TALK OF GREENWOOD
Dr. Jerry Goodwin
Dara Starr Tucker, a native Tulsan, is a singer, songwriter, social commentator, and satirist. Photo Provided
Singer-Songwriter Dara Starr Returns Home
The University of Tulsa is sponsoring DEI Week, Sept. 16-20. The Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has announced its events for the week.
On Sept. 18, the DEI office will feature former Tulsan Dara Starr Tucker for “Live Breakdown” at the Lorton Performance Center, 505 S. Gary Pl., on the TU campus. Her performance is from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Tucker is a celebrated artist renowned for her powerful blend of music and social commentary. She is referred to as “a fighter for social justice wielding music as a balm.” Tucker melds her presence as a jazz and roots singer-songwriter with her growing recognition as a social media commentator on race, cultural equity, music, and film.
She sees her music “(to provide) needed catharsis in a post-pandemic world with emphasis on self-reflection, mental wellness, and ultimately, healing.”
Tucker said, “It’s my hope that the songs … speak to others who are experiencing similar things.”
Her website says as a Philadelphia-based musician, she is making her mark in the world of organic, heartfelt music by blending the melodic and lyrical richness of the central plains with the soulful strains of the Black American experience. Her eclecticism is guided by the diversity of her narrative. Born in Tulsa … to a family of singers and ministers, Tucker and her siblings traveled across the country singing with their parents.
From there, Tucker has experienced a diverse array of locales that she has called home, including Interlaken, Switzerland; Nashville, Tenn.; New York City; and now, Philadelphia. She is an alumna of The Woodshed Network, sponsored by 651 Arts and founded by National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater.
In 2020, she teamed up with blues and Americana artist Keb Mo’ to co-write the title track to his GRAMMY-winning Best Americana Album, “Oklahoma.” Tucker’s 2021 album, “Dreams of Waking: Music For A Better World” reached No. 7 on the JazzWeek National Radio Charts.
Over the past 18 months, Tucker has amassed an astounding combined audience of 1 million followers with the largest delegation arriving via the TikTok platform. Her video commentary and original songs have been featured on HBO, FX, OWN Network, Revolt! TV, and Ebony/Jet.
Other DEI events planned for the week at TU are the following: Sept. 16, Mentor Matchmaking: New Student Mosaic; Sept. 17, Diver-TEA: Can We Talk?; Sept. 17, Film screening: “Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People”; Sept. 19, Make it, Make “Scents”: A Self-Care Workshop; Sept. 19, Let’s Talk About It: “Civil Rights and Equality: A Pulitzer Prize Centennial Series”; and Sept. 20, Patio Poetry Jam. For the locations and times, see DEI Calendar of Events.
For more information, visit DEI Week: Live Breakdown with Dara Starr Tucker.
