HBCUs: Nurturing the Next Generation of Music Educators Perspectives on the invaluable role of HBCUs and the future of music education H ow do you tell a big, complex, powerful, and important story in a few pages of a magazine? Maybe a good place to start is to realize that while there are overall themes and a storyline, it is real-ly about hundreds of thousands of stories that connect across space and time, shaped by a rich cultural heri-tage, generational mentoring, leader-ship, collaboration, and inspiration. This article shares a few perspectives from outstanding music education leaders who were profoundly impact-ed by their experiences at various 2Â÷ÿäó¡ÓÓė Ó¡ÐäÓÓ®º®÷ܧ wÜÂĐ®ó÷Âÿ®÷ɋ2 w÷ɌȷܧɃäóđ¿ä÷® Úą÷¡ÓÍäąóÜ®ė÷Ó®§ÿ¿®Úÿ䧮Đäÿ® ÿ¿®Âó¡ó®®ó÷ÿäºąÂ§Âܺ2 w÷ÿą -dents in the pursuit of excellence. There are many more inspirational ï®äïÓ®¡äÜÜ®¡ÿ®§ÿä2 w÷Ƚ5¸ėäą were or are a music education student äó¸¡ąÓÿėÚ®Ú®óÿÜ2 wܧ want to share a quote or story with NAfME about your experience, con-tact marcomm@nafme.org. Education from the University of VÐÓ¿äÚi¡¿ääÓä¸Lą÷¡ÂÜNäó -man. After serving as band director ÿÿ¿®Dï®®óiÿÿ®qóÂÜÂܺi¡¿ääÓÂÜ Lapeer, Michigan, he became Director ä¸ Ü§÷ÿÓÜėiÿÿ®ɋäÓÓ®º®Ɍ University in Albany, Georgia. Jones ÷®óĐ®§ÿÓÜėiÿÿ®ÂÜĐóÂäą÷ ¡ï¡Âÿ®÷¸äóșȜė®ó÷Ƚ2®¿÷®®Ü awarded a number of regional and national honors. In 2011, the school ÜÚ®§Âÿ÷Dė¡®ąÚi®ó®÷¸äó¿ÂÚȶq¿® qȽLó÷¿ÓÓ@äÜ®÷Dė¡®ąÚi®ó®÷Ƚ TM: How did you get your start as a musician and educator? JONES: When I was 5 years old, my blind uncle “JD” taught me a few chords on the guitar when people gathered at our home in Barbours-ville, Virginia. And later, my mother’s brother sent me a guitar. I always had a keen ear for what was played on the radio. Then, at my elementa-ry school — which had two rooms, with the upper room for grades 4–7 — my teacher gave me piano lessons. We need more music educators across the country at all levels to buy into the significance of studying African American music…We need to develop a broader scope of offerings, degrees with purpose and rationale, and good career paths. Why not have a full-blown degree focused on African American music, just as there has been for Western music? T. MARSHALL JONES Photo by Wilbur Wright T. MARSHALL JONES A native of Orange County, Virgin-Âȷ@äÜ®÷¿÷ ¡¿®Óäóä¸i¡Â®Ü¡® in Instrumental Music Education ¸óäÚÂóºÂÜÂiÿÿ®wÜÂĐ®ó÷ÂÿėÂÜ Petersburg, Virginia, a Master of Music from the University of Mich-ºÜi¡¿ääÓä¸Lą÷¡ÂÜÜÜóäóȷ Michigan, and a Doctorate in Music T. Marshall Jones (right) with his son (at the organ) and students at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia 22 TEACHING MUSIC JANUARY 2022 Andy Sacks / The Image Bank