"It's the first time I've received this type of award, which extends beyond the conventional classroom or concert stage and recognizes the emotional labor that so many Black faculty have been doing for generations," said Dr. Butler. "I am just one member of a very committed team of folks who are working together to enhance the inclusive excellence of our community. I am grateful to my colleagues in the Frost School of Music and throughout the University, as well as the students who speak truth to power in courageous ways."
"Melvin Butler ranks among the most respected and valued members of the Frost School community," says David Ake, Professor, and Chair of the Frost School’s Department of Musicology. "He has achieved international renown as both a scholar and a performing musician. Yet, all the while he has remained deeply committed to his students as a teacher and mentor. He also happens to be one of the finest colleagues with whom I have ever worked."
Founded in 2019, the university’s NAACP chapter has had limited capability to establish an in-person presence given its emergence right before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since Charis Pitter, a senior studying political science and public administration, and Motley ran for NAACP president and vice president, they held the idea of bringing the NAACP Image Awards to UM central to their campaign. "We were not expecting this great feedback and turnout,” stated Motley. Charis Pitter continued, "We have a lot of awards shows already on campus, but I think a lot of them aren’t geared to recognizing people from different spheres of fields, so we wanted to recognize people from all areas.”
Each nomination was carefully chosen by the chapter’s executive board as a means of highlighting the unique achievements of students and groups at UM. Recipients were chosen based on a popular vote by their fellow peers and the voting forms were available through the UM NAACP’s Instagram page.
More About Dr. Melvin Butler
Melvin L. Butler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Musicology at the Frost School of Music. He specializes in music and religion in Haitian, Jamaican, and African American communities. Dr. Butler’s research explores the cultural politics of musical performance, national identity, and extraordinary experience. He also examines the discourses of cultural authenticity and spiritual power that inflect congregational practice. At the heart of his scholarly work lies a critical reconsideration of how spiritually charged music-making is embedded in processes of boundary crossing, identity formation, and social positioning throughout the African diaspora.
