Published: Feb. 8, 2022

Flutist, educator, composer and director Galen Abdur-Razzaq to perform and discuss how jazz musicians helped advance civil rights


A noted flutist and scholar will perform and discuss the intersection of jazz and the Civil Rights Movement this month.

Galen Abdur-Razzaq

Galen Abdur-Razzaq, noted flutist and scholar, will speak at CU Boulder on Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.

“Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement,” a University of Colorado Boulder lecture and musical performance featuring Flutist and Lecturer Galen Abdur-Razzaq, is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and is being held remotely. You can register for the event at this Zoom link.

Abdur-Razzaq will chronicle the history of music from the turn of the century to now, highlighting various artists, their music and their struggles.

He will also discuss how jazz became a tool for advocacy in the Civil Rights Movement, when proceeds from jazz concerts were used to finance major events such as the Freedom Rides and the March on Washington in 1963.

Abdur-Razzaq is an accomplished musician and spoken-word artist from Montclair, New Jersey. Additionally, he is an educator, arranger, composer and director who studied at the Berklee College of Music and earned a master’s degree in education from Rutgers University. For more than 30 years, he has performed and spoken to college and university students across the country.

This event, which coincides with Black History Month, is hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Center for Inclusion and Social Change, the Dean of Students, the School of Education and the Division of Student Affairs.

For questions or accommodations, please contact Patricia Gonzalez, assistant dean for inclusive practice at the College of Arts and Sciences.