Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America Lessons for High School Music and Social Studies Classes Episode 4: Express Yourself Lesson 1 of 5 Part 1: Image and Meaning Part 2: Different Experiences, Different Views Written in conjunction with Quincy Jones

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Part 1
(This lesson can take place over one or more class sessions and can be conducted in conjunction with social studies, health education, and music curricula.)

 

Objectives


• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the various influences on their personal style.
• Students will explain how image can convey personality.
• Students will analyze manifestations of stereotypes throughout the history of Black music.
• Students will identify ways to discourage negative stereotypes.
Curriculum Standards for Social Studies from the National Council for Social Studies
(http://www.socialstudies.org).

IV. Individual Development & Identity:
a. articulate personal connections to time, place, and social/cultural systems
f. analyze the role of perceptions, attitudes, values, and beliefs in the development of personal identity
g. compare and evaluate the impact of stereotyping, conformity, acts of altruism, and other behaviors on individuals and groups

V. Individuals, Groups, & Institutions:
d. identify and analyze examples of tensions between expressions of individuality and efforts used to promote social conformity by groups and institutions

Part 2

Objectives

• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the role music has played throughout African American history, from the days of slavery to the present.

• Students will identify and describe the major issues and events surrounding the civil rights movement of the '50s and '60s.

• Students will describe the influences of the civil rights movement on black culture, and the influences of black culture on the civil rights movement.Curriculum Standards for Social Studies from the National

Council for Social Studies

II. Time, Continuity & Change:
b. apply key concepts such as time, chronology, causality, change, conflict, and complexity to explain, analyze, and show connections among patterns of historical change and continuity

II. Time, Continuity & Change:
e. investigate, interpret, and analyze multiple historical and contemporary viewpoints within and across cultures related to important events, recurring dilemmas, and persistent issues, while employing empathy, skepticism, and critical judgment

V. Individuals, Groups, & Institutions:
b. analyze group and institutional influences on people, events, and elements of culture in both historical and contemporary settings

Materials

• Videotape of Say It Loud! A Celebration Of Black Music In America, Episode 4: Express Yourself
• Television
• VCR
• Internet access (optional)

Procedures

Part 1: Image and Meaning

1. Tell students that they are going to watch a program about the role of “image” or style in relation to the history of black music and the experience of black citizens in the United States. Before they watch the video, ask them to share any ideas they may already have about the significance of image in the world of music and entertainment and give examples of artists who portray particular images. Then have students discuss the following questions:

• What is your favorite kind of music? Who are your favorite musical artists?
• Which artists have styles, "looks," or images that you admire? Do you identify with them? If not, who do you identify with?
• Do they influence your personal style? If so, how? If not, why not?

2. Have students either write a journal entry in which they describe their personal style, or create a collage that reflects their personal style. They can share their writing or collages with the class if they wish, or keep them private, if they prefer.

3. Next, have students discuss how people's appearances can convey messages, values, or agendas. Give an example (or have students suggest one). For example, what does a tuxedo suggest? What does purple hair represent? How does context (where, when and with whom these "looks" appear) affect the meaning? For example, how is wearing purple hair on Halloween different from wearing it on another day of the year? Have them brainstorm for more "looks", styles, or images that they observe in the world of contemporary music and entertainment, and in their own community or school. Have them suggest possible interpretations for these "looks" in various contexts. List their suggestions on the board in a chart like the following. Foster respect for differing opinions by listing all the students' views.

Encourage a discussion about how a person's looks may affect how they view someone (e.g., some may view a rapper wearing hip hop clothes in a certain way; a hippie from the '60s may have been mistaken as not patriotic, etc.) Help students to identify examples of times in their lives when relying on the outer “image” did not prove valid. Teacher might provide a personal example to begin discussion.

4. Have students (orally or in writing) analyze and then debate the pros and/or cons of dress codes of schools in your area. Encourage students to talk with students at schools that have dress codes to gather the information needed to form their opinions. Have them consider the following questions:

• Why do dress codes exist?
• Do they suppress or enhance individuality?
• Do they help or hinder students' self-expression?
• Do they help or hinder students' self-images? That is, do they help them feel good about themselves?
• How do they affect the way students are viewed by others?
• Do they help people to focus on inner qualities rather than the external?
• What else can help people focus on inner qualities rather than outward appearance?

Part 2: Different Experiences, Different Views

1. Have students work in groups or individually to make a timeline depicting historic or sociopolitical events in African American history. Ask students to think about the rights of African Americans from the earliest times in American history to the present. How have these rights changed? What is the situation today?

