Southern Folk Music and Race Relations :: Racism American Culture Research

Southern Folk Music and Race trafficAbstractIn this paper, I propose that the bill and ontogenesis of grey folk music may serve as an primary(prenominal) vehicle for examining and elaborating the dynamics of Confederate wash drawing relations. I am not suggesting a causal relationship merely an interactional one. both(prenominal) southern race relations and southern music are reflections of the societal structure of the unpolished south. In the structurally segregated south, black and colour musical traditions demonstration the same divergences and point of intersections which have historicly characterized black/ white-hot relations. This is not a lyrical analysis rather, it is a socio-historical analysis of regional popular horti stopping point which focuses upon the interaction between twain important features of that culture race and music. Intoduction The development of the American folk music reservoir is a process which parallels the historical and cultural devel opment of American society. In the formation of this reservoir, two major(ip) streams, British and African, and several lesser tributaries, e.g., French, German, Mexican, Cajun, etc., flowed together over a two century period (Malone, 19794). Alan Lomax, one of folk musics leading historians, has observed that the convergence of these diverse elements has resulted in a cultural product which is more British than anything one can find in Britain (1960155).Southern music is an important part of the folk tradition in many ways it is same with American folk music. And, its history is well documented (Malone, 1979, 1985 Carr, 1979 Wolfe, 1977). What has been neglected until belatedly is the sociological examination of the relationship between this form of popular culture and important social, cultural and historical issues and conditions which gave rise to it and are expressed by it (Fine, 1977381-384 cf. also Albrecht, 1954).1 Country music is a reflection of the southern regions cult ure, history and social structure at the macro level and of the hopes, fears, beliefs and attitudes of its nation at the micro level (Gritzner, 1978).In this paper, I propose that the history and development of southern folk music may serve as an important vehicle for examining and elaborating the dynamics of southern race relations. I am not suggesting a causal relationship merely an interactional one. Both southern race relations and southern music are reflections of the social structure of the rural south. In the structurally segregated south, black and white musical traditions display the same divergences and convergences which have historically characterized black/white relations. This is not a lyrical analysis rather, it is a socio-historical analysis of regional popular culture which focuses upon the interaction between two important features of that culture race and music.