Lizzo plays James Madison's 209-year-old crystal flute on stage in a historically symbolic moment
Lizzo continues to break barriers without apology.
Lizzo made history playing James Madison's crystal flute at her Washington, D.C., concert.
Imagine James Madison sitting in the White House during his second term as president. An enslaved Black servant delivers the president his dinner, which he eats by oil lamp as electricity wouldn't be installed until 19 presidents later. The War of 1812 rages. Most newspapers are still weekly, so news spreads slowly. There is no such thing as the internet, television or even radio.
Now imagine someone plops a laptop onto President Madison's desk and presses a button. On the screen—which is like nothing he has ever seen before—he watches a Black woman perform on a stage in front of thousands of people. Lights—which he's never seen—illuminate and reflect off her sequined bodysuit. She steps up to a microphone—which he's also never seen—and speaks to the 20,000 people in the audience.
Then she lifts up something Madison has seen and instantly recognizes—a crystal flute specially made for him for his second inauguration. The woman lifts the flute to her lips and plays. Madison is told this is happening approximately a mile away from where he sits, more than 200 years into the future.
Imagine him trying to process any single part of what he's witnessing.
On September 27, 2022, pop star Lizzo played President Madison's crystal flute during her concert at Capitol One arena in Washington, D.C. It was a moment filled with historic symbolism—a Black woman wielding the instrument of the president who proposed the three-fifths compromise, who was served by enslaved Black people in the White House 50 years before the Emancipation Proclamation and who was elected to that office more than 100 years before women gained the right to vote.
Like some other powerful men of his time, Madison claimed to oppose slavery on paper but nonetheless engaged in it himself. He owned and sold enslaved Black people throughout his lifetime, before, during and after his presidency, despite saying that the slave trade was "dishonorable to the National character" and referring to slavery as "evil."
It's hard to imagine how he'd truly feel about Lizzo playing his flute before a virtual audience of millions, but there's no doubt it would utterly blow Madison's mind to see this:
\u201cLizzo, a Black female superstar, collaborating with Carla Hayden, the first African American and first woman Librarian of Congress, to use a flute from James Madison, the Founding Father who originated the 3/5 Compromise and also the Library of Congress itself? The symbolism!!!\u201d— Tiffany C. Li (@Tiffany C. Li) 1664337029
In the big picture of history, those time periods are tiny. Fifty years isn't even one average person's lifetime. One hundred years is just a few generations, who could all be living at the same time. Two hundred years just isn't that long ago, and look at how much has changed since then.
Here's how it happened: Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first Black person to serve as Librarian of Congress, invited Lizzo to come check out the Library of Congress' collection of more than 1,800 flutes just a few days before the concert. Lizzo enthusiastically took her up on the invitation.
\u201cIM COMING CARLA! AND IM PLAYIN THAT CRYSTAL FLUTE!!!!!\u201d— FOLLOW @YITTY (@FOLLOW @YITTY) 1664029945
Handlers brought the flute out on stage for Lizzo during her concert, and she gingerly took it and played a few notes before handing it back.
Lizzo shared two videos of the experience on Instagram, writing, "IM THE FIRST & ONLY PERSON TO PLAY THIS PRESIDENTIAL CRYSTAL FLUTE ITS LITERALLY AN HEIRLOOM— LIKE… AS A FLUTE PLAYER THIS IS ICONIC AND I WILL NEVER BE OVER IT🎶"
Lizzo continues to break barriers without apology and to show the world what gumption in action looks like.
Progress may come in fits and starts, and it may take enormous effort and it may meet fierce resistance, but look at where we are compared to where we were.
Yes, history is "freaking cool" indeed.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
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Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."