Welcome to the launch of the newly-redesigned website of the National Association for the Study and Performance of African American Music (NASPAAM).
NASPAAM is an organization founded over fifty years ago with an origin story that emerged out of protest and a dedicated purpose that remains resolute today—to advance the development and dissemination of African American Music through advocacy, education, and performance.
I invite you to explore our website documenting the organization’s history from its founding as the National Black Music Caucus (NBMC) during a 1972 Music Educators National Conference (MENC) National Biennial Convention held in Atlanta through NASPAAM’s legacy of programming for over five decades of national conferences, performances, publications, and symposia. Please also read the 2022 Proclamation presented by the National Association of Music Education (NAFME), formerly known as the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), in recognition of the organization’s 50 th Anniversary.
In the Introduction to The Power of Black Music, Dr. Samuel A. Floyd, Jr. speaks of his motivation for writing the landmark publication, stating that: “I have written this book not to chronicle black composers’ contributions to American culture but to discover and elucidate what makes this black music so powerful and moving and to share my explorations and conclusions with others who may want to know what I have come to know and believe.” NASPAAM provides a space for all who understand the inherent power of the music and the central place it occupies across all spheres of our culture and society.
Our membership has historically consisted of educators, performers, composers, and conductors, as well as scholars, theorists, musicologists, ethnomusicologists, and enthusiasts. Our Recruitment Drive for 2025 welcomes those whose expertise, practice, and interests focus on traditional, vernacular, folk, popular, classical, and/or contemporary forms of African American music across styles, genres, time, and place.
At this moment in our nation’s history, we invite you to become part of our collective efforts to ensure that the rich history, legacy, and contributions of African American music continue to be recognized, celebrated, and studied in educational and cultural institutions across our nation and the world. We see this moment as filled with promise as we look to the next generations, iterations, and innovations in the critical work yet to be done.
Thank you for your interest in the organization and for your consideration of how you might best contribute to the important work ahead. I invite you to take the first step in joining us by submitting your membership application today directly on our new website!
Sincerely,
Dr. Rosita M. Sands
Interim President, NASPAAM
National Association for the Study and Performance of African American Music
