Jazz music: From black pride to political consciousness to social change in the United States

Jeremy Julian  Sarkin; Eryn  Sarkin

doi:10.59400/jps.v2i1.1426

Jazz music: From black pride to political consciousness to social change in the United States

Jeremy Julian Sarkin NOVA School of Law and CEDIS, NOVA University of Lisbon, 1099-032 Lisbon, Portugal; Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Studies, University of London, London WC1E 7HU, United Kingdom; Department of Public Law, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa; Department of Criminology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
Eryn Sarkin Independent Researcher, B-1047 Brussels, Belgium

Ariticle ID: 1426

178 Views, 141 PDF Downloads

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59400/jps.v2i1.1426

Keywords: music; jazz; United States of America; African Americans; human rights; pride; consciousness; social change

Abstract

African Americans have been marginalised, discriminated against, and excluded from American society for centuries. First as slaves, but later when they gained emancipation, they remained relegated, differentiated, and discounted, in a range of areas, including in the political and economic spheres. Music has been a means to promote their greater inclusion in American society, drawing together and uniting all Americans through its power. While there have been links drawn between music and the African American struggle for equality, there has not been sufficient focus on the pivotal role that specifically jazz music has played in this regard. Jazz particularly has been a vehicle for promoting Black pride, political consciousness, and social change. This article argues that jazz has had a major effect on African American culture, society, and experience. Analysing the works of legendary jazz musicians James Brown, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, and The Temptations, this article shows that jazz is not only as a catalyst for, but a driving force in, the fight for political freedom, as well as for economic empowerment, which is arguably still ongoing today.

References

[1] Street J. Music and politics. John Wiley & Sons; 2012.

[2] Oliver W. Black Males and Social Problems. Journal of Black Studies. 1989; 20(1): 15-39. doi: 10.1177/002193478902000102

[3] Marsh K. Music as dialogic space in the promotion of peace, empathy and social inclusion. International journal of community music. 2019; 12(3): 301-316. doi: 10.1386/ijcm_00002_1

[4] Abdullah L. The sounds of liberation: Resistance, cultural retention, and progressive traditions for social justice in African American music [Bachelor’s thesis]. The Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University; 2009.

[5] Burnim. African American Music. Routledge; 2014. doi: 10.4324/9781315857671

[6] Maultsby PK. Soul music: Its sociological and political significance in American popular culture. Journal of Popular Culture. 1983; (17)2: 51-60. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-3840.1983.1702_51.x

[7] Schuller G. Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development. Oxford University Press; 1968.

[8] Gushee L. The Nineteenth-Century Origins of Jazz. Black Music Research Journal. 1994; 14(1): 1. doi: 10.2307/779456

[9] Stewart CJ. The evolution of a revolution: Stokely Carmichael and the rhetoric of black power. Quarterly Journal of Speech. 1997; 83(4): 429-446. doi: 10.1080/00335639709384196

[10] Joyce AJ. Afterword: Gil Scott-Heron: Larry Neal’s Quintessential Artist. In: Scott-Heron G (editor). So Far So Good. Chicago: Third World Press; 1990.

[11] Gioia T. The History of Jazz. Oxford University Press; 2011.

[12] Jones L. (Amiri Baraka). Blues people: Negro music in white America. Harper Perennial; 1963.

[13] Baskerville JD. Free Jazz. Journal of Black Studies. 1994; 24(4): 484-497. doi: 10.1177/002193479402400408

[14] Butterfield MW. Music analysis and the social life of jazz recordings. Current Musicology. 2002; 71-73.

[15] Ogren KJ. The Jazz Revolution: Twenties America and the meaning of jazz. Oxford University Press; 1992. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780195074796.001.0001

[16] Stephans M. Experiencing Jazz: A Listener’s Companion. Scarecrow Press; 2013.

[17] Anderson I. This is our music: Free jazz, the sixties, and American culture. University of Pennsylvania Press; 2012.

[18] Monson I. Freedom sounds: Civil rights call out to jazz and Africa. Oxford University Press; 2007. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195128253.001.0001

[19] Schwartz J. Free Jazz. State University of New York Press; 2022. doi: 10.1515/9781438490328

[20] Coleman K. Free Jazz and the “New Thing.” Journal of Musicology. 2021; 38(3): 261-295. doi: 10.1525/jm.2021.38.3.261

[21] Ho F. How Does Music Free Us? “Jazz” as Resistance to Commodification and the Embrace of the Eco-Logic Aesthetic. Capitalism Nature Socialism. 2011; 22(2): 52-61. doi: 10.1080/10455752.2011.569354

[22] Hersch C. “Let Freedom Ring!”: Free Jazz and African-American Politics. Cultural Critique. 1995; (32): 97. doi: 10.2307/1354532

[23] DeVeaux S. Constructing the Jazz Tradition: Jazz Historiography. Black American Literature Forum. 1991; 25(3): 525. doi: 10.2307/3041812

[24] Berliner PF. Thinking in Jazz. University of Chicago Press; 1994. doi: 10.7208/chicago/9780226044521.001.0001

[25] Redmond SL, Robeson C. Haley-Redmond. “Missing Maestra: Meshell Ndegeocello’s We Insist!” Women and Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture. 2023; 27(1): 99-104.

[26] Sarkin J, Daly E. Too Many Questions, Too Few Answers: Reconciliation in Transitional Societies. Columbia Human Rights Law Review. 2003; 35: 661.

[27] Kirk-Duggan CA. Sacred and Secular in African American Music. The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the Arts. 2014; 498-521. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195176674.013.036

[28] Martyn B, Hazeldine M. New Orleans Style. Jazzology Press; 1998.

[29] Ladd B. Salomé in the Jazz Age: Faulkner, The Marionettes, and Sanctuary. Mississippi Quarterly. 2019; 72(1): 25-48. doi: 10.1353/mss.2019.0000

[30] Jottar B. Zero Tolerance and Central Park Rumba Cabildo Politics. Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies. 2009; 5(4); 1-24.

[31] Titlestad M. Traveling Jazz: Themes and Riffs. Safundi. 2007; 8(1): 73-82. doi: 10.1080/17533170701295363

[32] Davenport LE. Jazz Diplomacy. University Press of Mississippi; 2009. doi: 10.14325/mississippi/9781604732689.001.0001

[33] Olwage G. Apartheid’s musical signs: Composing Apartheid. Witwatersrand University Press; 2008. pp. 35-54. doi: 10.18772/22008064563.6

[34] Rommen T. Some Cold Facts about Circuits and Circuit Breakers. Safundi. 2013; 14(4): 471-475. doi: 10.1080/17533171.2013.841062

[35] Sangarasivam Y. Nationalism, Terrorism, Patriotism. Springer International Publishing; 2021. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-82665-9

[36] Constantine MG, Blackmon SM. Black Adolescents’ Racial Socialization Experiences. Journal of Black Studies. 2002; 32(3): 322-335. doi: 10.1177/002193470203200303

[37] Dougherty CK. The Coloring of Jazz: Race and Record Cover Design in American Jazz, 1950 to 1970. Design Issues. 2007; 23(1): 47-60. doi: 10.1162/desi.2007.23.1.47

[38] Tyson L. Learning for a diverse world: Using critical theory to read and write about literature. Psychology Press; 2001.

[39] Fuller HW. The Black Aesthetic. Doubleday. 1971; 3-12.

[40] Kofsky F. Black nationalism and the revolution in music. Pathfinder Press; 1970.

[41] Belwefi K. Rhythm as a Counter-cultural Political Instrument of Empowerment in James Brown’s ‘Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.’ SSRN. 2024. doi: 10.31235/osf.io/n5xef

[42] Brown J. Say It Loud, I’m Black and Proud. A Soulful Christmas. King. Vinyl.; 1968.

[43] Schreiber B. Music is Power: Popular songs, social justice, and the will to change. Rutgers University Press; 2019. doi: 10.36019/9781978808157

[44] Rydell K, Bienvenu A. The Power of Protest Music: Exploring the Role of Songs in Social Change. Black History Bulletin. 2021; 84(1): 6-9. doi: 10.1353/bhb.2021.0014

[45] The Temptations. Message from a Black Man. Puzzle People. Gordy (Motown). Vinyl.; 1969.

[46] Miller V. Political Consciousness: A Perpetual Quest. Just Associates; 2002.

[47] Wellburn R. The Black power imperative. In: Gayler A (editor). The Black Aesthetic. Doubleday; 1971.

[48] Lewis N. The Social Background of the Black Arts Movement. Black Scholar. 1987; 18: 11-12.

[49] Coltrane JA. Live at Birdland. Impulse! Records. Vinyl.; 1964.

[50] Muhammad I. On John Coltrane’s “Alabama”. The Paris Review. 2020.

[51] Micucci M. Nov. 18, 1963 … John Coltrane Records ‘Alabama.’ JAZZIZ Magazine; 2016.

[52] Tucker M, Ellington D. The Duke Ellington Reader. Oxford University Press; 1995.

[53] Ellington D, Jackson M. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cInnyr5hlhE (accessed on 3 March 2024).

[54] Holiday B. Strange Fruit/Fine and Mellow. Commodore; 1939.

Published

2024-08-05

How to Cite

Sarkin, J. J., & Sarkin, E. (2024). Jazz music: From black pride to political consciousness to social change in the United States. Journal of Policy and Society, 2(1), 1426. https://doi.org/10.59400/jps.v2i1.1426

Download Citation

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors contributing to this journal agree to publish their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, allowing third parties to share their work (copy, distribute, transmit) and to adapt it for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that the authors are given credit. With this license, authors hold the copyright.

The rapid increase in the use of disposable baby diapers in urban areas is associated with a number of environmental challenges. This study assesses the environmental challenges of disposable baby diapers in Hwange, Zimbabwe. Questionnaires, interviews, and field observations were used for data collection in this study. Data collected from the field was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 and Microsoft Excel. The study findings show that pollution, diseases, and odours are the major challenges of poor waste management associated with disposable baby diapers in Hwange ZPC residential areas. The study recommends the involvement of responsible authorities in conscientious recycling and education on waste management. The research also recommends the need to conduct longitudinal research to establish the position of local and central government in the bid to promote a safe and healthy environment in mining towns such as Hwange, as they are overlooked.

COVID-19 affected various communities across the globe in different ways. The study assessed the impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on domestic violence in Southlea-Park residential area in Harare. A mixed methods research design was adopted as it allowed use of both qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches. Questionnaires, interviews and observations were employed for data collection. The research showed that DV in Southlea Park residential area emanated from drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, and conflicts over decision- making between parents, prostitution and food insufficiency among others. The study indicated that most dominant forms of DV in Southlea Park during the COVID-19 lockdown period included physical, emotional and verbal violence. The findings from this study indicated that males suffered more from verbal and psychological violence whilst females suffered more from physical, economic, sexual and emotional violence. The research concludes that COVID-19 had massive influence on domestic violence, however, the Zimbabwe Republic Police should ensure deployment of police officers in temporally camps within or close to residential areas that are far from police stations to ensure public safety during situations that trigger domestic and other forms of violence in residential areas and the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development in Zimbabwe should ensure availability of agents responsible for ensuring against vulnerability of people to gender, domestic and other forms of violence in all communities of the country especially during situations that trigger violence.

The study assessed land use/cover changes in Upper Runnde sub-catchment in Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2020 using GIS and remote sensing techniques with the support of interviews and field observations. Faster land use/cover changes were experienced within the 2000–2010 decade when compared to the 2010–2020 decade for instance bare land increased by 92.1% between 2000–2010 compared to 16.5% between 2010–2020. Major land cover transformations included change from forest land to bare land, grassland and shrub land, change from grassland to bare and shrub land to grassland. The results confirmed conversion of forests to agricultural lands and settlements following the fast track land reform program in 2000 and livestock increase induced overgrazing as major human activities driving land cover changes. There is a need for serious attention from resource management stakeholders before depletion of critical resources like water and woodlands. Therefore, The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority may consider strict auditing of land uses and water resource use in catchment areas to guard against encroachment of agriculture and other land uses in protected lands and fragile ecosystems like water bodies and wetlands.