How Did Swing Music Affect The Civil Rights Movement

Swing has also helped people come together not only to listen, but also to play. It was during the time of the civil rights movement that swing was created and popularized. While the African Americans had their freedom, they were still largely unaccepted and segregated. Even though swing did not fix the segregation part of the world, it did bring blacks and whites together in interesting ways. Swing was first introduced by black musicians. Some of them included Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, and Jimmy Lunceford. Interestingly enough, because of the popularity of the music, African Americans were able to produce music and bring it into white society for them to listen to. These African American musicians also influenced many of the white musicians as well. White jazz musicians had taken inspiration from black jazz music for many years, but because of swing, they became even more deeply devoted to integrating this music to blacks and whites. Benny Goodman was one of these white musicians.

Benny Goodman also pushed for a diverse band, being the organizer of an interracial group (Swing). In this instance, it was through this connection to music that black and white people came together. At the time that swing was popular, World War II was taking place. It seems legit that people would want to get their feeling out somehow. Swing music did just that. It helped people let loose of their emotions and forget about the war and their personal lives for a few minutes. One way that they did this was the development of the swing dance. This dance was very popular and fun. In this style of dancing, people do not stop moving. It’s upbeat and very energetic. People would come together to hear this music and dance their hearts away. Swing music was important in the aspect of bringing people together based on race and also for people to just “hang