Asian American Raffi: Where are you?
A month or so ago, I went with my future stepdaughter and fiancée to watch the Laurie Berkner Band, live in concert. We listen to the Laurie Berkner Band almost exclusively in the car. It pains me when I put in a Blue Scholars CD (yeah, I still buy CDs) and I’m promptly told that it isn’t kids music.
Thankfully, Laurie Berkner’s music is generally very catchy and up-tempo. She’s released five albums, which include such hits as “I’m Gonna Catch You,” “We Are The Dinosaurs,” and “Victor Vito.” I’m not ashamed to admit that I can sing some of her songs. Overall, the concert was fairly enjoyable. However, one thing bothered me about the show… the whole auditorium was filled with white people. There were no Asian people, no Black people, no Latino/as.
I asked myself why? Why were there were no people of color at this event? Was the music culturally inaccessible? After all, I would imagine we would see more POCs at a Disney-themed event. Though let’s not be fooled. The reason Disney showcases people of different ethnic backgrounds in their animated films is really to get more money from more people—it isn’t about diversity, it’s about money.
So the reason I came up with is that people simply don’t know her. It also got me wondering: where are all the POCs that do children’s music? I have to admit ignorance here, so please help me out! In particular, where are the Asian American pop musicians that make music for children? And no, Yo Yo Ma doesn’t count. Maybe if Asian American children are exposed to Asian American musicians at an early age, it will be natural for them to believe that they too can be musicians. After all, there are many Asian singers in Asia. Well, not really… because “there are no Asians in Asia.”
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Tags: children's music.
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