Performance and Dialogue: Drumming Up Resistance featuring Umi Vaughan

Sunday, 5/4/2025
1:00 - 4:00
Koret Auditorium
Koret Lobby
Main Library

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

415-557-4400

An interactive lecture-performance based on the new book Silencing the Drum: Religious Racism and Afro-Brazilian Sacred Music. 

Silencing the Drum book cover

This event will feature a book signing and dynamic presentation about Brazil's rich African legacy and troubling current events, punctuated by live Afro-Brazilian drumming and dance plus audience Q&A with the author.

Umi Vaughan is an independent artist, scholar and former professor of Africana Studies at California State University Monterey Bay. He holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan. Vaughan's work focuses on music and dance traditions across the African Diaspora, combining research, visual art, performance and writing. He has authored two books on Cuban music and culture: Carlos Aldama's Life in Batá: Cuba, Diaspora, and the Drum and Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance: Timba Music and Black Identity in Cuba. He is proud to share his latest work Silencing the Drum: Religious Racism and Afro-Brazilian Sacred Music (co-authored of with Dr. Danielle N. Boaz).

Joining Vaughan in conversation is Samad Raheem Guerra, a San Francisco-based multidisciplinary artist and arts educator. Guerra holds a BA in World Arts and Cultures/Dance from UCLA (2014) and received a Fulbright-Hays scholarship to study in Morocco. He has toured internationally with CONTRA-TIEMPO ACTIVIST DANCE THEATER and currently directs the World Dance Department at Ruth Asawa School of Arts in San Francisco.

Silencing the Drum exposes the profound struggle of Afro-Brazilian sacred music against escalating intolerance. Danielle N. Boaz and Umi Vaughan blend legal scholarship with ethnomusicology, offering a compelling narrative rooted in interviews with religious leaders, musicians, and activists across Brazil. This multidisciplinary exploration examines the relentless attacks against the practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religions—from discriminatory noise complaints in Bahia to vigilante violence in Rio de Janeiro.

The volume integrates multimedia elements including musical samples to vividly illustrate the struggles and resilience of Afro-Brazilian communities in the face of discrimination. As Silencing the Drum confronts the larger global issues of racism and religious freedom, it provides essential insights for scholars, activists, and anyone passionate about human rights and cultural preservation.

Connect: 

Umi Vaughan - Website | Umi Vaughan - Instagram | Gringo Magia - Instagram 

Purchase Silencing the Drum.

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This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

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