Whole Earth Festival

The drumming issue

Background

For those who are following the issue of drumming at the Whole Earth Festival, we have some new information. Before we get to that, here are the co-authors who helped to create this site:

I am Jim Willson and I have been drumming for over 10 years. I am the organizer of a drum circle that meets regularly in Midtown Sacramento. We welcome all races, ages, and experience levels at our circles.
I am Olivia Yasmin and I have studied West African and Afro-Caribbean dance and drumming since I was nine years old. I have a background in classical ballet, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. I have studied with master traditional teachers both here and in West Africa. I am a registered teaching artist with Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and have received several grants designed to promote traditional arts.
I am Max Rea and I have over seven years of experience studying West African drumming, specifically Anlo-Ewe drumming in the Volta region of Southeastern Ghana. I received my bachelor of arts degree from Hampshire College in Ethnomusicology with an emphasis on the traditional drumming of Ghana. I have been a drumset player for over 14 years and I currently teach a West African drumming class at the Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange in Sacramento.
I am Dr. Farrukh Ahmad and I am a recently retired academic. I discovered drumming in my late-thirties and have had the privilege to play West African and Middle Eastern percussion at locations around the world. I learned West African percussion from two master drummers: The late Baba Abubakr Kouyate (Houston Area) and Alan Tauber (Boston Area), a student of the great Famoudou Konate.

Here are the goals we share (taken from the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission website):

Honor different ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds
Empower cross-cultural interaction

New information

Here is a letter that was published by the Davis Enterprise:

Editor:

My name is Jim Willson and I am an organizer for a large drumming group in Sacramento. We have been around since 2008 and have hundreds of members on our mailing list. Drumming is a wonderful experience for people of different cultures to connect and share a common love of communicating through rhythm.

Open drum circles have been a tradition at the UC Davis Whole Earth Festival for at least 15 years. The circles are normally held near Hart Hall to keep the noise away from the festival stages.

Last year the organizers canceled these circles, based on a number of factors including what was called cultural appropriation. I did reach out to the UC Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission to try to get more information about this; however I could not find anybody to speak to.

Hopefully it will be possible to get drum circles back at the festival so that everybody can enjoy them. In the past, the circles were facilitated by experienced drummers, among them the legendary Arthur Hull, who pioneered the idea of facilitating drum circles and has trained many people around the world. I reached out to the WEF organizers to recommend that the drum circles again be facilitated by experienced drummers. The facilitator could maintain proper volume levels, watch the playing times, make sure drummers are considerate, etc.

In the Sacramento area there is an African American woman who would be an excellent facilitator. Her name is Olivia Yasmin and she has taught African drumming and dance for years. The organizers said it was too late to schedule a drum circle this year, but they recommended that we come back and discuss the issue in December when they begin planning for next year. I hope we can bring back the joyful and creative experience that is drumming!

For those who are interested, I set up the following website: https://sac-davis-drums.com. This site is co-authored by a number of drummers from different cultures and includes a history of drumming at WEF. If the university is willing to discuss the matter next year, the site might help provide some useful background information.

-- Jim Willson, April 27, 2023.

(Note the editors removed Olivia Yasmin's name.)

We look forward to having a dialog with the WEF organizers. We can be reached at email (not gmail).

For reference, here is a short history of drumming at the festival:

History of drumming at the WEF

Thank you.