Musicians in Civil Movements Essay

Jazz and Civil Rights Movement

The civil rights movement filled the black activists with a sense of cultural freedom and self-assertion, which went far beyond the formal goals for which they had been fighting. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee had its “fellows of liberty” who embodied the aspirations of black fighters for freedom in music and song. After the bebop music, jazz has ceased to reach a broader audience and has focused on music and the musicians who were within this musical mainstream. As a result, jazz has been associated with the civil rights movement.

This music appealed to culture, in which personal and social positions became inseparable. Jazz became a place, where a person was accepted for their actions and ideas alone and not for race or ethnicity. “Jazz,” writes Stanley Crouch, “predicted a civil rights movement more than any other art in America. Not only jazz music itself was an analogy to the ideals of the civil rights movement, but jazz musicians took up the cause”¹. Using celebrity and their music, the musicians promoted racial equality and social justice.

Although sometimes criticized by activists and black musicians for playing as a stereotyped musician, speaking mostly to a white audience, Louis Armstrong often had a subtle way of addressing racial issues. In 1929, he recorded a song from the popular musical “(What Did I Do to Be Like That) Black and Blue?”². Armstrong became a cultural ambassador, performing jazz around the world and representing the interests of civil movement activists and supporters. In response to the growing upheaval surrounding public school degeneration, Armstrong has openly criticized his country. Especially after the Little Rock crisis of 1957, during which the National Guard prevented nine black students from entering high school³. Such a position only strengthened civil rights activists, as found support from musicians, public people, and artists around the world.

Advantages of Musicians’ Role

Nonetheless, the presence of musicians and artists in political and civil campaigns has its advantages and disadvantages. Foremost, musicians can talk to a broader audience and spread ideas or ideologies among them. Such an activity supports the movement’s progress and awareness about social or political problems⁴. Besides, art brings together people who may share values, thoughts, and intentions. The use of music and concerts as a platform for such alliance positively affect civil movements, as they can develop their positions or ideas in different vectors.

Disadvantages of Musicians’ Role

Artists should be very attentive to the social and political agenda. Most people may misinterpret the musicians’ slogans and ideas, which can lead to unpredictable consequences or social conflicts escalations. Moreover, music, art, and performance are usually seen as neutral activities, which share values and ideas with all citizens and social groups rather than with a narrowed audience⁵. In return, the political agenda within music or art may harm artists and musicians, as their performance will be associated with a specific social or political campaign rather than with art as a discipline.

From this perspective, musicians and artists should perform and create for everyone so that their works are connected and associated with art, not a political agenda. Nonetheless, it is acceptable that musicians and artists have their thoughts, positions, and concerns about social or political changes. In this instance, it becomes possible for them to serve society and, still, increase awareness and attention to the pending or ongoing issues in society.

Bibliography

How Jazz Helped Fuel the Civil Rights Movement. “How Jazz Helped Fuel the Civil Rights Movement.” LiveAbout, 2018. Web.

Monson, Ingrid T. Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call out to Jazz and Africa. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Footnotes

1. Ingrid T Monson, Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call out to Jazz and Africa, 1st ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 152–98.
2. Monson, Freedom Sounds, 152–98.
3. How Jazz Helped Fuel the Civil Rights Movement, “How Jazz Helped Fuel the Civil Rights Movement,” LiveAbout, 2018. Web.
4. LiveAbout, “How Jazz Helped Fuel the Civil Rights Movement.”
5. Monson, Freedom Sounds, 152–98.