This keynote considers the work of 20 activist-musicians—individuals who identify as both activist and musician—and explores the ways in which music educators could construct an activist music education in K-12 schooling. A key question I asked in interviewing these activist musicians encouraged them to think about, given their activist music-making, what they would have liked to have had in their own public school programs. This keynote proposes tenets of an activist music education rooted in the work of activist-musicians. These tenets of an activist music education pedagogy are based on align with the ideas of critical pedagogy as initially imagined by Freire (2000/1970) and extended and challenged by other scholars (see for example Bowers & Apffel-Marglin, 2005; Darder, 2017; Darder, Baltodano, & Torres, 2009; Ellsworth, 1989, 1997; Freire, Fraser, Macedo, McKinnon, & Stokes, 1997) and by Freire himself (Freire, 1998; Freire et al., 1997) since the initial time of writing. In putting forward an activist pedagogy, I consider where this activist music education aligns with and differs from principles of critical pedagogy.

Activist-musicians engage in an artistic practice, while simultaneously working for social change in some way. This keynote paper explores their musics and philosophies, positioning these activist-musicians as catalysts for change in music education. Building on their work, I outline a tri-faceted pedagogy for activist music education that emerges from activist-musicians’ assertions about music education. I explicate a pedagogy of community based on activist-musicians’ emphasis on connectivity, a pedagogy of expression rooted in both honoring lived experiences and sharing them through music, and a pedagogy of noticing that emerges from activist-musicians’ work on questioning and critical thinking. Combining these pedagogies sets the conditions for future activism among youth, and offers a practical enactment of critical pedagogy for music education. The 20 activist-musicians provide important considerations of ways in which music education may embolden youth to challenge oppressive ideologies, to connect to one another and to others more removed from their realities, as well as honoring and sharing their own lived experiences. Activist-musicians put forward music education as connective, communicative, and critical. Listening to their voices in turbulent social times (given their work supporting identity politics) speaking out against oppression, and using music to share important stories, provides a way forward for music education in a manner that supports voices with the least amount of privilege, while heightening awareness among more privileged students of oppressions faced by others. Drawing on these tenets of an activist music education put forward by activist-musicians, I conclude with a discussion of the ways this work could matter in this charged political moment.

References

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