From Ella to Beyoncé: New museum celebrates African American music

When Marquita Reed-Wright was hired to curate a new museum of Black music, she began amassing a unique catalog of artifacts. Among them: Ella Fitzgerald’s fur coat, Louis Armstrong’s trumpet, and an accordion that belonged to zydeco icon “Queen Ida” Guillory. She even drove to funk musician George Clinton’s home in “the middle of nowhere” of northern Florida so that he could hand her his stage costumes – including his rainbow-colored wig. 

The 1,500 items Dr. Reed-Wright has collected will be displayed at the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $60 million museum

A journey through historyA fusion of political and cultural power“All of us have a seat at the table”