School Culture, Equity, and Diversity Advisory Committee

Music, Memory, Monuments: A Roundtable Discussion on Historical Names and Symbols

Since the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, there has been a heightened awareness in the United States of racism, white supremacy, and the destructive inequalities that have long plagued our institutions of higher learning. As part of the University of Miami’s efforts to advance racial justice, President Frenk formed a special committee last fall to review the naming and/or un-naming of campus buildings and spaces. Given our understanding that racist caricatures and demeaning stereotypes were used to promote and sell Henry Fillmore’s trombone compositions, the Frost School Culture, Equity, and Diversity Advisory Committee has called for the renaming of Fillmore Band Hall, one of our School’s most utilized rehearsal spaces. But calls to rename campus buildings and the outrage over recent acts of race-related violence are not reactions to novel phenomena. Rather, these connected concerns fit within a long history of grappling with social injustices that are systemic and ongoing.   

This moderated roundtable discussion explores the interplay of music, memory, and monuments—a trifecta of concerns centered on music as a tool for commemorating, celebrating, and challenging complex and often problematic historical narratives. As music students, teachers, and practitioners, how might we best come to terms with musical “flags” and symbols of an inglorious past tied to canonic repertories and/or “beloved” historical figures? In light of first amendment freedoms, how do we position ourselves in relation to cultures of cancellation and/or historical “erasure”? And what pedagogical and/or performative interventions, if any, should we be making as we strive towards the ideals of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging both in the Frost School and our broader communities?

The first Town Hall was for current Frost students. More than 150 participated and submitted thoughtful, and provoking questions, comments, and suggestions, some of which our panel was able to respond to in real-time, and some were not able to be addressed during the time frame. However, the comments and questions are being shared throughout the faculty and staff leadership of the school who are helping to plan sustained short-term and long-term initiatives. For this, we are grateful.

This town hall was initially planned for alumni only, but in a revised format we are including alumni, students, faculty, and staff. In this session, we will take our lead from alumni, as your insights, thoughts, comments, and suggestions will be invaluable to our improvement. Let us know what we can do better, and how our systems and structures can better engender trust, inclusion, and wellbeing.

The Frost School of Music acknowledges and condemns the legacy of racism, values the dignity of all life, and stands in solidarity with the black community. We are committed to co-creating a caring, equitable, and compassionate world through sustainable long-term structures of curriculum, programming, and a culture that continues to raise awareness and learning of black lives because they matter. 

We support digging deep, listening deep, and understanding, followed by action. As a first step, the Frost School invites you to a private virtual town hall, Undoing Racism: Frost Listens.

As the first in a series, this is exclusively for current and new Frost students.