REMEMBRANCE • REFLECTION • RESILIENCE

Presented by Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial in Duluth and Walker West Music Academy in St. Paul

Join us for a performance about Black strength, history, and resilience featuring Twin Cities visual, spoken word, and musical artists.

6:30pm Central Time on FRIDAY, MAY 21st (find local time)

Free Streaming Concert with Sarah M. Greer (vocals), Anthony Cox (bass), Levi Schwartzberg (vibes), and Davu Seru (drums) Sarah M. with special appearances by Jayanthi Rajasa, Alicia Steele and Tish Jones and featuring original artwork by Miko Simmons.

“I am honored and grateful to be a part of this series recognizing the centennial of the lynchings of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie. As a Black artist, living in South Minneapolis at the time of the George Floyd murder (and now the Daunte Wright killing and Chauvin trial), I feel a connection to the Black people who lived during the time of the 1920 Duluth lynchings. I and the other Black artists I am privileged to have join this performance know what it is to experience the murder of a community member in our hometown. We come together to remember, to reflect and to remind ourselves of our resilience as we work toward a world when this resilience from racial terror will no longer be needed.” – Sarah M. Greer

6:00pm Central Time on FRDAY, MAY 21st (find local time)

Before the concert (at 6PM CDT), join Walker|West Music Academy moderator Sherine Onukwuwe and actor, vocalist and University of MN College of Liberal Arts Affiliate Professor, T. Mychael Rambo as they explore the role music plays in healing trauma and cultivating joy as part of a centennial commemoration of the lynchings of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie in Duluth, Minnesota.

“At Walker|West we strongly believe in the healing power of music. We have been through some challenging times throughout history. Those challenges continue, especially now — with a health crisis, social unrest and collective grief as we navigate systemic injustice. We know that through community we are resilient. We know that when we come together, we cultivate faith that the dark past taught us, filling ourselves with hope for the present. Walker|West is honored to host this event with CJMM in our virtual music hall.”

Sarah M. Greer (www.sarahmgreer.com) is a jazz vocalist, improviser and composer who released her album of original jazz music "What the Music Says Do" in 2018

Sarah performs regularly with a cappella ensemble Give Get Sistet (with Mankwe Ndosi, Jayanthi Rajasa, Alicia Steele, Kenna Cottman, Aimee Bryant and Libby Turner), numerous Twin Cities artists and musicians and guests with a variety of players in other projects and collaborations throughout Minnesota and around the world.

Sarah has performed numerous times at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, for NPR’s Talking Volumes (with Give Get Sistet) , opened for Take 6 (also with Give Get Sistet) and is a regular performer and founding member of Ebb N’ Flow, a collective of Black improvising artists in the Twin Cities.

A busy singer, educator and presenter, Sarah teaches singing and vocal improvisation to private and college students in the Twin Cities through lessons and vocal workshops. She is a member of the music faculty at Minneapolis College and coached students in the Northeast Middle School musical theater program for 10 years.

Sarah is the leader and creator of the community singing project Songtaneous and is a facilitator and song leader for Circlesongs MN, along with Barbara McAfee and Judi Vinar.

Sarah is passionate about every person’s right to sing and the power of singing to change the world.

Web: www.sarahmgreer.com, www.givegetsistet.com

The Give Get Sistet (www.givegetsistet.com) is an expandable improvisational chorus of women based in the Twin Cities with ties around the world. These women listen deeply and sing with great generosity and daring. Using a cappella singing and vocal improvisation, the Give Get Sistet entertains, educates, and empowers audiences and communities from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures.

Jayanthi Rajasa is an archivist songstress collecting songs that speak to her struggle and empowerment and ability to be, change, and move forward while honoring the unremembered changers and movers of yore. She sings for people passing worlds (new or old or hardly used – meaning births and children, hospice and funerals),  in many ensembles, and has the heart of a mother.

Alicia Steele is a seeker of expressive arts, finding joy in dance, visual and theater art, mainly finding a home in vocal performance – as long as it’s live. Alicia has love for improv, often finding outdoor or public spaces to sing/dance solo and with friends.

Tish Jones is a poet, educator, cultural strategist and cultural producer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. She has performed poetry in venues throughout the United States and is the founder and executive director of TruArtSpeaks, an arts & culture nonprofit. For more on Jones’ personal praxis, see her TEDxMinneapolis Talk on Spoken Word as a Radical Practice of Freedom. www.truartspeaks.org

Miko Simmons - Blurring the lines between art and technology, theater and cinema, media and medium, Miko Simmons is an international award-winning Multimedia Artist/Theatrical Projection Designer/ Composer who has been innovating in the convergence of digital techniques for Film, Animation and Theater for more than twenty years. Miko is now focused on reimagining the art gallery space in these pandemic times with his theatrically inspired paintings. www.moduslocusmpls.com

Formed in June 2000, the mission of Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, Inc. (CJMM) is to foster racial justice and promote healing and reconciliation in the Duluth community and beyond. The work of CJMM is the culmination of years of work from individuals — each in their own way — keeping alive the stories of what happened to Isaac McGhie, Elmer Jackson and Elias Clayton on June 15, 1920.