Ian Taylor
Kids Speak Their Mind About Race-Music
The video Kids Speak Their Mind About Race was a study on kids from two age groups 6 and 13 and how they interpreted different pictures. They would look at a photo of a white boy standing over a black boy and be asked if they thought the two boys were friends. Then they would be shown a picture of a black boy standing over a white boy and be asked the same question. Their answers were recorded for analyzation and the purpose of doing this study is to see what happens when race is involved in a situation and how that can affect the meaning for young kids.
Race plays a big part in the music industry from the singer and producer all the way to the listener and audience. Race determines how music sounds and race determines who the individual listener will be. With my group we asked how race and music could possibly relate to children. Then together we came up with the question, how does music change over time and what connections does it have to racial views? In order to answer this question we have to look at how race affects music first.
I start my research by looking at one of the most cultural icons of the 20th century and how he became the king of rock and roll. Elvis Presley was born January 8, 1935 and began his career as a singer at the age of 13. Elvis became famous for his upbeat tempo of the fusion of country music and rhythm and blues his biography says “In 1955, Presley began to develop a following with fans being drawn to his unusual musical style, provocative gyrating hips and good looks.” (Biography). When he first became popular many people thought he was black because there was no television and his music and voice sounded so African American. So how could a pasty white Mississippi boy be mistaken for an African American? The answer lies in the evolution of music. As time goes on music changes and certain genres are preferred by different people and so we create generalizations to categorize our music. Elvis’s style was made to be preferred more by African Americans because “Rhythm and blues (R&B), which combines soulful singing and a strong backbeat, was the most popular music created by and for African Americans between the end of World War II (1941-45) and the early 1960s. Such Georgia artists as Ray Charles, Little Richard, and James Brown rank among the most influential and innovative R&B performers.” (Cahoon). The evolution and change over time is how music gets categorized and generalized that’s why music gets different racial views.
This new understanding helps me understand what happened during that study. The kids interpreted the situation the way they did because of prior experiences, it was how they were raised or how the kids believed in generalizations/stereotypes they previously had. The answer to my question is the evolution and change over time that music goes through is how it gets categorized and generalized that is why music gets different racial views and generalizations. However that does not mean these stereotypes and generalizations are always true, because sometimes they never are.
Cahoon, Brad. "Rhythm and Blues Music: Overview." Rhythm and Blues Music: Overview (2013): n. pag. New Georgia Encyclopedia. University of Georgia Press, 4 Dec. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
"Elvis Presley Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
"Kids Speak Their Minds about Race." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
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