(NEWARK, NJ) -- On Saturday, July 2 from 8:00am-10:00am (Eastern) WBGO will celebrate the July 4th weekend by recognizing the importance of Rhythm & Blues in American culture during All Things Soul hosted by Former Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson. Secretary Johnson's guest this weekend will be American literary critic, professor, historian, and filmmaker, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Reflecting on the taping, host Johnson noted "Gates gave an energetic 22-minute interview about the historic significance of R&B," the musical focus of the All Things Soul series on WBGO.
“Our people needed to fight racism in a variety of ways. Not just by marching and protest but by producing great literature and art," Gates explained. “What contributions have Americans made greater than the Spirituals, Gospel music, the Blues, Ragtime, Jazz, R&B, and Soul? This is American culture.”
This episode of All Things Soul will include an rich array of songs chosen by Johnson, with a short commentary about July 4 from the host at the end.
All Things Soul with Jeh Johnson airs monthly on Saturdays 8:00am-10:00am during WBGO's new Rhythm and Song Weekend programming lineup, which includes the highly popular program Rhythm Revue with Felix Hernandez, as well as archival programs like Portraits in Blue and Blues Break. It's a classic mix of R&B, Jazz, Blues, and more! Special guests join Johnson to talk about their story with the music.
WBGO is a publicly-supported cultural institution that preserves and promotes jazz, blues, Latin jazz and classic rhythm & blues. From its home base of Newark, New Jersey, public radio station WBGO has long been an anchor institution in community engagement through its music and news programming, live performances and partnerships. WBGO reaches a diverse audience from its broadcast location in America's number one media market, the New York/New Jersey metro area. Through programs such as Jazz Night in America, produced in partnership with NPR and Jazz at Lincoln Center, the organization’s reach extends to millions more across the country, and around the globe through WBGO.org and the WBGO mobile app and social media plus Facebook Live broadcasts. WBGO is broadcast at 88.3 FM in the NY/New Jersey area and may be streamed from WBGO.org.
