Ella Jenkins: The First Lady of Children's Music

Her journey as a musical pioneer and educator is a testament to the power of song and cultural representation in education.

When you think of children’s music, she may not be the first name that comes to mind, — but it should be. Known as the “First Lady of Children’s Music,” Ella Jenkins devoted her life not only to music but also to empowering and educating young people through songs that celebrated cultural diversity and justice.

Jenkins passed away last week at the age of 100, leaving behind a legacy that extended far beyond her albums and TV appearances. Her life’s work embodies values every Black child should know: resilience, pride, and the belief that music can inspire change.

Who Was Ella Jenkins?

Born on August 6, 1924, in St. Louis, Missouri, during the Jim Crow Era, Jenkins grew up in a racially segregated Chicago, which propelled her drive for equality. In her late teens, she joined an interracial high school organization called the Funference, a group created to provide a platform for students from diverse backgrounds to discuss social issues, culture, and community. Her involvement in the organization would play a significant role in her commitment to social justice and cultural education.

Founded in 1942, Jenkins quickly found a space in C.O.R.E., a nationwide organization crucial to the invention and implementation of protest tactics used throughout the civil rights movement, including freedom rides, marches, demonstrations, sit-ins, and freedom songs. The students who conceived of and developed this interracial organization worked to create systemic change through non-violent means, a strategy that Jenkins would employ throughout her career.

Jenkins as an Educator and Cultural Music Advocate

In 1951, Jenkins earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Child Psychology from San Francisco State University. Upon returning to Chicago, she began working at the YMCA as a program director, where she developed musical education activities for children. This approach led to her hosting a segment called “This Is Rhythm” on the Chicago-based children’s show “The Totem Club” in 1958, — marking her as one of the first African American TV hosts.

“You’ll sing a song and I’ll sing a song, and we’ll sing a song together.” 

Jenkins would continue to combine her passion for equality with her love for music by challenging segregation in schools, restaurants, and hotels across the country. In the early 1960s, Jenkins would often travel by car through Jim Crow and sundown towns to perform a series of school concerts and other music demonstrations for students. In her performances, Jenkins intentionally incorporated music from various cultures, including African American spirituals and freedom songs, to help expand children’s perceptions of Blackness.

“When it comes down to it, music is just about sharing what you love,” Jenkins told NPR in 2013. “Whatever you happen upon with something that you really feel that you really like,” she said, “I’d say listen to it, and listen to it often. If you want to try to repeat or imitate, do it in a way that when you’re sharing it, someone else is going to think it’s beautiful, too.”

According to a 2021 profile on her in Folklife, in many communities during that time, Jenkins was likely the only African American those students had seen or engaged with who was not in the role of servitude.

Jenkins would go on to receive several awards and make over 40 children’s music albums, including notable works such as “Call and Response: Rhythmic Group Singing” (1957), “Adventures in Rhythm” (1959), and “African-American Folk Rhythms” (1960). 

One of her most popular tunes, “You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song,” released in 1966, has become a children’s music staple. Jenkins also appeared in numerous children’s television shows such as Sesame Street, Barney & Friends, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Look at Me, and Free at Last, a children’s TV special hosted by LeVar Burton about Dr. Marin Luther King.

In 2004, she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2017, she was honored with a lifetime National Heritage Fellowship award.

A Lasting Influence and Legacy

“In a unique space I created through music, I was able to introduce children to concepts of equality, unity, and acceptance,” Jenkins told Folklore in 2021.

Ella Jenkins’ dedication to children’s music and social justice is significant for Black youth who often encounter systemic barriers and underrepresentation in education and society. Her innovative use of music not only celebrated African American culture but also fostered a sense of pride and identity in young Black children.

Her life exemplifies how cultural expression can serve as a powerful tool for change in education, inspiring more Black children to embrace their heritage and potential as a giant step toward academic achievement.

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Quintessa is an Education Reporter for Word In Black and a contributing writer, whose writing interests are “ingrained in the varied Black, womanist, culture, and social justice experience.” | #WEOC leader & moderator | Blacktivist | Editing words for Cultured, WEOC, and AfroSapiophile Publications | With bylines in MadameNoire, The Root, ZORA, Momentum, and midnight & indigo.