Louis Armstrong and Racism

Louis Armstrong, or “Satchmo”, was among the most influential American jazz artists, and was titled by many the “Master of Modernism”. This jazz trumpeter from New Orleans, Louisiana was known for high quality music, as well as the complexity of the social environments in which his music was performed. His experiences reveal much about how African-American music functioned and evolved during the first half of the twentieth century. As a result of his profound stage performances and the complexity of the social context, Armstrong became the ultimate representative of African-American musical history. Although he was widely popular among black critics, the twentieth century American society was reluctant to express any form of gratification to performers who crossed over the racial divide. The lure of African-American jazz and its dangerous potential to seduce white was perceived as a threat to the purity of the white race. Unlike plantation songs that flourished with the presentation of “soft racism” and romanticized the argument for African-American inferiority, Armstrong performed his songs and roles with a depiction of explicit barbarism. The factor that made him such powerful presence was that he foregrounded black authenticity in such a compelling way, using savage depictions to represent the intensity of African legacy within his modern art. Primitivism was the key ingredient in white reception of his music, and his popularity among both white and black populations was accredited to his authentic black expression.

Armstrong‟s performance in the 1932 Fleischer Brothers cartoon entitled (“I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You Rascal, You” presents an synthetic visual representation of cannibalism, the ultimate marker ...

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...s minstrel character was his way of fighting racism. His eye rolling and mugging poked fun at the circumstances in which he was placed and made subtle references to the ridiculous prejudice of the ruling class. Because his audience would have understood these gestures, this signifying was a form of a hidden transcript and was a way of overcoming adversity. Unbeknownst to the majority of viewers, he subtly communicated to a different audience through his gesture. The general white audience missed the subtleties in his sense of humor that were more prominent in African American comedy of the time. Because of this, Armstrong communicated a message of perseverance and strength without changing the attributes of his character. Armstrong’s performance and sense of humor in the Fleischer cartoon gave a voice to the oppressed while still performing for a dominant audience.