I was here before I came and when I die, I am not leaving…
- Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon
Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, a multi-award-winning force and cultural voice for freedom, transitioned on July 16, 2024. As a scholar, singer, composer, organizer and activist, Dr. Reagon spent over half a century speaking out against racism and systemic inequities in the U.S. and globally.
Born in Dougherty County outside of Albany, Georgia on the 4th of October 1942, she was field secretary of SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) and a founding member of the original SNCC Freedom Singers, formed in 1962. In 1966, she was a founding member of the Atlanta-based Harambee Singers. In 1973, while a graduate student of history at Howard University and vocal director of the D.C. Black Repertory Company, Dr. Reagon founded the internationally renowned African American women’s a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey In The Rock, leading the group until her retirement in 2003.
In 1974, Dr. Reagon began her leadership role at the Smithsonian Institution, which included curating the African Diaspora Program, creating the Program in Black American Culture, and producing and performing on numerous Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. For a decade, beginning in 1993, she served as Distinguished Professor in History at American University (AU) in Washington D.C. Dr. Reagon was named Professor Emerita of History at AU and Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian. She is the author of numerous publications, compositions and recordings.
Dr. Reagon has received countless awards and honors for her pioneering work as a scholar and artist, including, the Heinz Award for the Arts and Humanities, the Leeway National Award for Women in the Arts, the Presidential Medal for contribution to public understanding of the Humanities, the MacArthur Foundation Genius Award and the Peabody award for the groundbreaking Wade in the Water series (NPR/Smithsonian Folkways).
Details regarding a public celebration of life forthcoming.
Photo Credit
Dr Reagon solo- Dana Penland
Toshi and Dr. Reagon- Bernie DeChant
Evelyn Harris and Kim Jordan reunite at Sisterfire after 40 years. They are joined by Michelle Lanchester, Marcia Gomes, and Yasmeen Williams.
42 years ago, Roadwork, a multiracial coalition of LGBTQ, social, and racial justice arts activists in Washington, D.C. created the Sisterfire festival. Walking in the footsteps of civil rights, labor, women’s, lesbian, and gay rights movements, Roadwork opened and transformed public life in all spaces and institutions. Today Sisterfire remains a cross-generational celebration of resistance, coalition, and emancipatory imagination, creativity, and performance in the arts. The future is what is happening right now.
Join us on Saturday, June 29 at the Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center at 6pm!
Founder and artistic director of the Heartbeat Music Project Ariel Horowitz speaks about the tuition-free programme offering music and Navajo (Diné) cultural education.
The Heartbeat Music Project will never erase the injustices carried out against Indigenous peoples. Yet, it seems to me that each small step is a moment of reparation’ - Sharon Nelson, executive director, Heartbeat Music Project and assistant professor of Diné Culture, Navajo Technical University.
Read more at /playing-hub/the-heartbeat-music-project-creating-a-community-of-music-and-dine-culture/16516.article
Join us in-person on May 14, at 6 p.m. at All Souls Church as we gather to lift up and celebrate Urvashi.
You are invited to offer a two-minute spoken or sung tribute. We will have foam board and art supplies if you want to provide a visual or written offering. There will be tables for sharing Urvashi-related mementos, photos, cards, etc. that will become part of the Roadwork Oral History Project. You can also bring information about upcoming community events and projects.
Our gathering will be also available via Zoom. Please register for Zoom at the link in bio! Once you have registered, you receive a link via email to join the meeting.
Sign language interpretation will be available upon request by contacting [email protected]
We warmly invite you to come together in community to grieve the passing and celebrate the life and legacy of our beloved Urvashi Vaid - an influential and unstoppable activist who spent years here in DC. Urvashi led us, collaborated with us, and loved and inspired us as she fought for LGBTQ rights and other progressive causes for more than four decades.
Urvashi was a pivotal force and inspiration in the Roadwork Community. She served as Roadwork’s Board Chair in the 1980’s and again in the 2000’s. Join us on May 14, 2023, as we gather to lift up and celebrate her life and legacy.
For more information, contact [email protected]
or Ericka Jones-Craven at [email protected]
Although The Kennedy Center's "advance tickets" are 'currently sold out' we've been assured that: "NO ONE will be turned away!" Show up and let's make this the BIGGEST Millennium Stage event ever! Help spread the word! Join us for this FREE performance.
SISTERFIRE LOVESONGS
Saturday, March 4th at 6pm
The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage
If you can’t join us in person…watch the free livestream on The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage Livestream. Link in bio!
Roadwork Presents: SISTERFIRE LOVE SONGS
Powerful Black, queer musicians from the DMV share their take on love songs in this round-robin style show. In alignment with Roadwork’s 45-year long mission of nurturing coalition building, SISTERFIRE LOVE SONGS honors the DMV's enduring Black arts activists who center love across movements and generations. In a world consumed with politics, what does it mean for Black queer artists to invite us to talk about love?
The Sisterfire Festival remains a cross generational celebration of resistance, coalition, and emancipatory imagination, creativity, and performance in the arts. Roadwork is so honored to have Be Steadwell curate this incredible line-up featuring Rebekah Lau’ren, Spirit McIntyre and Like Water.
Event is free! Saturday, March 4 at 6PM. The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
If you can't join us for SISTERFIRE LOVESONGS in person, you can watch the free live broadcast on YouTube, Facebook, or The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage Live Stream. Link in bio!
Sisterfire, a D.C. Women’s Festival From the ’80s, Is Being Resurrected This Weekend.
Sisterfire@40 : Fired Up to Transform the Future
TONIGHT at The Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage 6pm-7pm
You don't want to miss it! If you can't make it in person, you can watch the live broadcast on YouTube, Facebook, or at
The women’s festival Sisterfire debuted in 1982 at Takoma Park Junior High School as a fundraiser for Roadwork, a multiracial women’s arts organization that worked to foster cross-cultural connections between communities. From the very start, Sisterfire showcased an array of female artists with an emphasis on women of color, performers like Sweet Honey in the Rock and other musical activists who tackled social justice issues both local and global.
Sisterfire@40 : Fired Up to Transform the Future
TONIGHT at The Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage 6pm-7pm
You don't want to miss it! If you can't make it in person, you can watch the live broadcast on YouTube, Facebook, or at
#NicoleBarden (Co-MC of #Sisterfire ), is a Roadwork supporter who enjoys elevating the work of artists centering women, people of color, and LGBTQ people.
Join us at The Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage @6pm this Friday 6/17!
/.../2022/june/sisterfire/
***In person or Livestream!***
#Sisterfire was one of the clearest manifestations of the principles of Roadwork. The festival began as a one-day fundraising event in 1982 to offset the traumatic cuts to grassroots arts that were crushing us as Ronald Reagan’s policies took hold. The annual festival grew to be a concentrated celebration of the booking, production, and coalition work that we carried out year-round. 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
Join us at The Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage @6pm this Friday!
/.../2022/june/sisterfire/
***In person or Livestream!***
Photo: @tracychapmanonline was a coffeehouse performer when she appeared on the Sisterfire Crossroads stage in 1987
