Arcadia University will host “Water Speaks,” a special concert examining the role water has played in the history of Black Americans, on Friday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m. in Grey Towers Castle.

The concert, free and open to the public, is commissioned by the Philadelphia Jazz Project as part of POOL: A Social History of Segregation, which is a free exhibit at the Philadelphia Water Works.

Keisha Hutchins Hirlinger, a singer and songwriter, and Doug Hirlinger, a multidisciplinary artist focused on the drum set and vibraphone, will perform. 

“From the origins of West Africa through the Middle Passage, to the shores of the United States to the pools, rivers, lakes, and oceans of the country, the water has borne witness to our lived experience,” Dr. Jennifer Riggin, professor and director of International Studies in the Department of Historical and Political Studies at Arcadia, said. “Keisha Hutchins and Doug Hirlinger explore the perspectives of the water and those who have experienced joy, life, death, sorrow, resilience, and love in relation to, as a consequence, and as an invitation from the water. They invite you to bear witness to this journey while considering what these experiences have meant to us in the past and what they can mean to us in our future.”