Respect Her Crank!

Energetic text reading "Respect Her Crank: Sounds of Blackness”

Black music has the ability to lullaby listeners with melodic whispers, unearth pain with crying keys, and bring bodies to their feet in celebration with breakbeats. The range in sound and emotion within Black music is driven, in part, by the ingenuity of Black women. ARTLAB’s latest series, Respect Her Crank!: Sounds of Blackness, explores the roles of Black women in American music history through weekly virtual workshops in music production, songwriting, graphic design, and surprise workshops from community partners. 

Respect Her Crank!: Sounds of Blackness workshops are tailored for educators (but open to all) on Tuesdays and exclusively for teens on Thursdays. Do not miss out on this groundbreaking opportunity to learn about Black women’s contribution to music. Select the links below to learn more about each set of workshops, operating from February–June 2021.

ASL interpretation is provided at all Thursday workshops. If you require ASL for a Tuesday workshop, please contact hirshhornexperience@si.edu.

Respect Her Crank!: Producing Sounds of Blackness
First Tuesdays and Thursdays of the month
4:00–5:30 pm

Respect Her Crank!: Writing Sounds of Blackness
Second Tuesdays and Thursdays of the month
4:00–5:30 pm

Respect Her Crank!: Designing Sounds of Blackness
Third Tuesdays and Thursdays of the month
4:00–5:30 pm

Respect Her Crank!: Creating Sounds of Blackness
Fourth Tuesdays and Thursdays of the month
4:00–5:30 pm

This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative.