Keeping the steel beat
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Marietta College held an event Thursday evening to educate the community on West African drumming and how it influenced America.
The Marietta College Office of Diversity & Inclusion hosted the Roots of Rhythm drum workshop at The Gathering Place on campus Thursday evening. The workshop was led by Lawrence R. Greene.
According to Marietta College Director of Diversity and Inclusion Tony Mayle, Greene has taught drumming for over 20 years and he and his drumming group have played at festivals around the area.
"The national theme for BHM this year is African Americans and the arts. Therefore, Roots of Rhythm was a perfect way to close out Black History Month. Lawrence Greene is very knowledgeable on local African American and Native American histories," Mayle said.
Greene and his group played djembe and djun drums and taught people who attended how to play some West African rhythms on the drums.
He also taught them how to dance to the beats. Drums were provided for anyone that did not bring one.
Greene talked about West African drumming's influence on American music.
He told attendees that the first American music, jazz, evolved from West African drumming and music. Jazz in turn influenced several other American music forms, including blues.
Freshmen Cady Hendershott and Abigail Brannen, both music therapy majors, attended the workshop.
Hendershott said the workshop was "really helpful for my major."
Brannen agreed it was helpful and said that she attended "to really grow some skills."
Greene grew up in Cincinnati and moved to Athens County over 20 years ago. He noticed the differences in an area that was mostly white as opposed to Cincinnati, which was majority black. He started studying West African drumming as a way to learn about Black history and to fight racism he said.
"For me it was cultural and spiritual and also religious," Greene said about drumming.
Greene hosts drumming groups at retirement homes and schools, for people in recovery and people with developmental disabilities.
He also offers regular classes in Washington, Athens and Vinton Counties in Ohio and Wood County in West Virginia, according to Mayle.
A lot of things are focused on race instead of culture, Greene said, and having people of a certain skin color doing something is not necessarily embracing a culture.
Greene said he participated in the workshop as a way to let people know there are drum classes and because a lot of people don't realize the influence African culture had on African American culture.
Greene will be teaching a drumming class for adults at the Emerson branch of the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library at 6 p.m. on March 18. People can call 304-420-4587 to register.