest. Music I've played loud enough to convince myself it fits.
But these four chords refuse to compete with my grief. They exist alongside it.
The song ends. I press repeat. Then repeat again. My finger finds the button without thought. The way bodies remember what minds don’t register.
I've been listening to these 15 tracks for months. But now I'm hearing them differently. Something in this voice knows something about loss that I need to learn. Something about transformation that my 17-year-old self can't name but can feel calcifying in my bones.
Grief is not what I expected. It’s not just sadness or missing someone. It’s something else entirely. My body reaches for music that makes no logical sense but feels necessary.
What opens in me feels too large for language. I don't know why, but hearing these voices makes me think about my grandmother walking into that elementary school. About my mother in rooms where she was the only one. I just know that something connects them to this moment. To these chords.
The confusion leads me deeper into hip hop. Voices layering over Art Blakey. Not just using his music, but holding entire conversations with it.
The realization that Rick James made more money from a sample than he ever did from "Super Freak."
Maybe sounds don't belong to whoever made them first. Maybe they belong to whoever needs them most. Whoever can make them speak new truths.
But recognition doesn't always follow the music. Credit doesn't always flow where it should.
The album becomes my teacher. Interpretation becomes composition. How you can inherit someone else's melody becomes autobiography.
The voices teaching me this carry more than melodies. They carry techniques for transforming what breaks you into what sustains you. What sounds like artistic choice might actually be something bigger.
Months pass. The education deepens. Every voice that teaches me about transformation has paid for that knowledge.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe gave birth to Rock and Roll and died largely uncredited while white musicians built empires on her innovations.
Little Richard's screams became Elvis's whispers. His sexuality sanitized. His genius repackaged for safer consumption.
Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog" was never her signature song.
I remember my grandmother during one of her cleaning spells. Pressing my mother's 45s into my small hands. My mother didn't want to give them up. She probably still wouldn't. But my grandmother understood something about inheritance that transcends individual preference.
Years later, I hear Marvin Gaye's What's Going On echoing in Grandmaster Flash. The Supremes' vocal arrangements living inside hip hop harmonies. Stevie Wonder's synthesizer explorations speaking across decades to writers and music producers. The same creative DNA, passed down through hands and voices and studio sessions where there was no need to document the genealogy.
This is when I understand that my grandmother wasn't just saving records. She was preserving a conversation that had been happening long before I was born and would continue long after.
I knew I wanted to be a journalist. But I begin to understand I won’t just tell other people's stories. I’ll understand that storytelling is digging up what matters, what lasts, what connects us to something larger than ourselves.
In 1994, hip hop was 24. I was 17.
Both of us coming into what we were meant to be.
Four piano chords.
A breath.
An exhalation.
Six days after my father died, they taught me how to listen.
ONGOING EXHIBITIONS
Silver Linings
Harn Museum of Art | Through July 6, 2025
"Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection" brings together nearly forty remarkable works that showcase the depth and vision behind Spelman College's art collection. From the painterly innovations of the Spiral Group to the bold statements of contemporary photography, the exhibition unfolds across five thematic sections that invite visitors to explore connections between different artistic movements. The range of voices is impressive – influential figures like Faith Ringgold and Romare Bearden appear alongside groundbreaking artists such as Lorna Simpson and Firelei Báez. Working across painting, sculpture, collage, photography, and printmaking, these twenty-six artists represent different generations and approaches, yet together they reveal how an institution's commitment to collecting can create a powerful artistic legacy. These carefully preserved works don't just document creative achievement; they show how art becomes a conversation across time, speaking to both history and possibility.
Access:
Admission is Free
Tuesday-Saturday: 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday: 1 – 5 pm
Location: 3259 Hull Road, Gainesville
Contact: (352) 392-9826
Jax Contemporary
The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville | Through November 9, 2025
Fresh off its centennial, MOCA Jacksonville launches Jax Contemporary, a triennial exhibition spotlighting the depth and diversity of artistic talent across Northeast Florida. More than a showcase, the initiative deepens the museum’s relationship with its local arts community, offering professional development, curatorial dialogue, and a platform for exchange. Among the 64 artists featured are Deshonna Buchanan, Christopher Clark, Keith Doles, Overstreet Ducasse, Lenny Foster, Dustin Harewood, Marsha Hatcher, Erin Kendrick, Michael Rakim, and Princess Simpson Rashid—each bringing a distinct perspective to the region’s evolving visual language. With artist talks and public programs built into the run of the exhibition, Jax Contemporary opens space not only for viewing, but for conversation. In connecting the city’s creative voices to broader networks, the initiative affirms what MOCA has long believed: that contemporary art thrives when rooted in community—and when artists are seen not just as contributors to culture, but as architects of it.
