Thursday, March 28, 2024

Singer Nadia Washington Recalls Police Shootings in Dallas, Offers a ‘Hope Resurgence’ (EUR Exclusive)

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*Tension between Blacks and police seems to escalate daily, the number of lives effected increasing with each news report.  A few months ago the shooting deaths of ambushed Dallas PD officers Lorne Ahrens, Michael Smith, Michael Krol, Patrik Zamarippa, and DART officer Brent Thompson dominated news feeds. Stories related to that incident have since been replaced in our headlines. The nation has moved on to more recent atrocities.

Singer songwriter Nadia Washington is originally from Dallas. With a vocal presence as big as Texas, her fluid mix of Jazz, R&B, Soul, and World Music has ensured she won’t be a lone star. She’s toured the globe, and performed with such artists as George Duke, Lalah Hathaway, and Esperanza Spalding. Washington was a background singer and songwriter for Diane Reeves’ album Beautiful Life. The set won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocals in 2014.

The shootings in Dallas were the opposite of beauty. Now residing in Brooklyn, NY, Washington’s thoughts and prayers are never far from home. She tells EURweb the effects are still being felt.

“These are solemn times for the city, and my heart and prayers go out to them because that’s my hometown.”

nadia washington

Washington is especially concerned for her relatives who still reside there.

“My whole immediate family is there; they’re worried, they’re scared, and of course I’m worried and scared for them because I’m so far away,” she says.

One of Washington’s cousins is a police officer in Dallas.

“He’s one of the good guys out there. He’s trying to do his job. He signed up to be a police officer to protect and serve. We know the other side of things, but police being shot is alarming.”

Having performed across the United States, Washington’s also performed for diverse audiences in both Europe and Russia, places with their own social tension and safety concerns. She says what’s extremely fulfilling about her music, reinforcing her to keep going, is it reaches all types of people.

“I’ve had kids who like my songs as well as much older people,” Washington says. “These people come to my shows and really enjoy the music. Some of them are really particular with their taste in music – they only listen to jazz, or they only listen to classical. Somehow they found my music delightful. That’s really fulfilling to know it’s reaching more than one audience.”


As an entertainer who spreads good vibes through music, her tunes have an intention of outreach. Washington hopes people would look to her songs to feel uplifted. She recalls a conversation with her mother as an example.

“I talked to my mother the day the shootings happened. She was all flustered and upset, and worried about her safety. She said one of things that kind of calmed her down was she thought about my song ‘Danger’, and it made her smile.

“That’s really powerful,” Washington continues. “I didn’t have any words to say. I just said thank you. It’s such a solemn and devastating time right now in America, and all over the world. My hope is that my music does uplift everyone.”

Along with “Danger” Washington recommends her new song “Hope Resurgence.” She says, “It means in disparity you still can have the strength to muster hope to keep going, to not give up, throw in the towel, or roll over and die.”

mr joe walker
Mr. Joe Walker

Known as “The Word Heavyweight Champion,” Mr. Joe Walker has been a biographer, entertainment journalist, and columnist for 18 years; his acclaimed, award-winning work has been published thousands of times regionally, nationally, internationally, and online for numerous publications including SoulTrain.com, Kalamazoo Gazette, WrestlingInc.com and Notion Magazine. Walker’s currently writing for EURweb, Concrete Magazine’s Concrete615.com, RealMenReport.com, and Hood Illustrated Magazine. Like him on Facebook, follow on Twitter @mrjoewalker, and visit his official website.

 

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