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The Banjo's Hidden Roots in Black History | Richmond News
The banjo’s story is a powerful chapter in American music history — born in the Caribbean, shaped by African diasporic spirituality, and wielded as both sacred instrument and tool of racial stereotype. Author Kristina Gaddy uncovers this hidden legacy in her groundbreaking work, revealing how enslaved Africans used the banjo in rituals and rebellion, and how white musicians later co-opted it — often with damaging consequences. Her research, fueled by deep archival dives, even pushes back the banjo’s arrival in America, finding evidence of enslaved musician Pete playing it decades earlier than…
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