‘1619,’ Episode 3: The Birth of American Music

<p>Today on “The Daily,” we present Episode 3 of “1619,” a New York Times audio series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones. You can find more information about it at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/podcasts/1619-black-american-music-appropriation.html" target="_blank">nytimes.com/1619podcast</a>.</p><p>Black music, forged in captivity, became the sound of complete artistic freedom. It also became the sound of America. Guest: Wesley Morris, a critic-at-large for The New York Times.</p><p><em>This episode contains explicit language.</em></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>“The proliferation of black music across the planet — the proliferation, in so many senses, of being black — constitutes a magnificent joke on American racism,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/music-black-culture-appropriation.html" target="_blank">Wesley Morris writes</a>.</li><li>The “1619” audio series is part of The 1619 Project, a major initiative from The Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html" target="_blank">Read more from the project here</a>.</li></ul>