#black stories matter
Anyways happy Black History Month!
Remember to support Black people! Not just famous black people, but Black people in your everyday life. Elevate their voices. Listen to them. Black men, women and nonbinary people. Lightskin and darkskin Black people. Disabled Black people, Black people with all sorts of conditions.
Not just February, but every day of every month, every year.
Singer and songwriter Nina Simone wowed audiences as the “High Priestess of Soul” and an advocate for social justice. These inspiring quotes reveal her love and loyalty to the fight for change during the height of segregation:
✊ “It is an artist’s duty to reflect the times, as far as I’m concerned.”
✊ “Music is a burden and a gift I have had since my childhood.”
✊ “You got to learn to leave the table when love is no longer served.”
✊ “You don’t have to live near me; just give me my share of equality.”
✊ “The worst thing about prejudice is that while you feel hurt and angry, and all the rest of it, it feeds your self-doubts. You begin thinking, perhaps I’m not perfect.”––
PushBlack is a Black-led nonprofit dedicated to raising up Black voices. We are a small team but we have an outsized impact:
We reach tens of millions of people with our BLACK HISTORY STORIES every year.
We fight for CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM to protect our community.
We run VOTING CAMPAIGNS that reach over 10 million African-Americans across the country.
And as a non-profit, we can’t do it without you! Click here to subscribe to a small monthly donation to help support our work.
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The Cosmopolitan School of Music was the first Black owned and operated music school in the United States. Established in 1921, musicians Artie Matthews and his wife Anna Howard Matthews provided experience, training and education for hundreds of Black musicians seeking a career in music. The most notable musician to train at the Cosmopolitan School of Music was Frank Foster (1928-2011). Frank composed several pieces for orchestras and jazz ensembles all over the world and won 2 Grammy Awards for his musical arrangements.
Once located at 823 W Ninth Street in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cosmopolitan School of Music provided a wide range of classes to help Black students develop their musical talent. The classes offered were Language, Expression, Public School Music, Theory, Violin, Voice, Piano, Organ, Band/Orchestra and Ensemble and Natural Dancing.
A quote from W.P. Dabney’s book “Cincinnati’s Colored Citizens” quotes the Cosmopolitan School of Music as “One of its most highly prized privileges is the opportunity to share in the perpetuation and advancement of Black music and art.”
To view W.P. Dabney’s book, CLICK HERE to read it on our Digital Library!
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Reverend Edmund Harrison Oxley Sr. D. D. was born in Trinidad on January 30, 1881. He earned a senior Cambridge certificate at Queens Royal College before immigrating to the United States in 1903. He graduated from Harvard University in 1909, earning prizes in debate and elocution. When Reverend Oxley was called to serve at what was then St. Andrew Mission in 1912 there were 31 parishioners. Through his efforts the mission grew in membership and it became a corporate parish, recognized by the diocese. A new church building was planned and celebrated groundbreaking at 8th and Mound in 1915. Services for the community were also added: a nursery for free child care for working mothers, a free labor bureau and a branch of the Cincinnati Settlement School of music. As a community advocate he also provided leadership on various community committees aimed at providing services for the Black community.
Explore more on our Digital Library!
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