Andrea Williams @AndreaWillWrite Twitter profile

Last Seen Profiles

@ComradeAurelian

@Rulers0p

@nwr1080917

@NINGEZHUO

@xcyynical

@BenSoCrazy_

@smn

@slotgacordanax

@amanoakira_ex

@hsk_94t

@3Jj8x2

@Elizabonita17

@LizabeRansberg

@SHOWmtjm

@EgyptGirl8x

@coli_jilbab

@transcend_lol

@sulesopi

@VK1_OO1

@sacaton_21

@kakazinr219143

@otCVwvflcZJCUwn

@tumuutan

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@yuzurih_syiko

@dingotoad

@kuroshima_rei

@jocelyn3092

@uta_11xxx

@SHOWmtjm

@Groundblank

@Africanacityy

@LiaWill1651257

@MaeRotermu44526

@hina_sugiyama

@Barukii1

Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

I always think about this when folks discuss school desegregation. The real story is not the “bravery” of 5 and 6 yr olds. It’s the white adults, hundreds of them, and mostly women, who tortured those children for trying to go school.

Dr. Trevon D Logan

@TrevonDLogan

4 months

America masquerades its ubiquitously violent, racist history under a story of Black bravery & nobility. It is not noble or brave to be subjected to inhumane racism. America simply refuses to leave us any other options but to endure its latest manifestations, so they lie about it.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

In his now viral commencement speech, Harrison Butker, kicker for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, condemned the “tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion.” He also owes his fame to a Black QB. My latest for @Tennessean :

Harrison Butker decries diversity, but he can thank Black QB Patrick Mahomes for his fame

Opinion: Harrison Butker is an NFL kicker, an important post on the field, but less-so off of it, yet he used his platform to cast judgment on others.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

“On ‘Texas Hold 'Em’ and ‘16 Carriages,’ Beyonce proves that Black songwriters, producers and musicians belong in country music.” My latest, for @Tennessean :

Beyonce's use of Black writers and musicians can open the door for others in country music

On "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages," Beyonce proves that Black songwriters, producers and musicians belong in country music.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

7 months

Part of the story that never gets told: BB Kings was destroyed in the blast and ownership decided not rebuild/move. It was devastating for Black musicians/singers bc BB’s was one of the only regular gigs *in town* for them. The house band(s) was always mostly Black.

Sarah Kendzior

@sarahkendzior

7 months

On Christmas Day 2020, a man drove to 2nd Avenue in Nashville, played Petula Clark's "Downtown" on a loudspeaker, and blew up the historic street. This is what it looks like now.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

It’s easy to get excited by the handful of Black female country artists getting attention—until you realize Nashville has a long history of temporarily elevating Black women then casting them aside before they break the mainstream. My latest, @Tennessean

Rissi Palmer hosts event, reminds Nashville of the Black women country music left behind

Opinion: Rissi Palmer has made it her mission to introduce country music fans to the Black women artists who laid the path she and others followed.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

10 months

Some end-of-the-year news: As of December 20, I am the newest columnist for @Tennessean , as well as the curator of the Black Tennessee Voices newsletter (hits inboxes every Saturday).

Andrea Williams is The Tennessean's newest columnist and Black Tennessee Voices curator

Andrea Williams has written for major publications, produced or appeared in documentaries, and has a passion for music and sports.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

7 months

Since the inception of the country music industry, Black creatives have been expected to suffer in silence, and many have. In my latest for @Tennessean , I explain why it’s a big deal that Beyoncé didn’t.

Superstar Beyoncé called out country music. That's huge.

Opinion: Beyoncé called out country music for making her feel unwelcome in 2016. In doing so, she pierces its long-standing culture of silence.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

This speaks DIRECTLY to my column today. There ain’t a single white person in country music who isn’t inspired by Black creativity artistry. THEY JUST DONT WANT ACTUAL BLACK PEOPLE INFRINGING ON THEIR MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS

Jonathan Bernstein

@jonbern

8 months

There's a moment in many commercial country concerts where the artist does a slightly left-field cover. One of the most common artists to cover in this context over the past decade has been...Beyoncé

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

On the Willie Jones/Shaboozey “beef,” and Blackness in country music. My latest, for @Tennessean .