2. Have students conduct research on the civil rights movement and report their findings to the class. Teacher might assign students a specific topic or time period of the Civil Rights Movement or provide students with a photograph and ask students to research the specific part of the civil rights movement that occurred when the photo was taken? Ask them to find books or magazines at the library or magazine archives on the Web (See “Resources” below for websites and publications.) Have them photocopy or download photos and annotate them. (Examples might include such things as Jim Crow signs in South, images of school desegregation in Alabama, the March on Washington, etc., from archived issues of Life or Newsweek.) Have students bring their findings to class and explain what the images depict.

Ask students to show these photos to older relatives or friends—ideally, from among a variety of backgrounds, races, and cultures—and ask them to relate them to their own lives. Have students ask their family members or friends what they were doing in the 1950s and 1960s and how the civil rights movement affected them. Suggest that students ask about their other memories of that era regarding dress, music, and entertainment.

Explain to the students that some of the reactions and views they may receive may differ from their own. Work with the students to identify reasons why others may have different viewpoints (background, upbringing etc.).

Have them prepare and present oral reports on their findings.

During or before the presentations, lead students in a discussion about stereotypes. Have students define the term and give examples. (As defined by Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, a stereotype is a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion.) Have them discuss stereotypes throughout history of various groups in American society (ethnic groups, teens, etc.). How did irrational stereotypes foster the existence of Jim Crow laws, segregation, etc? Have students discuss how people who are stereotyped feel about it.

3. Have students watch Episode 5: Express Yourself of Say It Loud in part or in full. Tell students to pay special attention to the evolution of "looks" or styles that Black musicians have portrayed over the years, and to the reasons for or meanings of these looks. Highlight the portion of the program that states, “While Black artists today are trendsetters, this century started off with most Black entertainers having to assimilate to white culture to gain acceptance.”

4. Tell students that they should view the program keeping in mind that they will work in small groups to create an evolutionary timeline of "looks" in Black music from Duke Ellington to today's hip hop artists. Students will align the artists with the decade in which they were popular and the "look" or image for which they were known. Then for each artist, students will explain the function of his or her chosen "look," especially in regard to stereotypes of Blacks at the time.

Points to stop video and make particular reference:

• John Clayton and Bradford Marsalis talking about Louis Armstrong as portraying an “image” that white audiences expected.
• Abiodun Oyewole and Bradford Marsalis talking about Miles Davis wanting the “music” to be the most prominent aspect of his performance.
• References to the “clean, polished” look of the '50’s and '60’s.

As students list and describe each artist, have them discuss the rationale behind the adopted image. What was happening in society at the time that the artist was popular? What values, messages, or agendas was the artist trying to project? What values, messages, or agendas was the artist trying to rebel against? Students can use a chart like the following:

Sample answers may include: Duke Ellington wore a tuxedo in the 40s to convey elegance as a rejection of white American stereotypes about blacks; Marvin Gaye wore suits in the '60s to conform to white expectations, as did Stevie Wonder. Then, in the '70s, Gaye wore casual clothes and a natural while Stevie Wonder wore dashikis and cornrows. Seventies styles such as afros and dashikis reflected Afrocentrism and black pride; the platform shoes that some artists wore also conveyed a sense of pride and “standing tall."

Extensions

1. Have students discuss where they think we will go from here, in terms of images in African American music. What might future "looks" be? What might they be in response to? What will they say about the role of African Americans in American society?

2. Choose one of the following and discuss:

• Patti La Belle says that performers must dress a certain way so people will look at them so that they will listen to them. Agree or disagree.
• Gladys Knight says that real talent doesn't depend on looks. Agree or disagree.
• M.C. Hammer says, "You've got to market yourself." Are most black performers simply marketing themselves with their "looks"? Or are there other reasons to dress a certain way when you're in the public eye?

3. Have students listen to a song without visual images. Then have students listen to and view the corresponding video of the same song. Lead students in a discussion about whether the visual image changed their perception of the music?

4. Have students perform a piece of music with and without visual images. Students can explore performing a piece of music with no costumes, movement, or expression and then create a video or stage performance to correspond.

Resources

Websites:

• Heart and Soul: A Celebration of African American Music from World Book Online provides a basic introduction to African American music from spirituals to rock and roll and rap: http://www.worldbook.com/fun/aamusic/html/intro.htm.

