Speakers

Gary Hines
Founder and Director

Grammy Award-Winnning
Sounds of Blackness (Minneapolis, MN)

Since January 1971, the Grammy Award winning Sounds of Blackness have consistently performed, recorded and proudly proclaimed the music, culture and history of African Americans to audiences around the world. The Sounds of Blackness have embraced and presented every “sound of blackness”: Jazz, Blues, Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues, Gospel, Reggae, Ragtime, Spirituals, Work songs and Field Hollers. On three occasions, Sounds of Blackness has peformed for audiences of over one billion people: the Opening Ceromonies of the 1994 World Cup, the 1996 Summer Olympics, and the 1998 World Figure Skating Championships. The group has also performed at the White House on five separate occasions.