NGOMA! & The Evolution of African American Music
- Bruce A. Henry
- May 2
- 3 min read
Updated: May 6
Welcome to the first issue of Ngoma!, the official blog of our new nonprofit 501c3 organization, The Evolution of African American (EVAAM). We have been busy in our foundational year establishing our mission, website, board structure, and funding initiatives. We welcome you to learn more about us and join the love train––the movement to educate, preserve, and accurately represent the history of African American music.
Bruce A. Henry created the Evolution of African American Music because he believes African American music carries wisdom about survival, joy, creativity, and community. It carries in its DNA the tradition of building community while empowering the individual. These cultural traits, inherited from our African ancestors, are deeply needed today.
EVAAM was established to pay tribute to the legacy of our ancestors, celebrate those performing and creating today's history, and ensure the heartbeat or DNA of African American music echoes through every generation.
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Ngoma is a Swahili and Bantu term meaning "drum", but covers traditional music, dance, and singing across East, Central, and Southern Africa. Particular rhythms of the drum represent ancestral voices and spirits. Ngoma connects us to ancestry, creates community, and teaches history. The purpose of the EVAAM blog is to echo the intent of ngoma by highlighting happenings, offering bits of history, informing community, and inviting you to, in the words of The O'Jay's, Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff, join the "Love Train."
"People all over the world (everybody)
Join hands (join)
Start a love train, love train"
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Last fall, we premiered one of core products Singing Our Story: Community Sings at the 2026 Folk Alliance Regional Midwest (FARM) Showcase in Naperville, IL. Approximately 25 music performers and industry experts were in attendance. Ellen Stanley the conference Director, Folk Alliance Region Midwest said, “The workshop presented by Bruce Henry was truly transformational for those in attendance.
For African American History month, we presented several "informances" of the Evolution African American Music over three hundred students of Cook County School District 104. One of our performances was at the childhood school of Emmett Till - Wharton Elementary which in Argo, IL.
We closed out African American History Month in Columbus, Indiana with a joyful Singing Our Story: Community Sings at the Historic Calvary, Community. Our performance was sponsored by Bartholomew County Public Library and the Black History Columbus Committee.
LOOKING AHEAD
We are currently planning two gala introduction events: one in Minnesota and one in Chicago. This summer, we will also launch our inaugural Evolution of African American Music Camp.
This July we will present a Singing Our Story: Community Sings presentation at Burnside Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois.
Curriculum materials are being updated and will soon be available for purchase through our new website.
LEGENDS OF THE MUSIC
Francis "Frank" Johnson
(1792-1844)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
African American Bugler, Band Leader & Composer
Frank Johnson was a pioneering musician and composer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in the 19th century, Johnson became the first African American to publish sheet music and has over 200 published compositions. He was the first Black musician, and perhaps the first American musician, to tour Europe with a band, including a performance at Buckingham Palace for Queen Victoria. A talented fiddle player, Johnson was a virtuoso on the keyed bugle. As a band leader, Johnson added white musicians, creating some of the first interracial musical performances in the United States. Johnson is sometimes known as a forefather of jazz and ragtime.
Famous Works: Bingham’s Cotillion (first known piece), The Grave of the Slave, Recognition March on the Independence of Haiti, The New Bird Waltz, Honor to the Brave and Philadelphia Firemen’s Cotillion
Frank Johnson’s Compositions (sheet music)
Sources: Penn Libraries (University of Pennsylvania), The Library of Congress
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT OUR WORK
(EVAAM) exists to preserve, teach, and activate 400 years of African American music—not as history locked in the past, but as a living tradition that continues to shape who we are today. Your support, whether a one-time gift, a year-end contribution, or ongoing monthly support, helps us bring this music to life through education, performance, and community connection.
When you give to EVAAM, you are not just supporting programs. You are helping keep a living cultural legacy alive by helping artists teach, providing resources for communities to gather, and reminding people who we are through song.
Bruce A. Henry is the founder and executive director of Evolution of African American Music. He believes African American music carries wisdom about survival, joy, creativity, and community. It carries in its DNA the tradition of building community while empowering the individual.
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