Ribbon in the Sky: Soul, Funk, and the Enduring Power of Black Art
Drawing from the musicians who have inspired William Villalongo’s work, from Nina Simone to Steve Wonder to George Clinton, this lecture will be about how the greatest African-American musicians of the 1960s and 1970s both chronicled the social activism of the time and inspired activists and artists alike to the present day.
Alexander Shashko is a Lecturer in the Department of African American History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he teaches classes on the history of Black popular music from the blues to hip-hop, and the history of the Civil Rights Movement. He is a Wisconsin native and a voter for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
This talk is part of the Badger Talk series, which reflects our tradition of the Wisconsin Idea — to extend the resources of the university to citizens of the state. Over 200 Badger Talks are hosted around the state each year, featuring faculty and staff with expertise in a variety of disciplines. Talk topics range from cutting-edge discoveries to happiness in the workplace and everything in between.
