Alice Randall is a New York Times best-selling novelist, award-winning songwriter, educator, and food activist. She is the first Black woman to write a #1 country hit, Trisha Yearwood’s “XXX’s and OOO’s,” and her country songs have also been recorded by Moe Bandy, Glen Campbell, Radney Foster, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Marie Osmond, and others. A graduate of Harvard University, Randall holds the Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University, where she teaches the course “Black Country,” among other offerings. Published April 9, her most recent book is My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music’s Black Past, Present, and Future, which recounts her explorations of the Black presence in country music as a fan, songwriter, music publisher, and scholar. Coinciding with the book, Oh Boy Records is releasing the album My Black Country, which collects eleven songs written by Randall as performed by Rhiannon Giddens, Miko Marks, Rissi Palmer, and other Black female artists. The Museum’s Paul Kingsbury will lead the conversation with Randall, who will sign copies of My Black Country after the program. Two of the artists on the My Black Country album will perform Randall’s songs during this program. Ford Theater. Included with Museum admission. Program ticket required. Free to Museum members.