Instrument of the State: A Century of Music in Louisiana’s Angola Prison
Ben Harbert, Georgetown professor of music, details the musical and political legacy at Angola Prison, a sprawling institution with a storied past tracing back to its origins as a former slave plantation purchased by Louisiana in 1901. A rich musical heritage lies within its fences, investigated in Harbert’s compelling 100-year history of incarcerated musicians: Instrument of the State: A Century of Music in Louisiana’s Angola Prison (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn about the previously unacknowledged musicians and bands, each weaving their stories into Angola’s history, where music can be a lifeline for prisoners, albeit one subject to the administration’s discretion, local economies, and state politics. Within the intertwined spaces of incarceration, politics, and the evolution of music in the twentieth-century American South, this talk offers insights into the transformative power of jazz within Angola Prison, particularly during the tumultuous decades of the 1950s and 1960s.
Reception to follow the talk and Q&A. This is a free event- registration is required.
Friday, March 15, 4:00–6:00
Copley Formal Lounge
Georgetown University
3700 O St. NW