PODCAST: Inside Berklee—Larry Watson

Larry Watson talks about his work at Harvard, the resilient messages of African-American music, and the power of shedding light on secrets.

August 3, 2015

Before Martin Luther King Jr. would speak, a friend's teenage daughter—named Aretha Franklin—would often take to the podium and sing, engaging the audience and preparing it to hear King. In this tradition, Larry Watson, a professor in Berklee's Ensemble Department, sings before speeches at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School, where he serves as artist-in-residence. Not too long ago, he sang in front of Trayvon Martin's grieving mother. Music, says Watson, is both a healing tonic and a powerful tool that has always been closely tied to social issues.

Watson, who teaches popular Berklee courses such as Motown and African American History, Music, and Culture, is a sought-after performer and recording artist, an author, and an esteemed community activist.

In this episode of Inside Berklee, he talks about his work at Harvard, the resilient messages of African American music, and the power of shedding light on secrets.

Producer: Kimberly Ashton
Engineers: Taylor Gilbertie and Steven Xia
Recorded at the BIRN Studios