The first job I had with the Smithsonian was as a field researcher among African American communities in Southwest Louisiana and Arkansas for the festival.

and Beatrice Johnson Bernice was born and raised in southwest Georgia where music was an integral part of life. C. Early life and education
The daughter of Baptist minister J.

Bernice Johnson Reagon (born October 4 1942) is a singer composer scholar and social activist who founded the a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock in 1973.