Access:
Tuesday-Sunday, 11 AM-5 PM
Location: 333 North Laura Street
Jacksonville’s Norman Studios: Movie Posters from the Permanent Collection
Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens | Through December 6, 2026
Before Hollywood's rise, Florida was a hub for the early film industry, thanks to its favorable conditions. In the 1920s, Jacksonville native Richard Norman seized this opportunity, producing films featuring Black casts and protagonists that boldly challenged the status quo. Norman's innovative studio complex, now a historic landmark, stands as a testament to his trailblazing contributions to American cinema.
Access:
The museum opens at 12 PM Sunday
The museum is open until 9 PM Tuesday
Wednesday-Saturday, 11 AM-4 PM
Location: 829 Riverside Avenue
Contact: (904) 356-6857
The Museum Space
A.L. Lewis Museum at American Beach
The A.L. Lewis Museum showcases both permanent and rotating exhibits highlighting African American culture, history, and civil rights. Visitors can explore artifacts, photographs, and documents that illuminate the local community's profound influence on American history. Guided tours are highly recommended for a deeper understanding of the exhibits and the history they represent.
Access:
Friday-Saturday, 10 AM-2 PM
Sunday, 1 PM-5 PM
Visitors are encouraged to check the museum's website or call ahead for any schedule changes
Location: 1600 Julia St, American Beach
Contact: (904) 510-7036
The Road to Black History Runs Through Lincolnville
Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center
Step into over 450 years of history at the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, located within the heart of St. Augustine's historic Lincolnville District—once home to a community of freedmen who shaped the city's cultural landscape after the Civil War. Here, the rich story of Black history in Florida unfolds, from the ancient empires of West Africa to the early Black presence in colonial Florida, through to the powerful movements of the 20th century.
Access:
Sunday-Monday, 1 PM-4:30 PM
Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30 AM-4:30 PM
Location: 102 M. L. King Avenue, St. Augustine
Contact: (904) 824-1191
Lift Ev’ry Voice
Ritz Theatre & Museum
Discover the story behind "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," the beloved anthem composed by Jacksonville natives James Weldon and John Rosamond Johnson. Step into the vibrant "Harlem of the South" nightlife captured by photographer Ellie L. Weems. Experience the quiet resolve of Civil Rights protesters at a Woolworth's sit-in. These immersive encounters at the Ritz Museum connect you to the rich tapestry of Jacksonville's African American history and heritage.
Access:
Tuesday-Friday, 10 AM-4 PM (tickets must be purchased by 3 PM)
The museum is open until 8 PM Thursday
Location: 829 North Davis Street
Contact: (904) 632-5555
Eartha M. M. White Historical Museum and Gardens
Clara White Mission
The Eartha M. M. White Historical Museum and Gardens celebrates the legacy of Dr. Eartha White and her mother, Clara English White, two African American women who dedicated their lives to community service. Located in the historic Globe Theatre in LaVilla, the museum showcases Eartha White's lifelong work to empower underserved communities, featuring portraits, personal memorabilia, and artifacts from her numerous initiatives. The museum continues Dr. White's vision by preserving and sharing Black history and culture.
Access:
Location: 613 W. Ashley Street
Contact: (904) 354-4162
Works on Paper
Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
The Cummer Museum's collection of works on paper and photographs numbers approximately 2,200 objects, nearly a quarter of which are part of the Cornelia Morse Carithers Print Collection. Featuring works by celebrated artists, the collection includes the powerful visual narrative of Jacob Lawrence's The Migrants Cast their Ballots (1974).
Access:
The museum opens at 12 PM Sunday
The museum is open until 9 PM Tuesday
Wednesday-Saturday, 11 AM-4 PM
Location: 829 Riverside Avenue
Contact: (904) 356-6857
COMMUNITY SUBMISSIONS
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Deadline: Wednesdays at 5 PM
Turning on the light while the darkness of grief may looms over us with music, what a beautiful way to help us heal. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Music sets the tone for most lives. You can tell how their day is going by what song is playing. Saturday mornings growing up, I can remember gospel tunes going from the kitchen as my mom made breakfast, I knew we were about to clean and wash clothes! I also remember the night my mom died I got the call to come to the hospital, on the car radio Luther Vandross was singing “Here and Now” can’t remember how far into the song, but whenever I hear it since then, I get a funny feeling in my stomach. Music can make things better or make them a little uncomfortable. Life is a song… sing it in any key you like! Just SING!