Join Me In Celebrating "Black Music Month"

Please join me this June in celebrating "Black Music Month."

Memphis holds a special place in music's storied role in our nation's past, with the rich musical history of our city contributing significantly to the development of the American South. Stax Records, founded in Memphis 50 years ago, played a crucial role in soul music's rise to prominence. Its iconic status was recognized during the 2007 Grammys, when Stax co-founder Estelle Axton received the Trustee Award and Stax legends Booker T. and the M.G.'s received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, Wilson Pickett, Luther Ingram, Albert King, the Bar-Kays, Johnnie Taylor, and Rufus and Carla Thomas are just a few of the many singers and musicians who started at Stax and inspired me introduce H.RES.154, which recognizes Stax Records for enriching the nation's cultural life with "50 years of soul."

Whether inspired by the pain of slavery or the hope of freedom in our nation's youth or from the Civil Rights movement as African-Americans peacefully expressed themselves through song, music has long been a force in the cultural evolution of this nation. These songwriters created an unending catalogue of beautiful music and top-ten hits, as African-American music has provided our nation with years of soul-touching songs and heart-racing melodies. For this we can all look ahead to June and the memories Black Music Month will re-kindle in all of us.

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Contact:

Marilyn Dillihay, Press Secretary, Congressman Cohen (202) 225-3265