Meet March’s Fort Worthian Brandi Waller-Pace

This musician, educator, and community organizer uses her chosen vocation to create cultural change and keep old traditions alive.

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For Brandi Waller-Pace, music is more than an art form — it’s a portal into a forgotten past and a conduit for cultural change. 

Originally from Atlanta, Waller-Pace earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees in jazz studies from Howard University in Washington, D.C. After moving to Fort Worth, she dove into the music scene, performing whenever and wherever she could but would eventually pursue a more stable career as an elementary school music teacher. While working at a school of almost exclusively Black and brown students, she saw firsthand the lack of access to resources compared with other schools in the district. 

For several years, Waller-Pace served on the Fort Worth ISD Racial Equity Committee and helped schools revise their standardized lower elementary music curriculum. “I would ensure we were looking at the background of the songs we were including, avoiding selections that perpetuate negative stereotypes, and not just choosing songs in English or from this part of the world,” she explains.

About five years ago, Waller-Pace picked up the banjo for the first time, which launched her into a journey of exploring her lineage. “I learned that enslaved Africans in the Americas created banjos,” she says. “There are all these wonderful musicians in this continuum of reclaiming the music and rewriting those narratives that write Black folks out of it.”

While many associate the banjo with bluegrass, Waller-Pace plays a style referred to as clawhammer. “It’s more closely associated with the techniques that were transferred over from African folks brought to the Americas. I didn’t even know the history when I first heard that sound, but I was like, this is it.”

At the encouragement of a friend, Waller-Pace began compiling her research about the history of the banjo and African American music onto a website, Decolonizing the Music Room. What began as a resource hub quickly grew into an official nonprofit organization, with representatives leading educational presentations all over the metroplex. “Our mission is centering Black, brown, indigenous and Asian voices in all music disciplines,” she says.

In 2021, she hosted the organization’s first annual Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival (FWAAMFest), which takes place at Southside Preservation Hall and continues to attract Black artists from around the country. Past performers have ranged from banjo-playing folk rapper Demeanor, to Grammy Award-winning old-time musician Justin Robinson.

Waller-Pace and the Decolonizing the Music Room team put their heart and soul into these initiatives to enrich and diversify Fort Worth’s cultural landscape — but as a nonprofit, the organization relies heavily on community support. 

“We want to continue to push for equity — not just along racial ethnic lines, but also in pay and practices,” Waller-Pace says. “We can’t do what we do without community support.”   

BY THE WAY ...

What other local nonprofits should Fort Worthians get involved in?

Community Frontline: Mobilizing men to alleviate suffering in their communities.

Southside Community Garden: Building garden boxes at homes in neighborhoods impacted by systemic racism.

The Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society: Preserving African American historical contributions to educate and empower through art, history, and culture in Tarrant County. 

Pura Vida Youth: Providing local youth of all ages with culturally relevant learning that inspires a passion for education, discovery, self, and community.

Swan Strings: Providing free music education, community concerts, and sound therapy to North Texas children without access.

Arts Fifth Avenue: Developing and preserving interest in tap dance and jazz music. (And was instrumental in launching Waller-Pace’s performing career in Fort Worth!)

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