Front Row episodes
Mayor Harrell, in collaboration with community churches and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, presents a free concert celebrating the Juneteenth Federal holiday.
This concert celebrates and centers on African American Spirituals and the diverse musical traditions that have creatively evolved from them: gospel music, jazz, R&B, hip hop, and more. The concert’s artistic conductors guide listeners on a musical journey, embracing the shared musical culture that has functioned as both a tool of resistance and a source of hope for Black people and communities in opposition to centuries of racism and oppression, white supremacy, and their unrelenting assault on Black lives and bodies.
This concert elevates and connects us as a human community by uplifting music as core to the African American struggle for freedom and justice. This concert allows us to recognize how these historic struggles are mirrored in the challenges so many Americans still face today in pursuit of an honored purpose and place.
Speakers include:
- Sen. T'wina Nobles, 28th Legislative District
- Derrick Wheeler-Smith, Interim Director of Seattle Office for Civil Rights
- Mayor Bruce Harrell, City of Seattle
- Mayor Victoria Woodards, City of Tacoma
- Jamila Thomas, Chief of Staff to Gov. Jay Inslee
- U.S. Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, WA-10
Musical Conductor:
- Ramón Bryant Braxton
Co-Artistic Director:
- Dr. Stephen Michael Newby
Performers include:
- Soloman Howard
- Bridget Bazile
- Darin Atwater
- Brian Shaw
- Robin Henderson