Willie Jones' post about Shaboozey exposes the conflict of being Black in country music

Opinion: The late country music star Charley Pride made his Blackness safe for white fans. His success suggests modern Black artists must do the same.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

10 months

Last week, I wrote that Nashville leaders were complicit in keeping the country music industry homogeneous. The reaction was brutal, but the research (and the critics) prove my point. My follow-up:

Contrary to my critics, research proves that country music is for everyone

I said Nashville leaders were complicit in keeping country music homogeneous. The reaction was brutal, but the research (and critics) prove my point.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Country radio was a tool designed to generate money and, subsequently, the power to decide who gets that money (via award noms, songwriting royalties, viability etc). Beyonce has to get *enough* spins to make a difference, but her power to upend this entire charade is def there.

JUSTIN ★

@jussatto

9 months

I requested Texas Hold ‘Em at my local country radio station (KYKC) and after requesting, i received an email from the radio station stating “We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station. @BeyLegion

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

For #JackieRobinsonDay , my latest for @Tennessean : A look at Jackie’s multi-sport career before he turned pro in baseball, and a baseball appeal for today’s (Black) multi-sport athletes.

Before Jackie Robinson became a baseball icon, he was an elite multisport athlete

Opinion: Jackie Robinson may not have been the best baseball player in America when he turned pro, but he was an elite athlete who changed the game.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

Reminder, as we point to the history made by Beyoncé’s Texas Hold ‘Em: If you’re thinking only about Black artists—even Black female artists—and not also considering the struggles of Black songwriters, producers, and musicians in country music, you’re doing it wrong.

Dr. Jada Watson

@data_jada

8 months

@Amammartinez And this should extend beyond the lead artist on stage to the songwriters, musicians (studio/touring), management, label/publisher/radio personnel and on and on. Read @AndreaWillWrite for more on the potential to open doors to Black creatives

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

10 months

First column for @Tennessean : Watched Nashville’s NYE show on CBS and had some thoughts about the city’s complicity in country music’s diversity problem.

Nashville is complicit in country music's diversity problem and leaders need to step up

Nashville will have to come to terms with its eager embrace of country music if the city wants to more accurately reflect the inclusivity it espouses.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

Serious question: when y'all talk about old Nashville vs new Nashville, which “old” version are y’all talking about? Cause I’d posit that the gentrified version of 12 south is part of the “new”—even if not for *you*

John Ray Clemmons

@JRClemmons

5 months

Ok, I’ve officially had it. Now, Portland Brew on 12South is closing. This “New Nashville” garbage is for the birds.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

And I wanna make sure we get sustainable change—for ALL Black folks in country music—that remains even when Beyonce has moved on to Act III

Elamin Abdelmahmoud

@elamin88

8 months

I’ll tell ya this, a lot of us are not new to the conversation about country music and Black artists and country’s Black origins, but Beyoncé emphatically entering the chat this week has completely changed the energy 🫡

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

1 year

THIS. INDUSTRY. HAS. NOT. CHANGED.

chart data

@chartdata

1 year

Jason Aldean's "Try That In A Small Town" sold over 100,000 digital downloads in the US on Wednesday alone. It's expected to become his highest charting single on the Hot 100, could challenge for #1 .

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

Couldn’t be at Rickwood Field, but love hearing the stories from @nlbmprez ! Reminder that he blurbed my book, Baseball’s Leading Lady, which is as much Negro Leagues history as Effa Manley bio! Perfect for kids (& adults) who want to learn more!

