Harold McMillan’s Contributions In Advancing Austin’s Blues Culture

Harold McMillan (Photo Credit: Amberly Russell)

On April 12, 2014 Austin Blues Society sponsored an educational event held by C5 Youth Foundation of Texas at Shoreline Church in North Austin. Representing our organization was Harold McMillan. McMillan is an advisor to the ABS board, founder of the Austin-based nonprofit DiverseArts Culture Works, and an accomplished bass player.

With Harold McMillan’s educational and musical background he was the perfect person to elect to teach blues history to the teenage youth at this conference. We sat in our seats listening to McMillan recount all of the various blues musicians he has recorded through his oral history project. He has a Master’s Degree from The University of Texas at Austin in American Studies with a concentration in Black History. These experiences and the historian’s personal connection to the blues had the youth engaged and eager to learn from him.

Austin Blues Society would like to thank Harold McMillan for his constant support for our organization and all of the great work he is doing in the East Austin community through his own organization DiverseArts Culture Works.

ABS is committed to partnering with other organizations in the Austin community to educate our youth about blues music history so we can continue to “Keep the Blues Live”.