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Lesson GuideObjectives: The students will be better able to: • DescribetheexperienceofsegregationunderJimCrowlaws. • Describetheimpactofjazzmusiconracerelationsinthemid-1900s. • Obtaininformationfromavarietyofprimarysources.

Time: • First Person Narrative: 10minutes,35seconds • Analysis Questions:6minutes

Grade Level: 6th–12th

Vocabulary: Thefirst-personnarrativescontainseveralwordsthatmaybeunfamiliarto21st-centuryreaders.Wheneverthesewordsareusedwithinnarrativesorprimarysources,theWebpagewillincludedefinitionsforthosewords.Goodhistoriansalwayshaveadictionarynearbywhendoingresearchorwriting,sostudentsshouldaswell.Hereisthelistspecifictothisactivity: • segregation –theseparationorisolationofarace,class,orgroup(asbyrestrictiontoanareaorby separateschools) • streetcar–apassengervehiclethatrunsonrailsandtypicallyoperatesoncitystreets • soundcheck–preparationthattakesplacebeforeaconcert,speech,orsimilarperformancetocheck thespeakers,microphone,andstage

Materials: • ComputerwithInternetaccess(withMP3playerandAdobeReader) –JohnLevyWebsite(fullURLishttp://www.smithsonianjazz.org/index.php?option=com_content& view=article&id=619&Itemid=134cap-sensitiveshortenedURLishttp://bit.ly/JohnLevy) –Transcriptoftheaudioclips(http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/documents/oral_histories/Levy_ Classroom_Transcript.pdf) • StudentWorksheetPDF(printordigital)(http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/documents/oral_histories/ Levy_Classroom_Transcript.pdf) • Printer(recommended)

JazzMusicandCivilRights:JohnLevy,MusicianandManager

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Preparation:1. VisittheJohnLevypageofSmithsonianJazz.orgtopreviewthecontent.2. DownloadandprintthetranscriptfortheJohnLevyrecordings.Considermakingcopiesforstudents.3. Printthestudentworksheettodistributetostudents.

Standards:NCHS 5–12 United States History Standards Era8,Standard1B:ThestudentunderstandshowAmericanlifechangedduringthe1930s.(Explainthe culturallifeoftheDepressionyearsinart,literature,andmusic.) Era9,Standard1B:Thestudentunderstandshowthesocialchangesofthepostwarperiodaffectedvarious Americans.

NCHS 5–12 Standards in Historical Thinking 2B:Reconstructtheliteralmeaningofahistoricalpassage 2C:Identifythecentralquestion(s) 2F:Appreciatehistoricalperspectives 4B:Obtainhistoricaldatafromavarietyofsources 4F:Supportinterpretationswithhistoricalevidence

Common Core Literacy in History/Social Studies (Grades 6–8) 1:Citespecifictextualevidencetosupportanalysisofprimaryandsecondarysources.

Introduction:Inordertobetterunderstandeventsandpeopleofthepast,historiansexaminemanydifferenttypesofprimarysources.Governmentrecords,letters,photographsandartifactsarejustafewexamplesofprimarysources.First-personnarrativesareaveryvaluabletypeofprimarysourcesincetheyarethewordsofpeoplewhoactuallylivedthroughtheeventstheyspeakof.Theaudiorecordingusedinthislessonisanoralhistoryofanindividualwholivedthroughtheseevents.

Historical Context:BetweentheendoftheCivilWarin1865andtheCivilRightsMovement’sachievementsinthe1960s,manypartsoftheSouthhadlawsrequiringthatpublicplacesberacialsegregated.LegislationknownasJimCrowlawsseparatedpeopleofcolorfromwhitesinschools,housing,jobs,andpublicgatheringplaces.Overlappingwiththisperiod,fromtheearly1900sthroughthe1950sand1960s,jazzmusicswelledinpopularity.WithitsrootsinAfrican,Caribbean,andLatinomusicaltraditions,jazzsatatthecenterofAmerica’sculturalcrossroads.AfricanAmericanandwhiteAmericansoftenfoundthemselvesintegratedwhilelisteningtoorperformingjazzmusicandthissharedculturalexperiencewassometimesabridgetobreakingdownracialbarriers.

Task:Studentsusetheirlisteningskillstodiscoverimportantinformationfromtheoralhistory,thenworkwithseveralsupportingprimarysourcestoanswerquestionsaboutJohnLevyand/orhisexperiences.

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Questions:1. WhatearlyexperienceshelpedtodevelopLevy’sinterestinmusic?

Levy’s family was involved in their church and participated in music at the church. In New Orleans there were also parades that took music out onto the street, so Levy developed an interest in the instruments being played in those parades.

2. CiteoneormoreexampleofsegregationinLevy’slife.Whatisthesignificanceofthesignsandhowdoyou thinkLevyandotherAfricanAmericanswouldhaverespondedtoseeingoneofthosesigns?

Levy’s childhood wasn’t extremely affected by segregation because his neighborhood was mixed. He did remember one specific incident where he had to follow Jim Crow laws and that made him feel very hurt and rejected. These signs are ones like Levy might have seen on the streetcar.

3. FromLevy’srecordedwordsandatleastoneothersource,inwhatwaysdidjazzcrossraciallines?Citeone instancewhereLevy’sbandpushedagainsttheinstitutionofsegregation.

From Levy’s interview, he says that many different kinds of people liked jazz music. Although many places were segregated, either de facto or de jure, jazz was something that could be more integrated. In fact, Levy’s bandmate George insisted on not sitting at clubs where the audiences were segregated to show that he thought it was unfair. From looking at the photograph, we know that the band itself also included both white and black musicians.

Supporting Primary Sources:Seepages4through6inthisguide.

Additional Primary & Secondary Sources: • AnarticlefromPBSdiscussingearlyjazzrecordingandracerecords(http://www.pbs.org/jazz/ exchange/exchange_race_records.htm) • Discussionofthe2010bookWheretheDarkandtheLightFolksMeet:RaceandtheMythology, PoliticsandBusinessofJazz(http://news.jazzjournalists.org/2010/12/book-reviews/)

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George Shearing QuintetThebandmembersposein1949.JohnLevyispicturedtopleftonbass.GeorgeShearingispicturedbottomleftonpiano.

CourtesyofDevraHallLevy

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Sign, “for white passengers”Restrictivesignsweredisplayedinmanypublicplaces.Theywereconstantandhumiliatingreminderswithacommonmessage—“stayinyourplace.”

Sign, “for colored passengers”

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Top Musicians Divided on Racial Unity, Prejudice in Jazz WorldTheChicagoDefender(Nationaledition)(1921-1967);Apr20,1963