JAZZ ON THE MOVE
For this lesson, it is important that you have a basic understanding of the Great Migration and the importance of the Mississippi River around the early part of the 20th Century.
Around the year 1900 (17 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation), 90% of America’s black population lived in southern, former slave-holding states. During the Great Migration, which is generally recognized as occurring between the years of 1910 and 1930, almost 2 million African Americans moved north in search of better jobs and schools and to escape growing racism and segregation. This increased the northern states’ black population by almost 40%. Because the majority of these increases were centered in major cities, racial tensions were high as many different ethnic groups competed for jobs.
To African Americans traveling north from the middle south, the Mississippi was their highway. Even if they weren’t traveling on the river, the nation’s railways, roads and major cities followed the river.
The musician profiled in this lesson is Louis Armstrong. After the closing of Storyville in New Orleans (the infamous red light district where jazz flourished) Armstrong moved north to Chicago at the invitation of his mentor, cornetist Joe “King” Oliver.
