Charles Sykes

Phone:

812-855-0350

Email:

csykes@iu.edu

Department:

African American and African Diaspora Studies

Campus:

IU Bloomington

Charles E. Sykes, D.M.E., is the fomer executive director of the African American Arts Institute (AAAI), After 34 years of service, Dr. Sykes has retired, and now takes on the role of Historian for the African American Arts Institute.

An experienced arts administrator, performer, teacher, and scholar, Sykes received his B.S. degree from Florida A&M University (FAMU) where he was a member of the famed Marching 100. He received his master's and doctorate degrees in music education from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. As a performer, he was a member of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra (Michigan) in which he played flute and piccolo, was the director of the Battle Creek Youth Orchestra, and performed as a pit musician on numerous musicals.

Dr. Sykes is an affiliate faculty in the Departments of African American and African Diaspora Studies and Folklore and Ethnomusicology, and research associate with the Archives of African American Music and Culture. His research focuses on African American popular music, with emphasis on Motown. He has served as a consultant for the Motown Historical Museum, and as co-contributor of text for the study guide and souvenir program for Motown the Musical. He developed the first noted course on the history of Motown, which he teaches at IU. He has presented and lectured nationally and internationally on popular music.

His recent published works include the “Motown” chapter in the first edition of African American Music: An Introduction, “The Black Forum Label: Motown Joins the Revolution” in the Association for Recorded Sound Collections journal, and “The Motown Legacy: Homegrown Sound, Mass Appeal” in Issues inAfrican American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation. He is currently researching the history and culture of the FAMU Marching 100 for an upcoming publication.