Baseball's Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues

www.amazon.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Most black artists (read: everybody but beyonce) actually need radio, to some degree, to achieve sure footing in the genre. The fact that they don’t get it is why, when Beyonce’s new singles dropped, soooo many ppl were surprised that there were already black ppl doing country

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

Darius Rucker thinks country music hasn’t forgiven M*rgan W*llen. He’s wrong. And he’s not considering what it’s like for other Black creatives in a genre that welcomed W*llen back so quickly and completely. My latest, @Tennessean :

Darius Rucker is wrong that country music hasn't forgiven Morgan Wallen

Opinion: Darius Rucker said in the years since the n-word video hit the internet, Morgan Wallen has “tried to really better himself.”

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

@StandardCause @Tennessean The push to get more Black QBs in the league would certainly qualify as a DEI initiative, even if it wasn’t called that. And without those efforts, KC doesn’t have Mahomes, KC doesn’t win, and ppl prolly don’t care about Butker. Did you read?

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Country music is definitely not losing its grip. In fact, it was designed, and the industry around it, to ensure its grip. (The CMAs have a radio award, label signings are decided, in part, by radio friendliness, millions and millions are invested in radio promos, etc etc etc)

Naima Cochrane’s Burner Acct

@stillnaima

9 months

@data_jada The CMA's are reliant on the radio charts but not the Academy of Country Music or the Grammy's (Mickey Guyton had been signed to a Nashville label for almost 10 years and had zero airplay for "Black Like Me") Country radio's the last traditional holdout but losing its grip.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

2 years

Talked to @RissiPalmer and @mikomarks about their friendship and the industry that wanted to keep them apart. New, for @vulture :

‘We’re Still Here’

The country-music industry tried to turn Rissi Palmer and Miko Marks into rivals. It failed.

www.vulture.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

7 months

YEP.

philip lewis

@Phil_Lewis_

7 months

Beyoncé on COWBOY CARTER: "This ain’t a Country album. This is a 'Beyoncé' album."

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

Hear me out: Reminding white folks that Beyoncé has always been country (she has) isn’t super helpful for other black folks in the space (songwriters, musicians included) who don’t have as obvious country roots

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

Kudos to the reporter who pushed back on Wynonna’s assessment that Beyoncé’s country foray will automatically make the country music industry more inclusive. Evidently she has missed all the previous “conversations” that resulted in zero change.

AP Entertainment

@APEntertainment

6 months

Wynonna Judd says country music is beginning to welcome a diverse audience as Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter" spurs conversations.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

7 months

For all the talk about country music being mostly, artificially, white, the same can be said about the city’s live music scene. I’m not talking about someone booking a one-off show 6 mos out, I mean, “It’s Tuesday and I wanna go hear live music cause it’s Music City”

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

7 months

Good luck finding non-white musicians/singers. Just another way Nashville, this “It City,” fails it’s 25-30% Black population.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

7 months

“But we got our nickname from the Fisk Jubilee Singers!” “Man, Jefferson Street used to be the place to be!” Meanwhile, in 2024, Black creatives in Nashville can’t eat.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

A reminder, as MLB includes Negro League players in overall stats: Negro League managers and executives, like Tom Wilson, were major league too.

Learotha Williams

@learothawms

5 months

Hey #northnashville ! I found out today that our own Tom Wilson, owner of Nashville’s Negro League team the Elite Giants, will be inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. For more info on Wilson, check out @AndreaWillWrite ’s article here:

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

The power of Beyonce: A Black woman on country radio, played DURING THE DAY (marginalized artists are typically spun overnight), followed by Carrie Underwood. Read: TWO WOMEN PLAYED BACK TO BACK

100.1 KYKC

@1001KYKC

9 months

Lots of call coming in for Beyoncé’s Texas Hold ‘Em. It’s coming up in minutes

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

3 months

Wrote about Ingrid Andress’s National Anthem and our culture of incivility even before I saw her recent post about being drunk last night. My point still stands:

Ingrid Andress flubbed the national anthem. She deserves grace, not incivility and abuse

Opinion: The national anthem rendition sung by country music singer Ingrid Andress was bad, but the online abuse and harassment was far worse.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

10 months

I’ll be going deep on music, sports, politics, education, housing, and all the other things—while also correcting some historical records along the way. I can’t wait to dig in, and if you’re a Black Tennessean, I can’t wait to hear from you: adwilliams @tennessean .com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

One of Nashville’s greatest assets has been, and continues to be, its ability to spin a narrative, to publicly present itself as “not like” other cities of the former Confederacy. It’s why few people know about the post-integration bombing of Hattie Cotton Elementary, or this.

