Black Music Month

On June 7, 1979, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the month of June to be Black Music Month. The idea was originally inspired in 1978 by record mogul (and co-founder of Philadelphia International Records) Kenny Gamble and Ed Wright, a broadcast executive from Cincinnati, Ohio.

For the past 32 years, U. S. Presidents - from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama - have issued proclamations and held celebrations at the White House in honor of Black Music Month.