SEM Sound Studies Section Keynote 2025

Gentrification and Black Sound in Washington, DC

Keynote Speaker: Allie Martin (Dartmouth College)

Abstract: In this talk, I explore the relationship between gentrification and Black sonic life in Washington, DC. From the well publicized #DontMuteDC movement to lesser known stories of amplification and silencing, the processes that encompass gentrification has many consequences for Black people and their sonic lives. Drawing from ethnography and soundscape recordings, I argue that listening intersectionally helps us to hear beyond the sensationalism that gentrification requires.

Biography: Allie Martin is an ethnomusicologist and artist from Prince George’s County, Maryland. Sheis currently an assistant professor at Dartmouth College in the Music Department and the Cluster for Digital Humanities and Social Engagement. Her work is attuned to questions of race, sound and power. Her first book, Intersectional Listening: Gentrification and Black Sonic Life in Washington, DC (2025) explores the relationships between race, sound, and gentrification in the nation’s capital. Dr. Martin is the director of the Black Sound Lab at Dartmouth College, a research environment dedicated to amplifying Black life and decriminalizing Black sound through digital practice.