author
James M. Trotter
1842–1892
Born into slavery and later rising to become a Union officer, teacher, federal official, and music historian, this remarkable 19th-century writer built a life of public service and cultural pride. He is best remembered for preserving the achievements of Black musicians in a groundbreaking book that still matters today.
1 Audiobook
Music and Some Highly Musical People
by James M. Trotter
About the author
James Monroe Trotter was born in Grand Gulf, Mississippi, in 1842 and was born into slavery. After he, his mother, and his siblings were freed, the family moved to Cincinnati, where he was educated and began teaching. During the Civil War, he served in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry, becoming one of the very few Black officers in that regiment.
After the war, Trotter continued a wide-ranging career in education and government service. He worked in Boston and later held federal posts, including service in the Post Office Department and an appointment as Recorder of Deeds in Washington, D.C. His life reflected both the struggles and the hard-won openings available to Black leaders in the decades after emancipation.
Trotter is especially remembered for Music and Some Highly Musical People (1878), an early and influential history of music by and about African Americans. The book celebrated Black musical achievement at a time when it was often ignored, giving lasting value to his work as a writer and cultural historian. He died in 1892.