CHAMPAIGN — Jazz, gospel and hip hop filled the air as a tribute wall dedicated to the Black musicians of Champaign was revealed Sunday at Skelton Park in Champaign.
The wall features 94 artists dating back to the 1890s, each note featuring the name of the artist, the time period they are from and their primary instrument. The installation and unveiling event was hosted by the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail and the Experience Champaign-Urbana Foundation.
“We believe that Champaign-Urbana is a great place to live and a great place to visit,” said Lynne Barnes, Experience Champaign-Urbana Foundation board chair. “This is something that just adds to that because we’re celebrating a part of history that really hasn’t been known that much before. We have some great musicians here and we need to bring them to the forefront.”
The location of the event was significant, as Skelton Park played an important role in Champaign’s musical history. In the past, people would gather at the park to perform and hear Black musicians play, Barnes said.
The event featured live music from the band Afro D & Global Soundwaves, which specializes in hip hop, jazz and funk — all genres celebrated in the wall. Toward the end of their performance, the group was joined by Nathaniel Banks, an artist featured on the wall.
Crowds gathered, cheering and dancing along to the music. John Thomas, a drummer whose brother is recognized on the wall, played alongside Banks. He said the performance brings inspiration, peace and expression.
“Music brings everyone together,” Thomas said. “No matter if you’re Black or white, Democrat or Republican, music is a very important piece to happiness and living.”
This tribute wall is just one part of a bigger project by the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail. The group notes on its website that there are now over 24 trail markers in Champaign-Urbana, all of which aim to educate people about largely unrecognized histories.
“We wanted to do more than just talk about it,” said Robert White, director of sports, group partnerships and trail manager. “We wanted something that will last and will be here for a lifetime, showing the history to the younger generation [and] to the old.”
White noted that other parts of the Heritage trail are walkable, like the downtown portion, with an addition coming to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus in the near future.
The wall, along with recently installed playground instruments, came to fruition with the help from the Champaign County Park District, Rotary Club and other fundraising efforts.
“We got some significant grant funding and we’ve had wonderful gifts of philanthropic support,” Barnes said.
Thomas’ favorite part of the event was the fellowship, saying that it’s important for community members and officials to come together for one common cause appreciating the past and the present.
“Everything has a foundation,” Thomas said. “A building is not a building without a foundation and we always have to give that credit where credit’s due. That’s our foundation, the people that paved the way for me to be playing for 40 years.”