CLEVELAND — The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Vice President and Chief Curator Nwaka Onwusa is a trailblazer, becoming the first African American woman named to the leadership position at the museum.

She spoke with Spectrum News about the Rock Hall's Black History Month celebration, which shines a light on the extraordinary contributions of African American artists in the featured exhibit “It’s Been Said All Along: Voices of Rage, Hope & Empowerment.”

What You Need To Know

  • Nwaka Onwusa is the chief curator and the vice president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

  • She is also the first African American curator named at the Rock Hall

  • Black History Month events and exhibits at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame highlight pioneers of the music industry

"We are so happy to elevate this message (and) celebrate the different musicians in this exhibit by telling their different musical voices," said Onwusa.

 

Onwusa emphasized that the exhibit educates people on Black pioneers in the music industry who helped create societal change.  

“These phenomenal pioneers, just coming off the heels of Martin Luther King Day. Stevie Wonder is the one that advocated for that to even be a national holiday in this country,” Onwusa explains. "Music plays such a pivotal role so we wanted to show the wide spectrum of musicians who have used their platform with resilience to tell this message of equality”

Onwusa expressed that she is humbled her own success and inspired by the artists whose history she shares with the world.

"To have this role as chief curator and vice president for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and to be their first Black female to do it — I’m pinching myself every day, trying to rise to the occasion,” she said. “I’m definitely walking in some really big shoes. I have some giants before me doing all the phenomenal work."