LORENZO SANCHEZ
Lorenzo Sanchez-Gatt is a PhD student at Michigan State University. Lorenzo earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in music education from Southeastern University and Florida State University, respectively. His research interests include activism in music education, anti-oppressive pedagogy, and the role of music education in social justice. Lorenzo has presented at several state and national conferences on topics relating to social justice and stringed instrument music education. Prior to his studies at Michigan State University, Lorenzo held a position teaching elementary and middle school orchestra, guitar, and music appreciation in central Florida.
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Divining an Afrofuturist Music Education: A Framework for Liberation and Empowerment
Digital media consumption is becoming an increasingly present source of socialization for children. Black children specifically are regularly subjected to poor stereotypical depictions of their identity in digital media. In this paper I examine how schools, music classrooms, and digital media consumption can serve as sites of anti-black racism. I then analyze a selection of Janelle Monae’s music videos through Black critical race theory and Afrofuturist lenses. I conclude my paper by proposing that Afrofuturism can serve as a vehicle to disrupt stereotypical depictions of marginalized groups. I also propose that using Afrofuturism as a framework in constructing music in classrooms can work towards empowering and liberating students of damaging stereotypes that exist in social media.