Let’s Talk About It: The Emergence of the Racial Dialogue of the 1930s

While jazz was undoubtedly a Black creation, by the end of the 1920s and through the 1930s, it had made its way into mainstream White popular culture. As a result, conversations began to surface about it origins and the culture that created it, spurring conversations about race, ethnicity, and value. However, as Black culture was being appreciated for its creation, there was a second debate raging about who should control the industry and the revenue associated with it. It was as a result of this integration of jazz into mainstream popular culture and increased monetization and control of the industry by a few individuals that caused race and ethnicity became an explicit part of the conversation during the 1930s ‘Swing Era’.

            Back in the days of Storyville, jazz was seen as a rough, underground, unsavory form of music. Coming from some of the seedier parts of Black New Orleans, jazz had this rough stigma attached to it and even as it moved up to Chicago and New York, it was still mostly played in Black neighborhoods or in gangster run concert halls. However, all of this started to change in the late 1920s and early 1930s as the proliferation of radio and recorded music further worked to entrench jazz into mainstream culture. This expansion of jazz into popular culture throughout the 1930s, highlighted by Benny Goodman’s Palomar performance in 1935, sparked a conversation about the origins and meaning of this type of music that many people were hearing for the first time. Compared with the prominent 1920s view jazz was a lower class, criminal form of expression, by the 1930s jazz stood for the leftist ideas of race integration and creativity of African Americans (Swing Changes, 53). Benny Goodman’s band employed many talented Blacks including Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton, and Gene Krupa (Stewart). John Hammond travelled the country discovering jazz musicians, including Fletcher Henderson and Billie Holiday, and lauding Blacks for their creativity and intelligence, even going to fair as to say that Duke Ellington didn’t do enough to stand up for Black culture and rights (Swing Changes, 51 & Stewart). The credit to Black culture for creating jazz sparked a conversation about race, ethnicity, and value that can be viewed as a precursor for the Civil Rights movement (Section).

            However, while the conversation about the creation of jazz led to an increased appreciation for Black intelligence and creativity, when it came to who would control this new industry, many of the same race relation problems that had existed for decades once again appeared, and the hegemonic role of Whites remained (Stewart). Due to the consolidation of power in the industry as a result of radio and record sales, there was a need for far less musicians to entertain the masses (Gioia, 127). As a result, only the few artists who could get radio play and record distribution were able to make a decent living and obtain a level of stardom. More often than not, it took a partnership with a White manager or business partner in order for a Black musician to get this airtime and distribution, such as was the case with Duke Ellington and Irving Mills (Stewart). This type of arrangement spurred discussion about the return to what had been the norm of exploitation of Blacks and Black culture by the White elite (Stewart).

            Stemming from the streets of New Orleans, jazz was created as a way for the Black residents of the city to express themselves and their unique culture. By the 1930s, while Blacks were getting credit for its creation and some bands were becoming integrated, there were those who were questioning the control that White managers and businessmen had over the industry. This two sided debate, while starting in the 1930s, would rage for decades and lead straight into the Civil Rights Movement.