Former Sharecroppers' Granddaughter to Speak to Newtown Quakers

dr. tonya thames taylor, Associate Professor of History, West Chester University

Granddaughter of Former Sharecroppers to Speak to Newtown Quakers on Music and Protest

dr. tonya thames taylor will speak on Music, Protest, Discontent, & the Peace Testimony at the Newtown Quaker Meetinghouse, 219 Court Street, at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday, February 10. (http://www.newtownfriendsmeeting.org). Following the presentation, there will be worship in the manner of Friends at 11:00 a.m., with people speaking out of the silence as they are moved to do so. The public is welcome at all events.

dr. taylor will discuss the role of music in protesting events such as the killing of Medgar Evers in 1963, the murder of four black girls in Birmingham, AL, at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church just a few years later, the Vietnam Draft, lynchings and the convict lease system in jails, featuring such artists as Nina Simone, Billie Holiday Raiford Penitentiary’s black convicts in Florida, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

taylor says, “This conversation will explore music from nineteen-century convicts to today’s Kendrick Lamar; it shows how music transmits the values and identities of peace testimonies as it generates political mobilization….Participants will take away how music, including classical, can influence today’s testimonies, actions, and activism”.

tonya thames taylor, a Mississippi native, is Associate Professor of History (American) at West Chester University, founding director of the African American Studies Program, member of the Executive Committee of the Frederick Douglass Institute and serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends Historical Association and Friends Publishing Corporation. She is an active member of the American Association of University Women (AAWU), the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), and the Board of Directors for the People’s Hall in Ecuridoun PA, which was built by Quaker abolitionists, and is a Sustainer Member of the Junior League of Philadelphia.

Newtown Friends Meeting, co-founded by the Quaker artist and minister, Edward Hicks, in 1815, holds services every First Day (Sunday). During the school year, First Day classes for children and adults are at 9:45 a.m. and Meeting for Worship is at 11:00 a.m. Professional childcare is provided. Child Care is provided, and coffee and snacks are served in the Gathering Room after meeting for worship. All meetings are open to the public and visitors are warmly welcomed.