White And Black People s Influence On American Culture...

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, a number of demographic, political, and economic changes greatly impacted American culture and society. (Patterson Carney, 2003.) White and black people in America were still segregated and African Americans were treated as inferior (â€Å"BBC - Higher Bitesize History - Race relations between the wars,† n.d.), though they began to fight against discrimination in this period. (â€Å"Jazz Exacerbates Racial Tension,† n.d.) Music both reflected and played a role in the changing attitudes towards race in the US at this time. From the early 1920s until the early 1950s, major and independent record labels labeled records recorded by African American artists as â€Å"Race Records†. (â€Å"‘Race Records’-Definition,† n.d.) The term†¦show more content†¦I will do this by outlining the role of race in American society during the 1920’s, the migration of many African Americans to the North, the creation of â€Å"Race Records† and the way in which Blues music was marketed to African Americans. Then, I will analyse the role of race in the creation and development of Jazz, the attitude towards African Americans in US society as reflected in Jazz music, the tensions between black people, white people and Creoles in New Orleans and the impact this had on the creation of Jazz, and finally discuss the role of race in Vaudeville. Despite slavery being abolished in 1865 and black people in America being legally free, most white Americans still considered African Americans to be inferior. They faced constant discrimination and hostility, and were treated as second-class citizens. (â€Å"BBC - Higher Bitesize History - Race relations between the wars,† n.d.) In the Southern states of America, where the majority of African Americans lived in the early 20th Century, white superiority was enforced and racial discrimination was legal. Southern states introduced laws to keep black people and white people separated and limit African Americans’ rights, and it was virtually impossible for them to challenge segregation. (â€Å"BBC - Higher Bitesize History - Race relations between the wars,† n.d.) The South became a very