Rose Library at Emory University houses over 30 collections (and growing) related to African American artists and musicians from New York, the U.S. South, and around the world. Prominent collections include composers William Dawson, Undine Smith Moore, and George Walker; entertainers such as Victoria Spivey, Bricktop, and Geoffrey Holder; and researchers such as Rae Linda Brown (biographer of Florence Price), Geneva Southall, and Delilah Jackson. Rose Library has also begun collecting from contemporary Atlanta's hip hop scene, including a collection from entrepreneur and entertainer Darryl "Jasz" Smith, founder of Earwax Records. During the tour, you will see a draft of Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony, a manuscript of a spiritual arrangement by H.T. Burleigh, a contract from Spivey's blues record label, and many more one-of-a-kind documents—as well as beautiful views of Atlanta and the Emory campus from the 10th floor.

The tour will be led by Dwight Andrews, Professor of Music Theory and African American Music at Emory University and Pastor of First Congregational Church, UCC. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan, the Yale Divinity School, and a PhD in Music Theory from Yale University. He has taught at Yale, Harvard, and Rice Universities. As an instrumentalist, he has appeared on over twenty-five jazz and ‘new music’ recordings and been recognized for his collaborations with playwright August Wilson. He served as musical director for the Broadway productions of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, and Seven Guitars. His film credits include The Old Settler, The Piano Lesson, and Miss Evers' Boys. His research interests include race, identity, and aesthetics. Andrews is currently working on a manuscript on the intersection between spirituality and jazz.