Africana Studies

American Roots Music Program

Berklee Global Jazz Institute

"It is my understanding that until now, students have learned quite a bit about how to perform black music or have studied black music forms, quite expertly, but they have not been immersed in the culture of African and African American people. At Berklee, they can now."

–Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Sweet Honey in the Rock

Visiting Artists and Scholars

Africana Studies works to bring prominent clinicians, artists, scholars, and educators to engage with our faculty and students. These visits are instrumental in exploring and supporting research and faculty development in black music studies. Africana Studies also works to enhance and bring visibility to existing Berklee courses in black music, increase student participation in these studies, as well as strengthen faculty bonds and interests through cross-departmental partnerships. Africana Studies produces Berklee’s Black Music Programming Concert/Lecture Series, the Warrick L. Carter Lecture, and supports and coordinates various educational clinics, internships, research projects, and visiting scholars.