The Emancipation of Music in Higher Education

At some point during the black power movement, my parents decided that our family would observe the first day of the new year as Emancipation Day, the day on which President Lincoln issued his Proclamation in 1863.  Over the past year in this column, I have addressed the need for our field to undergo emancipations of all sorts, including that from gender disparity, racial bias, and homophobia and extending to the release from transphobia, ableism, and preoccupation with status and prestige.  Music in higher education continues to evolve or distance itself from its blind spots, prejudices, and sedimented notions of who is a musician or who gets to be a music major or serve as a member of our faculties.  There are hope-filled signs that for many, these issues are front and center in their consciousness and are inspiring activism in the field.