LT Wynn

@Pubhistorian

6 months

Remembering Z Alexander and Grafta Looby whose home was bombed by terrorists #onthisday April 19, 1960. This action by terrorists led to a silent march to the Nashville Courthouse where Mayor Ben West conceded to Diane Nash and the Rev. Vivian that lunch counters be desegregated.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

I am fascinated by the number of white men who don’t consider Patrick Mahomes Black. Like, I for sure get why they’d want to claim him, but the shift from “one-drop” to “don’t forget about his mom!” is still wild. They don’t even care that Mahomes refers to *himself* as Black.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

Reminder: Willie shoulda broke big in country music in *2012* after killing it on X Factor and garnering the national audience industry folks say they don’t know how to help Black artists get, thereby justifying not signing them.

Holly G

@_love_holly_

6 months

@16cartridges But for people who have been here working on this in this space for so long, sometimes public comment feels like the only way to be heard. Frustrations run deep and boil over.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

7 months

“At South Carolina, Coach Dawn Staley is building a legacy bigger than one player” My latest for @Tennessean , on the post-Caitlin Clark future of women’s college basketball:

At South Carolina, Coach Dawn Staley is building a legacy bigger than one player

Opinion: After an historic NCAA women's basketball season, some question a future without Caitlin Clark. The answer lies with Dawn Staley.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

@data_jada This is exactly right. Normalizes harm but also normalizes the need for Black folk to be resilient, to always have to endure.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

@StandardCause @Tennessean Black QBs (which is absolutely how mahomes is both seen and sees himself) were not even allowed to play the position a few decades ago. The shift toward welcoming Black QBs (and not, say, pushing them to receiver), makes mahomes career possible. Again: DID YOU READ?

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

1 year

THIS. INDUSTRY. HAS. NOT. CHANGED.

Destinee Stark

@destineenstark

1 year

All I’ve done is point out racist undertones of a song & I’ve gotten dozens of death threats, been slandered & accused of fraud, been doxxed, & have had the most vile shit said to me by @Jason_Aldean ’s fans. If he won’t stand against racism, he should AT LEAST stand against this.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

1 year

Critical context here, re Aldean’s claim that “[t]here is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it.” Evidently there is room for Black people in his small town… provided they aren’t the uppity kind.

Amanda Marie Martinez

@Amammartinez

1 year

My piece for NPR, on where “Try That” sits in country music’s history. Major thanks to @AndreaWillWrite @AuntB & @KevinMKruse for helping provide crucial context.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

Big thanks to @RissiPalmer , for talking to me for this piece and for doing the work to center the voices and stories of the Black women who came before.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

Black folks in Nashville gotta prove their country-ness like Jim Crow-era Black folks had to take literacy tests to vote. The tests are another way to control who gets to participate, and the goal is to get them eliminated—not to say that Beyoncé could pass.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

Better, more critical, something more than just: this artist’s show was great and that artist’s album is great and everything is just great great great GO COUNTRY MUSIC GO. Like, for real: How can this thing get better if ppl are scared to hold the accountable to task?

Holly G

@_love_holly_

6 months

I think we deserve better country music journalism in this town but what do i know i am but a lady

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

1 year

I hate this so much and kept hoping it wasn’t true, that somehow NYT leadership would reverse course. Writing for @NYTSports was an absolute honor, and I’m grateful to @BenHoffmanNYT and @oskargarcia for being such thoughtful and generous editors.

