Popular 19th and 20th century community music within the African American population

Abstract

My presentation is inspired by popular music within the African American community during the 19th and 20th century. I will address music involved with the Civil War, civil rights, slavery, black beauty and the struggle of being an African American during this time, as well as document music that contradicted what the African American community was fighting for during this time. Specifically, I will examine how often these examples of music show up in song books and newspapers. These examples of music were intended for community singing. I will examine the ratio of African American composers verses white composers during this time and analyze their purpose for writing this music as well as reflect on how often the music shows up and where it appears most commonly.