Exhibition at Widener Library exploring how Philadelphia's Black press covered and promoted jazz in the 1940s-1960s, curated by Jubilee School students.
The Word is the Music: The Black Press Digs Deep Into Philly's Jazz Giants is on view at Widener Library through Sunday, October 25. It's an exhibition curated by students from Jubilee School that looks at the Philadelphia jazz scene from the 1940s through the 1960s, focusing on how the city's Black press covered and promoted the music during those decades.
The show traces the work of Black papers like the Philadelphia Tribune, School, and Nite Scene, and how they wrote about John Coltrane and the wider community of jazz musicians who were building the city's sound from the ground up—long before Coltrane became a household name. Archival ephemera from those papers sits alongside original writing and artwork by the Jubilee students, which helps put the Black press's role in bringing Black music to the community into context.
It's part of the North Philadelphia History Festival: The John Coltrane Edition, a multi-site celebration of Black and Puerto Rican cultural history in North Philadelphia. The festival is supported by the William Penn Foundation, Senator Vincent Hughes, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the People's Media Fund, and the City of Philadelphia.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Philadelphia and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
You can find the exhibition at Widener Library, 2808 West Lehigh Avenue (28th & Lehigh Ave.), Philadelphia, PA 19132-3296. It runs now through Sunday, October 25.