• The Smithsonian Institute's site on its America's jazz heritage program includes information on jazz and jazz greats such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, along with photos, sound files, and links: http://www.si.edu/ajazzh/.

• The website for the Center for Black Music Research has a section on Musical Styles and Genres with detailed descriptions of several African American genres such as black rock, hip hop and jazz: http://www.cbmr.org/lib/genres.htm.

• The All About Jazz website contains information on jazz and over 3,600 profiles and biographies of jazz artists, including articles, photos, discographies, reviews, and sound files: http://wwww.allaboutjazz.com/. Check out the jazz timeline at: http://wwww.allaboutjazz.com/timeline.htm.

• Go to VH1's site for bios, photos, and sound and video files of contemporary artists: http://www.vh1.com.

• The following Web resources will help teachers who want to conduct classroom activities for fostering understanding of and sensitivity to the experience of prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping:

• The Horizon Magazine article, "The Eyes of Jane Elliott" by Brigitta Kral, describes the now-classic 1968 experiment in which then-fourth grade teacher, Jane Elliott subjected her students to arbitrary discrimination. She divided her class into two groups: those students with brown eyes and those with blue eyes, then gave them "data" to make them believe that one group was superior to the other. Elliott is now a diversity trainer who has been featured on "Oprah" and "60 Minutes": http://www.horizonmag.com/4/jane-elliott.asp.

• "Blue-Eyed" is a training video produced by California Newsreel, a San Francisco documentary production company. It shows teachers, police, school administrators and social workers participating in an exercise devised to create prejudice and simulate the effects of racism. They are led by diversity trainer Jane Elliott, who in 1968 first devised the activity to enable her fourth grade students to experience discrimination. The video is offered at a special price for high schools and community groups: http://www.newsreel.org/films/blueeyed.htm.

• "Learning to Respect Each Other" is a Discovery Channel-developed lesson plan that is similar in design to the original "Blue Eye, Brown Eye" simulation lesson described above. It is aimed at elementary school students but can be easily adapted for use with older students: http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/respect/.

• BaFá BaFá® is a diversity simulation game that aims to challenge belief systems and provide insight into diversity issues. It enables two groups of students to become members of different cultures, then to experience bewilderment and hostility due to the differences between them. When participants finish the game, they understand better what it feels like to be the one person in a group who is different. They realize how easily stereotypes can be developed and what must be done to overcome them. The game is produced by Simulations Training Systems International: http://www.stsintl.com/schools/.

www.teachingtolerance.com

Publications

• [Note: Unless otherwise indicated, these books are intended for adult readers and can provide teachers with valuable background information. Therefore, please review them before referring students to them.]

• Cats Of Any Color: Jazz, Black And White, by Gene Lees. Da Capo Press, 2000. Explores racism, both black and white, in the world of jazz.

• Jazz From The Beginning, by Gavin Bushell and Mark Tucker. Da Capo Press, 1998. Reminiscences of jazz greats.

• Black Music, by Leroi Jones (Amiri Imamu Baraka). Da Capo Press, 1998. Jazz criticism by poet, playwright, political activist, social critic, and author of Blues People: Negro Music in White America.

• Celebrating The Duke And Louis, Bessie, Billie, Bird, Carmen, Miles, Dizzy & Other Heroes,

• by Ralph J. Gleason. Da Capo Press, 1995. Portraits of jazz artists by the highly regarded critic and founding editor of Rolling Stone.

• Nowhere To Run: The Story Of Soul Music, by Gerri Hirshey. Da Capo Press, 1994. Portraits of soul music greats.

• The Hip Hop Years: A History of Rap, by Alexander Hogg and Dave Upshal. Fromm International, 2001. Describes the essence of rap music and hip hop culture.

• Books on teens and self-esteem:

• Teens Can Make It Happen: Nine Steps for Success, by Steadman Graham. Simon & Schuster, 2000. Successful businessman and companion of Oprah Winfrey advises teens on achieving goals and finding one's identity. For ages 12 and up.

• Ready-to-Use Social Skills Lessons and Activities for Grades 7 - 12: A Ready-to-Use Curriculum Based On Real Life Situations to Help Build Your Students' Self-Esteem, edited by Ruth Weltmann Begun. Center for Applied Research in Education, 1995. Activities for building self-esteem, self-control, and respect for the rights of others.

This lesson was developed by Heuristix: The Interactive Learning Company in collaboration with

and
MENC: The National Association for Music Education