Juliet Macur

@JulietMacur

1 year

Here’s the final @nytimes sports section written and produced by the NYT’s sports department, which our company has closed. I started working in the section 19-1/2 years ago, and this moment is breaking my heart.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Again, nothing in country music is real. Everything on radio is predetermined; program directors know their “inventory” before artists drop new music; execs from competing labels discuss who they’re gonna send to radio & when so there’s no “competition”

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

10 months

Number one thing I’ve learned while doing this work the past few years: None of country music’s loudest supporters (or my loudest detractors) have a CLUE how the industry works.

Ruf&R

@RRufusr

10 months

@AndreaWillWrite It’s not politics, it’s not a party. Fans listen to whoever they want to stream. Nobody listens to radio anymore.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

I’m not even speaking to class. But if a dude can come here from AUSTRALIA and be a STAR??? Nah.

Brad Andrews

@bradandrews58

8 months

@AndreaWillWrite That test is doubly hilarious/awful given how many country artists ain't from anywhere near the country themselves. More "gated community" than "dirt roads," you know?

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Tl;dr: Upend country radio and you’re well on your way to overthrowing this whole wretched (but very very lucrative) system.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

Wrote about this in my latest for @Tennessean : “It’s not racist to say that Caitlin Clark’s whiteness makes her more ‘marketable.’ It’s true.”

Caitlin Clark's whiteness makes her more marketable. That's not racist. It's true.

Opinion: There is a through line from Elvis Presley to Caitlin Clark that reveals how white performers are elevated above their talented Black peers.

www.tennessean.com

ClutchPoints

@ClutchPoints

5 months

“It’s construed as some of our minority black & brown women are hating on [Caitlin Clark] because she’s white & that is not the case… But it has highlighted how black & brown greatness has not been celebrated.” — Becky Hammon 🗣️ (via @CallieJLaw )

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

1 year

THIS. INDUSTRY. HAS. NOT. CHANGED.

Taylor Lumpkin

@TaylorLumpkinTV

1 year

Went to cover this event tonight for a news story. Left humiliated after a guy ran up and yelled at me (unprovoked), and called me a N***** twice. No one helped. Everyone stared at me, and laughed. Do better people.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

This is why so much of the music is mid (there is no meritocracy; they tell you what you will listen to and like) and why even white women don’t get played for real (there is no meritocracy; they tell you what you will listen to and like).

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

You know what they pull up as reference tracks when their in the studio? BLACK MUSIC You know who they study on YouTube? BLACK ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS Them lil 808s, that trap beat? STUDIED FROM BLACK PRODUCERS

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

At White’s Creek HS in NW Nashville, only 5% of kids are at grade-level for math and ELA. It’s a % that’s indicative of what’s happening across MNPS District 1. This is where educational reform should begin. I wrote about it in my latest for @Tennessean

After generations of failure, Nashville should focus on District 1 schools improvements

District 1 will get a new school board member this year. It's also time for students to get the academic support they've needed for generations.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Now, can beyonce have country success outside of radio? Of course! But that success have any bearing on Music Row? Absolutely not. And that’s why it is critical that folks interested in reforming the industry do so by acknowledging the influence of country radio and attacking it

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

Why is this important? Well, even after some Black artists were given more opportunity post-2020, the vast majority of their bands were white. There is industry or genre-wide change if it impacts only the artists.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

7 months

Always love to see Effa getting love! For more on Effa Manley’s story, and to celebrate Women’s History Month!, check out my book, Baseball’s Leading Lady—now available in audio!

Baseball's Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues

www.amazon.com

MLBDevelops

@MLBDevelops

7 months

MLB Softball Ambassador Lauren Gipson (Chamberlain) shares her baseball and softball G.O.A.Ts 🐐🏆 #WomensHistoryMonth

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

I get it. The issue is that their question is inherently racist and exclusionary, because it’s only asked if certain people. The proper response is: Everyone has a right to make country music.

