Deeper Than the Skin: A Musical Presentation on Race

Born three days apart, with ancestry coming through the same portal of history, Richmond, VA, Reggie Harris and Greg Greenway are on a pilgrimage together, one that began three decades ago. The racial divisions that are the reality of America positioned them in two different worlds, but the amazing bonds of music, respect, admiration, and shared vision have brought them together as friends and colleagues. The musical and spiritual blooming of this history has become Deeper than the Skin, the telling of their stories through words and music. It is a quintessentially American story: The gift they have to give is how to face struggle with hope, and even joy.

Harris is a powerful interpreter of the history of music and song on the Underground Railroad and in the modern Civil Rights Movement. A teaching artist at the Kennedy Center, a Woodrow Wilson Scholars Fellow, and director of music education for the Living Legacy Project, Harris was awarded the 2018 Magic Penny Award by the Children’s Music Network.

Greenway is regarded as one of folk music’s most unique and superlative emissaries. “In the Name of Love,” a lead into the U2 classic, “Pride,” ranked #5 on the 2013 Folk DJ list. Musically, his inspiration draws from gospel, rock, blues, Jazz, and world music — with its center and roots in the social awareness of Woody Guthrie.

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