Marsha Music is a veteran writer, speaker, historian and self-described "primordial Detroiter." She grew up in Highland Park – a city within the city of Detroit – during its lush, green years of prosperity. Her father was Joe Von Battle, renowned record seller and producer of Blues and Gospel on Hastings Street, then 12th Street, until the 1967 Rebellion.
Marsha was a student activist and later, a labor union leader. She has contributed to significant Detroit narratives, including Untold Tales, Unsung Heroes: An Oral History of Detroit's African American Community, University of Michigan’s Living Music Oral History Project, and an HBO documentary, A City On Fire, about the 1968 Tigers. Her essay “Hidden in Plain Sight” appears in the book, Thanks for the View, Mr. Mies. Her story in the national StoryCorp series has been featured on NPR and WDET. Marsha’s groundbreaking essay on “white flight”, “The Kidnapped Children of Detroit,” was published in the recent book, The Detroit Anthology.
Marsha has moderated music, literary and brand forums of international connoisseur wristwatch/lifestyle sites. Her essays on music, race and Detroit are published on her blog, Marsha Music: A Grown Woman's Tales From Detroit. In 2012, she was awarded a prestigious Kresge Literary Arts Fellowship. A noted speaker, Ms. Music has received accolades for her work as a reader, storyteller and griot in numerous cities and Detroit venues including MOCAD, Hastings Street Ballroom and the Detroit Opera House. She lives in Lafayette Park and is married to the artist David Philpot.
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