🦋redriceandreparations💎

@16cartridges

8 months

@AndreaWillWrite I see what u mean, what do u think would be more appropriate as a rebuttal ? I think when yt ppl say "this song isn't country because beyonce isnt" we tend to follow up with "but yes she is"

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

Just listened to @Higher_Learning discuss this and it can’t tell you how thrilled I am that this convo is public. It’s big “check the credits and vids of ALL your fave Black country artists” energy right now and I LOVE IT.

Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

On the Willie Jones/Shaboozey “beef,” and Blackness in country music. My latest, for @Tennessean .

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

For the “why do Black people make everything about race?” crowd:

Nikki Haley may not think racism is a problem, but has she ever asked a Black person?

To those who are tired of hearing about race, a lot of Black folks are sick of talking about it, too, but we won't remain silent in the face of lies.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

White artists should be collabing with Black creatives too, of course, but yall. If you ain’t got your own people, who you got?? Anyway, todays column, again:

Beyonce's use of Black writers and musicians can open the door for others in country music

On "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages," Beyonce proves that Black songwriters, producers and musicians belong in country music.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

We don’t know those ppl because no radio means no awards, no major tours, and suggests no label support. (There are exceptions, namely for folks who gained a bit of traction post-2020, but they are anomalies and far smaller in scale than the avg white artist, even independents)

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

Today’s must-read, and not just for the heartbreaking story of long-time Brentwood resident Kittie Sneed. It’s also a look into the history of Brentwood itself—how this predominantly white enclave was once 50% Black, its wealth built/maintained by the enslaved.

Gabrielle Chenault

@gabrichenault

8 months

This is easily one of my favorite stories I've been a part of. As a descendent of the formerly enslaved, artifacts like these are priceless. Finding Kittie Sneed: A former Tennessee slave's words are finally heard, 118 years later via @tennessean

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

And then they try their absolute best to recreate it, all the while ensuring us that Black people don’t belong here because “we have hip hop and R&B” YEAH WELL YOUR DOING BASTARDIZED VERSIONS OF HIP HOP AND R&B SO LET US IN SO WE CAN HELP YOU DO IT THE RIGHT WAY

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Typically, tho, those artists are independents. Because of country’s deep ties to radio, artists that have no shot at radio (like black folks) don’t get label/industry report. So everybody goes it alone and/or waits till another “movement” (2020, Beyonce) comes along

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Ultimately, this may help Black country artists reliant upon streaming, as, till now, the only way to tap a sure country audience was through the industry’s pre-established channels (and those are, obvs, white).

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

SOME OF YOU DON’T BELONG IN THE CATEGORY

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

10 months

@RRufusr And in country music, the fans get who the industry gives them. I’m curious: How much do you actually know about how the industry works?

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

3 months

In celebration of the #2024Olympics and #OpeningCeremony , a look back at the TSU Tigerbelles’ storied 1964 Games, and what happened to the program later, thanks to systemic underfunding by the state of TN:

TSU Tigerbelles dominated the Olympics 60 years ago. Then the state killed the team.

60 years after Wyomia Tyus and the Tigerbelles' star-making Olympic run, insufficient state funding keeps TSU from reaching previous heights.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

Block Mayor O'Connell's transit plan? It may be only way to secure much-needed MNPD reform. My latest for @Tennessean

Block Mayor O'Connell's transit plan? It may be only way to secure much-needed MNPD reform

Opinion: Nashville’s Black leaders must continue to apply the necessary pressure in hopes of affecting the change most needed in our communities.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Agreed, but I think it’s important to note the ways in which she can/will disrupt. She can absolutely prove there’s a market for distinctly Black country music (that isn’t just derivative of what white artists are doing) but that doesn’t change systems

Naima Cochrane’s Burner Acct

@stillnaima

9 months

@AndreaWillWrite I'm not saying radio isn't important at all in country, and obviously I know you know better than me... I AM saying that Beyonce, specifically, can still be disruptive without the airplay.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

Yes! And add to that how, decades later, he was kept from buying an MLB team. “I didn’t fit. Can I say it any plainer? Do you want me to say because I was colored I wasn’t a fit? It’s pretty easy to realize that.”

