Teach with My Music with Rhiannon Giddens and Mazz Swift to introduce students to Black American non-binary musician Mazz Swift, her musical experiences, Black History, and American Transcontinental Railroad History. This episode also connects to Neurodiversity Representation, Non-Binary (/LGBTQIA+) Representation, Music Lessons and History through Music.
In My Music with Rhiannon Giddens Season Two Episode Two, host Rhiannon Giddens shares a musical visit with Mazz Swift,a violinist, vocalist, and improvisational conductor whose musical journey includes education at Juilliard, playing music in the New York subway, and working with goats on a farm.
Get the learning guide for this episode now from the My Music with Rhiannon Giddens / Teaching the American Railroad page in the Journeys in Film Resource Library — or keep reading to learn more!
My Music with Rhiannon Giddens and Mazz Swift FAQ
Why Teach with My Music with Rhiannon Giddens
My Music with Rhiannon Giddens brings US history alive to explore the development of the Transcontinental Railroad during western expansion in the United States. The series also deepens understanding and connection and can build community around the cultures that were first connected by the building of America’s Transcontinental Railroad.
Why Teach with The Episode Two Learning Guide with Mazz Swift
The Episode One Learning Guide for My Music with Rhiannon Giddens Season Two Episode Three with Mazz Swift can help you teach about about:
- Neurodiversity and Learning Styles
- Creative and Artistic Community
- Creative and Artistic Growth
- Improvisation in Music
- History of the American Transcontinental Railroad and Black Americans
- History through Music
- Music Lessons
This learning guide contains background context about the Transcontinental Railroad, a Pre-viewing Activity, and Active Viewing Recommendations.
It also includes glossaries / lists of useful terms, discussion questions, related resources, and extended learning activates. The extended learning activities can include our supplementary Music Listening Handout and Song Analysis Handout.
Episode running time: 25 minutes
Subjects: History, Music, Music History, Social Studies, U.S. History
Lesson Grades: 6,7,8
Where Can I Get This Learning Guide
Get your free copy of these teaching resources from the My Music with Rhiannon Giddens / Teaching the American Railroad page in the Journeys in Film Resource Library and learn more about teaching with this powerful and inspiring series.
Where Can I Watch This Episode
Get the latest information on where to watch from the My Music with Rhiannon Giddens listing in the Journeys in Film Resource Library.
Important Dates for Teaching With This Resource
- February – Black History Month
- March – Music in Our Schools Month
- March – Women’s History Month
- March 17 – March 23, 2026 – Neurodiversity pride week (date varies)
- April – Jazz Appreciation Month
- April 30 – International Jazz Day
- May – National Train Day (date varies)
- May 21 – World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
- June – Black Music Appreciation Month
- June – Immigrant Heritage Month
- June 16 – Neurodiversity Pride Day
- June 19 – Juneteenth
- June 21 – World Music Day
- July 13 – International Conductor’s Day
- July 14 – International Non-Binary People’s Day
- October – Global Diversity Awareness Month
- October 1 – International Music Day
- December 13 – Violin Day
Where Can I Get More Related Resources
This Learning Guide makes a perfect pairing with the American Railroad Instructional Guide Lesson 2 “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”, Lesson 3 “Pullman Porters”, and Lesson 4 “The Legend of John Henry”, about African American railroad workers. The Instructional Guide and matching Student Guide are available from the My Music with Rhiannon Giddens / Teaching the American Railroad page in the Journeys in Film Resource Library.
We also offer educational resources for teaching with The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silkroad Ensemble. This vibrant documentary presents artists from around the world in collaboration. It’s a great tool for teaching about world music, world instruments and world cultures, that complements the cultural and musical explorations of My Music with Rhiannon Giddens.
Learn more about Mazz Swift in this Silkroad Ensemble artist profile: Spotlight:Mazz Swfit.
Looking for more positive LGBTQIA representation and role models? We also recommend the It Gets Better Project’s Finding Pride and LGBTQIA activist Joanna Lohman’s story in Resisterhood.
For teaching about Neurodiversity and Learning Styles, we also recommend Like Stars on Earth about a boy bullied for his dyslexia who discovers a creative passion for visual arts.
If you’re teaching Middle School Geography, History and Social Studies, we also recommend: Children of Heaven (Iran), Like Stars on Earth (India), Please Vote for Me (China), The Cup (Tibet), The Way Home (South Korea), Wadjda (Saudi Arabia), and Whale Rider (Aotearoa / New Zealand).
You can also check out our related resource collections for teaching with film about Black History, Music and Women’s History.
Our Windows and Mirrors Media Literacy Activity gives students a way to consider if the perspectives of underrepresented and marginalized people are included in their media diets.
How Can I Learn More about Teaching with this Series
Learn more about teaching with our full collection of Learning Guides and teaching resources for this series in our My Music with Rhiannon Giddens Teaching Resources FAQ.
How Can I Do Professional Development Related to this Series
Silkroad Ensemble members will be participating in our free professional development webinar Teaching with Primary Sources: Cultural Products as Historical Narrative on January 27, 2026. Learn more and register for the series: Stories That Connect: Using Film and Primary Sources to Build Belonging
What if I’m New to Teaching With Film
Check out our Teacher Toolbox to make teaching with film fun, easy and effective.
About Mazz Swift
Critically acclaimed as one of America’s most talented and versatile performers today, Violin/Vox/Freestyle Composition artist Mazz Swift has engaged audiences all over the world with the signature weaving of song, melody and improvisation that they call MazzMuse. As a singer, composer and Juilliard-trained violinist who plays electronic and acoustic instruments, Mazz has performed and recorded with a diverse accumulation of artists including The Silkroad Ensemble, William Parker, Butch Morris, Jason Lindner, James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid, Valerie June, Whitney Houston, DJ Logic, Kanye West, D’Angelo. Mx. Swift is a 2021 United States Artist and 2019 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, currently working on a series of compositions that involve conducted improvisation, and that are centered around protest, spirituals, and the Ghanaian concept of ‘Sankofa’: looking back to learn how to move forward.
About My Music with Rhiannon Giddens Season 2
Pulitzer Prize and Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens hosts a half-hour series of musical performance and conversation with multicultural musicians in the Silkroad Ensemble’s American Railroad project. The outstanding guest artists of the series are innovative and accomplished musicians and storytellers who have forged unconventional paths to find their voices.
About the American Railroad Project
Originally conceived by Silkroad’s Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, the American Railroad project sheds light on the profound yet often-overlooked contributions of Indigenous and African Americans, as well as Chinese, Irish, Japanese, and other immigrant communities, to the construction of the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad and connecting railways across North America.
Just as the ancient Silk Road facilitated cultural exchange between Asia and Europe, the railroad transformed the American landscape—both uniting and dividing the people whose lives it touched. While these laborers played a fundamental role in one of the 19th century’s most significant technological and economic achievements, their stories have too often been erased from history. At the same time, the railways had a devastating impact on Indigenous communities, displacing people from their ancestral lands.
About the Silkroad Ensemble
Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998 as a reminder that even as rapid globalization resulted in division, it brought extraordinary possibilities for working together. Seeking to understand this dynamic, he recognized the historical Silk Road as a model for cultural collaboration – for the exchange of ideas, tradition, and innovation across borders. In a groundbreaking experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a new artistic idiom: a musical language founded in difference, a metaphor for the benefits of a more connected world.
Journeys in Film is pleased to offer educational resources for two Silkroad Projects: My Music with Rhiannon Giddens Season Two / American Railroad and The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silkroad Ensemble for grades 6-12.
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My Music with Rhiannon Giddens / Teaching the American Railroad
