I would like to teach Abbey Lincoln under my self and personal identity theme. Not only was she a remarkable artist, but a woman seeking to find herself. The three stages of her career clearly show three separate stages of her own identity. Her body of work clearly demonstrates her search for work that is meaningful to her inner values and beliefs. She demonstrates finding a career that is both a passion to her and a medium of self expression. Her rejection of the club singer life style and the fame and money that went with it is a wonderful story for teens to hear. I want my students to truly see that life is more than just money and fame. I want them to see the story of transformation from money to personal satisfaction.
I also see Abbey's art as a means of helping my students liberate themselves. Her later work in which she found her own freedom has a power to free her audience as well. I am not entirely certain how my students will respond to the music just as I was not certain how I would respond, but give my students the benefit of the doubt and trust that they will engage with the music on some level. Perhaps they will not understand that music at a level I hope for them at the time, but may possibly return to it when they are ready. Abbey is truly and inspiration to those who are seeking to find truth within themselves and their place within the world.
-- Carrie Brandon
