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Biography
Andrew Thomas is a professional drummer, songwriter, and author. Before returning to school for his PhD, Thomas toured globally with Chicago Blues bands, regularly appeared as a member of the house band on ABC's Windy City Live, and won a Blues Music Award in 2018 for "Band of the Year." Thomas applies his experiences as a professional musician to his research and teaching pedagogy. Thomas has taught The History of Black Music-104, United States History since 1877, and The History of Black America 1619-Present at The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Research Interests
My dissertation examines the political economy of the blues industry from 1951 to 1991 and highlights African American musicians who were institution-builders during that era. Blues musicians founded institutions that promoted Black History and protected workers from exploitation in the music industry, which is commonly ignored by music critics and scholars.
Research Description
Andrew Thomas conducts oral histories in many of his works as a preferred methodology.
Education
MA-History-Illinois State University
Awards and Honors
Fall 2024 Teacher's Ranked as Excellent List
Fall 2023 Recipient of the Oscar Waddell Research Fellowship Award from the McLean County Museum of History
Spring 2023 Helen Cavanagh History Award for Best Master's Thesis at Illinois State University
Courses Taught
History 104-The History of Black Music
History 172- U.S. History Since 1877-Present
History 174/African American Studies 101- The History of Black America 1619-Present
Andrew Thomas is the Bloomington-Normal Black History Project (BNBHP) chairperson. Thomas conducts oral histories of the elderly African American population in Central Illinois. The interviews are stored in the McLean County Museum of History's BNBHP archives.