Drumming Up Resistance is an engaging presentation by anthropologist, musician, and author Umi Vaughan based on his latest book, Silencing the Drum: Religious Racism and Afro-Brazilian Sacred Music. Drawing on years of conversations with religious leaders, musicians, and community activists across Brazil, Vaughan explores the resilience of Afro-Brazilian sacred traditions in the face of religious intolerance and cultural erasure. The program features rare audio recordings made with master musicians in Brazil and concludes with an opportunity for audience discussion—and perhaps even a little communal music-making. Don't miss it!

Umi Vaughan is an artist-scholar who reimagines life and celebrates culture through a Black diasporic lens. His training includes a B.A. in Fine Art and Spanish Language from Morehouse College, a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan, and music making in communities across the African diaspora, especially the Bay Area, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, and Brazil. He is the co-author of Silencing the Drum: Religious Racism and Afro-Brazilian Sacred Music, author of Carlos Aldama’s Life in Batá: Cuba, Diaspora, and the Drum and Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance: Timba Music and Black Identity in Cuba. To learn more visit UMIART.ART.