Benjamin Hoffman

@BenHoffmanNYT

4 months

Stories like these should be mandatory viewing for anyone who thinks racism was magically solved when Jackie broke the color line. We are lucky we have people like Reggie to tell them.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Okay. I just got word that Beyonce’s team hasn’t even serviced country radio with these two songs, and so, in that case, the notion of her getting major spins, let alone disrupting the format, is moot

Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Country radio was a tool designed to generate money and, subsequently, the power to decide who gets that money (via award noms, songwriting royalties, viability etc). Beyonce has to get *enough* spins to make a difference, but her power to upend this entire charade is def there.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

Regular reminder that ALL industries struggle to think beyond the front lines re diversity. It’s not just the players, the artists, the most visible positions that need to be less homogenous. The hope is that the rest of us will be satisfied with the minimum and keep it moving.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

Couple things I’ve learned, as the white guy football fans who didn’t/won’t/can’t read my column have nonetheless gathered in my mentions: QB has always been based on merit/if Black guys didn’t play QB it’s bc they weren’t good Mahomes is, critically, only *half* Black

Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

In his now viral commencement speech, Harrison Butker, kicker for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, condemned the “tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion.” He also owes his fame to a Black QB. My latest for @Tennessean :

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

2 years

New, for @NYTSports : A look at Fisk University's gymnastics team, the first at an HBCU. (s/o to @taylordbaucom for the dope visuals, as always.)

The First H.B.C.U. Gymnastics Team Is Aiming Even Higher (Published 2022)

Fisk University put a gymnastics team together after sensing an opportunity to encourage Black women to compete in the college sport.

www.nytimes.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

Thomas Rhett on tour doing Earth Wind and Fire-style funk with a white band. Meanwhile, Black musicians gotta prove they know how to “stay in the pocket” and “not get too churchy” in order to land a gig. (Most of the time they don’t)

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

@TrevonDLogan YES.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

2 years

Compelling, real-time illustration of my fundamental belief that sexism cannot be addressed without first tackling racism—that, in many (most?) cases, the latter begets the former.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb

@nkalamb

2 years

The NCAA signed a below market value deal to suppress the popularity of non-MBB and CFB sports, particularly WBB, precisely so that it could argue MBB and CFB couldn't be paid b/c revenue from those sports had to support all the others, a fake 'equity' argument. Prove I'm wrong.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

Huge gratitude for Teaira King for sharing her story and @Sonyathemom / @NashvillePropel for working to change educational outcomes for the kids who need change most.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

Or the “journalists” are fans/stans themselves

Caroline Renard

@carolinerenard_

6 months

There’s this weird line where stans have ruined actual art criticism cause everything someone they love does is perfect and they’ll harass someone for thinking differently but then you have some journalists who have forgotten to be critics cause they want to be on the good side

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

2 years

TOMORROW!!

IWBC

@IWBC4Me

2 years

Join the IWBC December 4th for our rescheduled Book Club talk with @AndreaWillWrite about #BaseballsLeadingLady ! You can register now! #IWBCReads #APlaceOfTheirOwn #StepUpToTheSport #EffaManley

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

2 years

What an incredible way to close out 2022! So grateful for this amazing honor! #WeAreFamily 🏀

TASL

@TASLTN

2 years

🎉 Congratulations to 2022-2023 nominee for the Volunteer State Book Award: We Are Family #mglit @VSBA_TN @TNLA #studentschoosethewinner @KingJames @AndreaWillWrite @HarperCollinsCh

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

Somehow, miraculously, Black country artists always find other Black folks to work with for the #BETAwards (To be be clear, this isn’t just a 2024 issue)

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

Now, thanks to year-round competition and specialization (plus politics and racism) it’s harder than ever for Black athletes whose first sports aren’t baseball to get in the game. That’s bad for baseball, and for all of us.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

5 months

“Black Nashville is here.”

