Special Presentation #4 (Lunch& Learn) - Brassroots Democracy: How Jazz Shaped Freedom in the Atlantic World
BILLSpecial Presentation | Registration opens 1/1/2026 12:00 AM
Brassroots Democracy: How Jazz Shaped Freedom in the Atlantic World
By Ben Barson, Bucknell University
Drawing from the presenter’s book Brassroots Democracy, this talk explores how brass bands and Black musical communities in New Orleans forged new forms of democracy and resistance in the 19th century. Through music, ritual and collective joy, these communities created spaces of freedom that challenged slavery, segregation and empire. The presentation will trace how these traditions reverberated through time—from the Reconstruction era to the global struggles for liberation that jazz inspired.
Assistant Professor BEN BARSON in Bucknell’s Department of Music is a saxophonist, historian and also an affiliated faculty member in the University’s Latin American Studies program. His work explores the intersections of jazz, Black freedom movement and environmental thought across the Americas. His book Brassroots Democracy: Maroon Ecologies and the Jazz Commons (Wesleyan University Press, 2024) was recently recognized with the Robert M. Stevenson Award from the American Musicological Society.
BILL Special Presentations are free and open to the public; no membership is required. These programs can provide an introduction to BILL, so please, join us. Special Presentations explore a range of topics with distinguished presenters.
This term, all of the Special Presentations have been scheduled at the Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village Commons, 6 Tressler Blvd., Lewisburg. This Lunch & Learn presentation will begin at noon. Registered attendees may arrive as early as 11:30 a.m. to enjoy social time before the program begins. You are also welcome to eat your lunch at one of the tables set by the Village. If you would like to order your meal from the Village ($14), be sure to register separately for the program, "Special Presentation #4 Lunch Order" no later than noon on May 1, 2026.
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