The St. Louis Blues: Music, Migration, and the Movement is a six-day experiential learning workshop for K-12 educators hosted by the National Blues Museum in the heart of St. Louis, Missouri. The workshop examines the interdependent relationships between blues music, migration, race relations in urban environments, civil rights, and freedom struggles.

St. Louis has been home to several of the most important figures in blues music and American music at-large, from Scott Joplin and Chuck Berry to Miles Davis and Tina Turner. These transformative cultural contributions of Black genius stand in contrast to the urban history of discrimination and displacement that makes St. Louis a crucial site for studying race relations across the 20th and 21st centuries. In this way, the physical landscape of St. Louis and its parallel musical culture will be valuable frameworks for educators to create inclusive and culturally relevant curriculums. 

Participants will examine the physical manifestations of this history across St. Louis and take part in seminars led by scholars and researchers specializing in the region. Throughout the workshop, music will be used as a primary source to trace change and self-expression within the history of St. Louis and its innovative Black culture. The National Blues Museum, located on Washington Avenue near many of St. Louis’s most prominent landmarks, will be an anchor for the series.