Lainey Wilson, Chuck D, Many More Join YouTube’s Partnership With U.S. State Department to Promote Peace
variety.comJem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Lainey Wilson and Chuck D joined U.S. Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken and YouTube’s head of music Lyor Cohen in Washington D.C.
to unveil the streaming platform’s partnership with with the State Department in an effort to promote peace. The event was accompanied by video statements from the effort’s inaugural group of ambassadors: Chuck and Wilson with Herbie Hancock, Jelly Roll, Kane Brown, Teddy Swims, Justin Tranter, Armani White, Breland, Denyce Graves and Grace Bowers.
Cohen referenced the legacy of the 1950s-era Jazz Ambassadors program, whereby the U.S. government sent artists like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughn overseas “to bridge cultural gaps and cultivate goodwill across the globe,” and hopes this new program will continue that legacy.
The collaboration is part of the State Department’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, a worldwide effort to elevate music as a diplomatic platform to promote peace and democracy, and he says YouTube is “uniquely positioned to help amplify these voices.” (See Cohen’s full blog post here.) Chuck D said, “Bridging cultural divides and inspiring positive change has been part of my life’s work and it is a responsibility I don’t take lightly.
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