CashvilleEtc

@cashville_etc

5 months

🎯 @Tennessean

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

And this is why, even if you don’t like country music, you have to care what’s going on here. And you have to stop cheering every time you see a Black artist on stage. Cause as those artists try to fit in, they replicate the saaaaaaame systems.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

Which I say to say: Lotta folk have no clue what they talkin bout re Black folks in this industry, but Willie does. He also said the exact same stuff I’ve been sayin for years—tho it’s easy to overlook when you’re focused only on the ppl who won the George Floyd/Beyonce lottery.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

People stay conflating “vibes” with “progress,” and, well, imma tell the truth.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

This was fun!

Elamin Abdelmahmoud

@elamin88

6 months

We talked to @_shireenahmed_ and @AndreaWillWrite about a banner year for the WNBA + the Toronto team expansion. Listen wherever you get podcasts. Spotify link here: The wisdom of Shireen on Caitlin Clark and where we should be focusing our energy:

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

If you fought for, and celebrated, the defeat of Lee’s voucher bill, it’s time to direct that energy toward the Black and brown Tennessee children for whom public schools have largely never worked. My latest for @Tennessean :

Tennessee school voucher opponents won. Now fight for all public schools.

Opinion: Concerned citizens with signs and angry social media posts must now fight and scream and show up to on behalf of every Black and brown child.

www.tennessean.com

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

I can say the same about my mom, who was a single parent. Even tho not ideal, this is possible when districts are designed to succeed, not fail. (Important note: I didn’t attend KCPS schools, even tho my mom worked for the district. KC address, but zoned for Raytown.)

Michelle

@LJ198767

6 months

@VesiaHawkins @AndreaWillWrite I am a parent who was not mindful of school and homework throughout my girls’ schooling. I did not go to the PTA meetings and missed a lot of parent teacher conferences, yet they did well.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

Me: These parents care, they are involved, they need help bc MNPS failed them and they don’t want their kids to be among the 71% of kids MNPS is currently failing. A white reader, immediately:

Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

At White’s Creek HS in NW Nashville, only 5% of kids are at grade-level for math and ELA. It’s a % that’s indicative of what’s happening across MNPS District 1. This is where educational reform should begin. I wrote about it in my latest for @Tennessean

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

UPDATE:

U.S. Radio Updater

@USRadioUpdater

9 months

. @Beyonce ’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” has officially been serviced to US Country radio via @ColumbiaRecords as of this evening (via @billboard & @MelindaNew_man )

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

Check the credits of the most visible Black country artists right now. & understand that for every one of them, there are a dozen Black creatives that don’t get the opportunity or paycheck they could, simply bc that artist is only interested in bucking the system FOR THEMSELVES

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

9 months

Okay. I just got word that Beyonce’s team hasn’t even serviced country radio with these two songs, and so, in that case, the notion of her getting major spins, let alone disrupting the format, is moot

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

“The second principle, she said, is that oppression always requires the participation and cooperation of the oppressed.” YES

Nashville Banner

@nashvillebanner

6 months

64 years ago, Diane Nash marched to the courthouse to demand desegregation. Today she was back to receive her flowers. Column by @scavendish Photos by Martin Cherry

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

8 months

ITS THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!!!

South Carolina Women's Basketball

@GamecockWBB

8 months

KAMILLA. FREAKING. CARDOSO!!!

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

6 months

Jackie was, perhaps, the greatest all-around athlete we’ve known. He didn’t just compete in football, track, and basketball in addition to baseball. He excelled. In fact, if not for the NFL’s color line, Jackie probably doesn’t play baseball at all.

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Andrea Williams

@AndreaWillWrite

4 months

I mean…

Holly G

@_love_holly_

4 months

I have so much love and respect for @warandtreaty for many reasons but today those feelings are rooted in how deeply i admire their bravery for speaking out and telling their stories- even when they aren’t easy ones to tell.

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