THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTIST

On A Quest To Promote

Positive Images Of Classical Music To African American Kids

“U.S. Orchestras Gradually Diversify but Are Slow to Hire Black Musicians

The number of Asian and Latino players has risen over the past decade, according to a new report. But Black musicians are still scarce, especially at large orchestras.

American orchestras, which have come under scrutiny in recent years for their lack of diversity, have made some inroads in hiring more Asian and Latino players over the past decade. But according to a new study, they have barely moved the needle in addressing the persistent dearth of Black musicians.

Over all, people of color now make up about 21 percent of orchestra players nationwide, according to a study by the League of American Orchestras, up from 14 percent in the 2013-14 season. But the study found that the share of Black players, who have long been underrepresented, barely shifted, rising to 2.4 percent from 1.8 percent.” Except Taken from The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/16/arts/music/orchestra-diversity.html

James Russell is an Artist who has been inspired to create two African-American characters AfroKid-1 and BB Blue who are representative and symbolic of African-American kids playing classical music. He wanted young people to be able to see themselves playing classical music using a variety of instruments and to inspire those who want to be classically trained to follow their dreams. Below we hear more about the inspiration behind the man who created the characters AfroKid-1 and BB Blue.

What is the inspiration behind Afrokid-1?

Mr. Robert Watt a retired orchestra, French horn player! He is one of the first African-Americans who played in an orchestra as a French horn player. He saw one of the characters I had created and asked me if it was possible to put a French horn in this character’s hand and I did so because of the respect I have for Mr Watt. I didn’t know much about the French horn until I met him, and he supported me in understanding more about the instruments by sending me references to which I researched on Pinterest and then I created my first piece for the Afro kid.

Why is it important for young people to see images and representations of who they are culturally?

Mr. Watt is now retired, and still mentors kids playing the French horn. He was the one who told me, after he saw the piece I created, how important it was for our kids and I mean African-American kids to see themselves in this way! Prior to that I had no idea there were that many African-American kids playing classical music.

Your images showcase Afrokid-1 and BB Blue playing a variety of classical instruments, why did you choose classical music as a genre to showcase to young black kids?

In the process of drawing the Afrokid-1 holding the French horn, I asked Mr. Watt how many instruments there were in an orchestra and his response was, depending on what selections they are doing, there were between 13 or 14 different instruments or sections of instruments. So I had an epiphany one day whilst getting a bunch of references from Mr. Watt, to draw this kid playing all the instruments and in doing so I learned so much about the instruments. After I got past four or five instruments with the male character AfroKid-1, I decided to share some of my work with certain individuals, who liked the images however, I kept being asked what about having a girl character. At the time I was thinking about the harp and I was going to draw the AfroKid-1 with a harp, however Mr. Watt informed me that traditionally the harp is played by a woman, so this was the opportunity to bring in AfroKid-1’s sister, who I named BB Blue.

What is the fundamental message of your work?

The fundamental message is to bring awareness to African-American kids that are playing classical music or who want to get into classical music. I had no idea that there were so many African American kids playing classical music. I guess mainly because the majority of people playing classical music are white people and Asians. I believe they still dominate, and based on what I understand, the percentage of African-Americans in the whole entire scene equals between 1%-2% no matter how good or talented they may be. A lot of this was down to lack of accessibility, racism and lack of diversity.

Therefore, because this was bought to my attention, it was important for me to produce characters for African-American kids who are playing classical music, or who want to play classical music, who I felt needed to see these images of themselves. Because there are no images of themselves, like the ones I have created, in this arena!

How long have you been working on this project?

One year and eight months. I started in 2022 and finished on September 15 2023, on my youngest son‘s birthday

What has it been like to create this project and how has it inspired you?

At first, I couldn’t see the vision fully, even though I had mentioned I’d had this epiphany of the Afrokid-1 and his sister, playing all these instruments! But when I pulled up a diagram on the symphony or the orchestra, and of all the different instruments, the list seemed to be so much bigger than what I anticipated.

After I got to the 7th and 8th instrument, I started to see the vision evolve and for me personally, I knew I had to get this project finished. Initially it was such an enjoyable process - what I mean is the journey from the idea in my head to transferring it to my tablet. Also, bear in mind the amount of time it took me to finish this project, because I also have a 9 to 5 job and in between it all, I had a lot of personal stuff going on.

So how has working on this project inspired me? I remember at the beginning, the first several instruments and designs were easy and exciting. I was excited about the Jimmi Hendrix reference, the character sitting on the piano with a guitar. However, as I got further into the project, where I had to complete the last four or five drawings in order to finish, it became harder to complete. I had so many different distractions going on in my life with things popping up out of nowhere - some major distractions! I remember one particular night I was praying and asking God to allow me to live long enough to finish the project and I promised him that when I did, to let the chips fall where they may - but to just let me finish. Now that I’ve completed everything, I feel good, like OG James Brown, but more than that, I feel empowered.

What do you want young black people to realize about themselves and their potential, by seeing themselves represented in the way you have portrayed them in your work?

First and foremost for them to ‘see’ themselves! The representation of themselves. I want them to imagine, to dream, to open up their minds to something different that they may not have thought about before! To see an instrument that catches their eye and to be curious enough to enquire ‘what is that instrument?’ and then to want to play it, to give it a go. I want to plant a seed of a possibility, to inspire young people, because if they could be influenced by my poster, to pick up an instrument, to discipline themselves to learn it, enough to be able to look back one day to say ‘I remember that little AfroKid-1 or BB Blue playing the clarinet or the violin or the cello or whatever instrument, wouldn’t that be cool? .

What to you is the importance of creating a legacy and what is the legacy you feel you are here to create?

I would hope that my family and friends would be proud of what I have accomplished. My sons most importantly, will hopefully remember the days when they would see me up late, drawing in my little closet!

Hopefully it will encourage them to pursue their dreams no matter how long it takes for them to accomplish them. If I could do it, then they can do it too.

We all have gifts that God has blessed us with. If we are fortunate enough to find and know what those gifts are, to harness, cultivate and to use them. If we can learn to continue to grow, to learn from whatever that gift is, it’s a wonderful thing.To me it’s about emptying yourself. I mean really emptying yourself like a tank! if we can do this and then multiply our gifts, then we have not wasted them, and we are not taking those gifts to the grave, because we have emptied ourselves! That’s life’s journey, and in the process of that journey you’re sharing your gifts with the world and not depriving the world of your greatness, as you also help others with your gifts! This is about being the greatest version of yourself, which is easier said than done, but the cool thing is we have a lifetime to figure it out!