Motown and its connection to the Civil Rights Movement will be the subject of a multimedia presentation by Motown historian, entertainment manager, lecturer, and life coach Tom Ingrassia, in recognition of Black History month, on Wednesday, Feb.15, at noon in Lecture Hall A in the Spurk Building on the Haverhill campus.

Tom Ingrassia

The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the NECC Student Engagement Center, the Diversity Committee, the Music Choral Group, and the Contemporary Affairs Club.

In this presentation, Ingrassia traces the development and interconnections of the Motown Sound and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. This presentation carries participants back in time, to a turbulent era in American history, when the music of Motown – The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Four Tops, Temptations, etc. was “The Music of Young America.”  It covers the impact of these and other Berry Gordy’s Motown Records’ artists and how they reached deep into the social fabric of America and helped shape the music of Motown, the ‘60s, and beyond.

Ingrassia has lectured at the State University of New York at Genesco, Albany (NY) Institute of Art and History, Regis College, Worcester State College, Assumption College, and The Long Island Museum.

For additional information contact the NECC Student Engagement Center at 978-556-3731 or engagement@necc.mass.edu