Abstract

In the wake of 2020's unprecedented protests for racial justice, electroacoustic composer Yvette Janine Jackson released Freedom, a collection of two experimental radio operas exploring the Middle Passage and its wake. Inspired in part by the mid-century radio plays produced by Richard Durham, Johnson’s work offers a counterpoint to his affirming narratives of Black achievement and contributions to American history. By contrast, Jackson explores the hidden and murky depths of Black freedom struggles, collapsing the past and the present into melancholic and mysterious compositions that push the limits of genre.

Keywords: Black freedom, Yvette Janine Jackson, radio opera, Richard Durham, electroacoustic composition, experimental

How to Cite:

Mindel, G., (2022) “Destination Unknown: Yvette Janine Jackson’s “Freedom””, RadioDoc Review 7(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.14453/rdr.84