Discussion 2 Assignment 1:

In my opinion Jazz both hindered and hastened the civil rights movement. It hindered it
because as the article Black, Brown, And Beige mentioned during these times "All
performers were Black..." and "...all the patrons white, if not by the force of law then by
force of the thugs at the door." One might wonder how this hinders civil rights movement
but one must think that since the white people at the time were the patrons, the one
paying for the entertainment, the musicians would not want to upset "a good thing" they
had going which was making them money. Would you like to upset your boss knowing
they are the one paying you? Not likely and i believe that probably many jazz musicians
at the time did not want the civil rights movement to offset the lives they had been living.
Although, at the same time the musicians creativity is not easily calmed and many of the
songs composed by jazz artist could have helped hasten the civil rights movement. Like
how Ellington was working on a suite and an opera that were "based on the history of
the American Negro People". Overall i believe that Jazz hasten the civil rights
movement and that Ellington's music fueled black pride. Louis Armstrong, according to
the jazz and civil rights movement article, was "criticized by activist and black musicians
for playing into the 'uncle tom' stereotype by performing for mostly white audiences". But
taking into account the times and segregation being a big problem back then i do not
believe that Louis Armstrong was an example of "uncle Tom" but rather just someone
getting through a tough time. In this same article they suggest that Louis Armstrong
dealt with racial issues in a more subtle manner such as thru music. During the incident
of Little Rock and the desegregation of schools he said the government can go to hell
for the way they are treating his people. With the times and tension in consideration i
believe that Louis Armstrong was not an example of Uncle Toms but more advocate of
civil rights.
 
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/05/17/black-brown-and-beige  (Links to an
external site.) 
Black, Brown, And Beige   
https://www.thoughtco.com/jazz-and-the-civil-rights-movement-2039542  (Links to an
external site.) 
Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement