Jazz Music and Civil RightsJazz Music and Civil Rights Page 3 of 6 Questions: 1. What early...
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Jazz Music and Civil Rights Page 1 of 6 Lesson Guide Objectives: The students will be better able to: • Describe the experience of segregation under Jim Crow laws. • Describe the impact of jazz music on race relations in the mid-1900s. • Obtain information from a variety of primary sources. Time: • First Person Narrative: 10 minutes, 35 seconds • Analysis Questions: 6 minutes Grade Level: 6th–12th Vocabulary: The first-person narratives contain several words that may be unfamiliar to 21st-century readers. Whenever these words are used within narratives or primary sources, the Web page will include definitions for those words. Good historians always have a dictionary nearby when doing research or writing, so students should as well. Here is the list specific to this activity: • segregation – the separation or isolation of a race, class, or group (as by restriction to an area or by separate schools) • streetcar – a passenger vehicle that runs on rails and typically operates on city streets • sound check – preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to check the speakers, microphone, and stage Materials: • Computer with Internet access (with MP3 player and Adobe Reader ) – John Levy Web site (full URL is http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/index.php?option=com_content& view=article&id=619&Itemid=134 cap-sensitive shortened URL is http://bit.ly/JohnLevy) – Transcript of the audio clips (http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/documents/oral_histories/Levy_ Classroom_Transcript.pdf) • Student Worksheet PDF (print or digital) (http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/documents/oral_histories/ Levy_Classroom_Transcript.pdf) • Printer (recommended) Jazz Music and Civil Rights: John Levy, Musician and Manager
Transcript of Jazz Music and Civil RightsJazz Music and Civil Rights Page 3 of 6 Questions: 1. What early...
Jazz Music and Civil Rights Page 1 of 6
Lesson GuideObjectives: The students will be better able to: • DescribetheexperienceofsegregationunderJimCrowlaws. • Describetheimpactofjazzmusiconracerelationsinthemid-1900s. • Obtaininformationfromavarietyofprimarysources.
Time: • First Person Narrative: 10minutes,35seconds • Analysis Questions:6minutes
Grade Level: 6th–12th
Vocabulary: Thefirst-personnarrativescontainseveralwordsthatmaybeunfamiliarto21st-centuryreaders.Wheneverthesewordsareusedwithinnarrativesorprimarysources,theWebpagewillincludedefinitionsforthosewords.Goodhistoriansalwayshaveadictionarynearbywhendoingresearchorwriting,sostudentsshouldaswell.Hereisthelistspecifictothisactivity: • segregation –theseparationorisolationofarace,class,orgroup(asbyrestrictiontoanareaorby separateschools) • streetcar–apassengervehiclethatrunsonrailsandtypicallyoperatesoncitystreets • soundcheck–preparationthattakesplacebeforeaconcert,speech,orsimilarperformancetocheck thespeakers,microphone,andstage
Materials: • ComputerwithInternetaccess(withMP3playerandAdobeReader) –JohnLevyWebsite(fullURLishttp://www.smithsonianjazz.org/index.php?option=com_content& view=article&id=619&Itemid=134cap-sensitiveshortenedURLishttp://bit.ly/JohnLevy) –Transcriptoftheaudioclips(http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/documents/oral_histories/Levy_ Classroom_Transcript.pdf) • StudentWorksheetPDF(printordigital)(http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/documents/oral_histories/ Levy_Classroom_Transcript.pdf) • Printer(recommended)
JazzMusicandCivilRights:JohnLevy,MusicianandManager
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Preparation:1. VisittheJohnLevypageofSmithsonianJazz.orgtopreviewthecontent.2. DownloadandprintthetranscriptfortheJohnLevyrecordings.Considermakingcopiesforstudents.3. Printthestudentworksheettodistributetostudents.
Standards:NCHS 5–12 United States History Standards Era8,Standard1B:ThestudentunderstandshowAmericanlifechangedduringthe1930s.(Explainthe culturallifeoftheDepressionyearsinart,literature,andmusic.) Era9,Standard1B:Thestudentunderstandshowthesocialchangesofthepostwarperiodaffectedvarious Americans.
NCHS 5–12 Standards in Historical Thinking 2B:Reconstructtheliteralmeaningofahistoricalpassage 2C:Identifythecentralquestion(s) 2F:Appreciatehistoricalperspectives 4B:Obtainhistoricaldatafromavarietyofsources 4F:Supportinterpretationswithhistoricalevidence
Common Core Literacy in History/Social Studies (Grades 6–8) 1:Citespecifictextualevidencetosupportanalysisofprimaryandsecondarysources.
Introduction:Inordertobetterunderstandeventsandpeopleofthepast,historiansexaminemanydifferenttypesofprimarysources.Governmentrecords,letters,photographsandartifactsarejustafewexamplesofprimarysources.First-personnarrativesareaveryvaluabletypeofprimarysourcesincetheyarethewordsofpeoplewhoactuallylivedthroughtheeventstheyspeakof.Theaudiorecordingusedinthislessonisanoralhistoryofanindividualwholivedthroughtheseevents.
Historical Context:BetweentheendoftheCivilWarin1865andtheCivilRightsMovement’sachievementsinthe1960s,manypartsoftheSouthhadlawsrequiringthatpublicplacesberacialsegregated.LegislationknownasJimCrowlawsseparatedpeopleofcolorfromwhitesinschools,housing,jobs,andpublicgatheringplaces.Overlappingwiththisperiod,fromtheearly1900sthroughthe1950sand1960s,jazzmusicswelledinpopularity.WithitsrootsinAfrican,Caribbean,andLatinomusicaltraditions,jazzsatatthecenterofAmerica’sculturalcrossroads.AfricanAmericanandwhiteAmericansoftenfoundthemselvesintegratedwhilelisteningtoorperformingjazzmusicandthissharedculturalexperiencewassometimesabridgetobreakingdownracialbarriers.
Task:Studentsusetheirlisteningskillstodiscoverimportantinformationfromtheoralhistory,thenworkwithseveralsupportingprimarysourcestoanswerquestionsaboutJohnLevyand/orhisexperiences.
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Questions:1. WhatearlyexperienceshelpedtodevelopLevy’sinterestinmusic?
Levy’s family was involved in their church and participated in music at the church. In New Orleans there were also parades that took music out onto the street, so Levy developed an interest in the instruments being played in those parades.
2. CiteoneormoreexampleofsegregationinLevy’slife.Whatisthesignificanceofthesignsandhowdoyou thinkLevyandotherAfricanAmericanswouldhaverespondedtoseeingoneofthosesigns?
Levy’s childhood wasn’t extremely affected by segregation because his neighborhood was mixed. He did remember one specific incident where he had to follow Jim Crow laws and that made him feel very hurt and rejected. These signs are ones like Levy might have seen on the streetcar.
3. FromLevy’srecordedwordsandatleastoneothersource,inwhatwaysdidjazzcrossraciallines?Citeone instancewhereLevy’sbandpushedagainsttheinstitutionofsegregation.
From Levy’s interview, he says that many different kinds of people liked jazz music. Although many places were segregated, either de facto or de jure, jazz was something that could be more integrated. In fact, Levy’s bandmate George insisted on not sitting at clubs where the audiences were segregated to show that he thought it was unfair. From looking at the photograph, we know that the band itself also included both white and black musicians.
Supporting Primary Sources:Seepages4through6inthisguide.
Additional Primary & Secondary Sources: • AnarticlefromPBSdiscussingearlyjazzrecordingandracerecords(http://www.pbs.org/jazz/ exchange/exchange_race_records.htm) • Discussionofthe2010bookWheretheDarkandtheLightFolksMeet:RaceandtheMythology, PoliticsandBusinessofJazz(http://news.jazzjournalists.org/2010/12/book-reviews/)
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George Shearing QuintetThebandmembersposein1949.JohnLevyispicturedtopleftonbass.GeorgeShearingispicturedbottomleftonpiano.
CourtesyofDevraHallLevy
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Sign, “for white passengers”Restrictivesignsweredisplayedinmanypublicplaces.Theywereconstantandhumiliatingreminderswithacommonmessage—“stayinyourplace.”
Sign, “for colored passengers”
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Top Musicians Divided on Racial Unity, Prejudice in Jazz WorldTheChicagoDefender(Nationaledition)(1921-1967);Apr20,1963
