During a special Women’s History Month edition of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D brought together three powerful voices in music and education: Dr Anne Lundy, Dr Jacqueline Pickett, and Bay Area educator and musician Linda Green. The conversation explored Black musical traditions, the overlooked role of Black women in classical music, and the way music continues to serve as a tool for memory, healing, resistance, and community building.
Davey D opened the discussion by framing a familiar problem. Too often, Black contributions to music are erased or detached from the African diaspora. He noted that many people can recognize a style, a dance, or even a symphonic form without realizing how deeply Black artistry helped shape it. From there, the guests unpacked how that erasure plays out in both classical and contemporary spaces.
Dr Anne Lundy shared her personal journey as a young Black violinist in Houston who rarely saw herself reflected in orchestral spaces. Though she earned three music degrees, she said she learned little about Black composers during her formal training. That absence led her to deeper study and eventually to a commitment to uplifting figures such as Chevalier de Saint Georges, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Florence Price, and Margaret Bonds. Lundy emphasized that Black children should not experience classical music as something foreign or imposed, but as something they can explore, play, and claim for themselves.
Dr Jacqueline Pickett expanded the conversation by grounding music in community. She described music as communication, vibration, and healing, linking Black musical traditions to survival under oppression. From the use of coded rhythms during slavery to modern therapeutic approaches involving bass and frequency, Pickett argued that music carries both historical memory and spiritual force. She also spoke passionately about Black orchestral spaces and the way Black musicians bring a lived cultural connection that can shape how music is played, felt, and understood.
Linda Green brought the discussion home to Oakland classrooms. As a teacher working with elementary school students and as a regular symphony performer, she described how young people open up through music when given room to create. Whether teaching blues, improvisation, or string technique, Green sees music as a tool for self expression, problem solving, and ownership.
Together, the three guests made one thing clear. Classical music is not fixed, closed, or owned by one group. It is evolving, expanding, and enriched by Black women whose work continues to reshape the tradition.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.