When we think of the sweeping constellation of music that is Americana, we could be forgiven for thinking of it as a genre that doesn’t really speak to our lived experiences as queer Black people. Emerging in the 1940s as music borne of the weathered realities of rural life in the United States, Americana is perhaps most closely — if not accurately — associated with the region of Appalachia and the experiences of white Americans. But as my guest, Paula Boggs, makes clear: there is no Americana — no bluegrass, no country, no folk music — without the backbeat of African influences and the musical ingenuity of Black Americans.

Paula Boggs fronts the Paula Boggs Band, whose music is described as “Seattle-brewed soulgrass.” She is an accomplished musician and songwriter and the COVID-19 pandemic offered her an opportunity to reevaluate and research, §and to come into closer relationship with her ancestral lineages — an experience which animates Janus, the newest release from the Paula Boggs Band. Today, we explore how the pandemic has altered our understanding of place and belonging, how the segregation of public radio helped obscure the West African roots of bluegrass and why bluegrass is the genre Paula feels most at home within. She also shares the recipe for her 30-year relationship with her wife, a secret sauce which offers insights into how we might create a more graceful civic life together now and in the future.

About Paula Boggs

Paula Boggs served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Starbucks Corporation from 2002 to 2012. In 2009, NASDAQ©️ named her its top general counsel. She also had a 14-year career in public service, including as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and in various capacities as an attorney for the U.S. Army, the Department of Defence and the White House Office of Legal Counsel. She served eight years as a Regular Officer in the United States Army, earned Army Airborne wings and a Congressional appointment to the US Naval Academy – among America’s first women to do so. Paula is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and earned a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She was also an adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Law and she served under President Obama on the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

About Busy Being Black

Busy Being Black is an exploration and expression of quare liveliness and my guests are those who have learned to live, love and thrive at the intersection of their identities. Your support of the show means the world. Please leave a rating and a review and share these conversations far and wide. As we continue to work towards futures worthy of us all, my hope is that as many of you as possible understand Busy Being Black as a soft, tender and intellectually rigorous place for you to land. 

Thank you to our funding partner, myGwork – the business community for LGBT+ professionals, students, inclusive employers and anyone who believes in workplace equality. Thank you to my friend Lazarus Lynch for creating the ancestral and enlivening Busy Being Black theme music. Thank you to Lucian Koncz and Stevie Gatez for helping bring new Busy Being Black artwork into the world.

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