Race and Swing

The racial discourse of the Swing Era was characterized by an antagonistic ambivalent relationship between racial tensions and socio-economic integration. Several aspects of 1930s America contributed to creating a setting which allowed Swing to function as an instrument in diminishing and liberating racial segregation, promoting cultural integration and shaping the formation of popular American culture. Contrary to this progressive effect that the Swing era had on transcending racial and class boundaries, the negative economic circumstances inflicted on society during the Swing Era by the Great Depression exacerbated racial tensions in the music business and society at large by creating heightened competition.

The adverse effects of enhanced competition created by the economic conditions during the Great depression were especially felt in the music business. A decreased economic base to draw from coupled with the end of the prohibition sent many musicians into unemployment. Crashing markets and declining economic opportunities made it increasingly difficult to make a living as a musician. During these times America experienced a heightened antagonism between white and black music artists. Racial tensions which were created under these conditions were not limited to the music business but expanded to all levels of society and economic sectors. The heightened competition created an uneven playing field between black and white musicians (The Swing Era). Artists stemming from privileged white middle-class back-rounds enjoyed broad acceptance by the American public, including in the racially more intolerant south, easier work conditions, higher compensation, and were generally not “forced to suffer from indignities of racism”, that even the most talented  African American musician could not evade (Gioia 133). Despite the restraints imposed on Black artists, their superior talent did not go unnoticed.  White jazz productions possessed “no vitality” and in that respect were inferior to black music, which was in the ascendant since the beginning of the swing era (Swing Changes 53). Simply put, what compensated black musicians for their opportunistic disadvantage due to their ethnic origins was their incredible talent (Swing Changes).

Competition creating racial tension was not only fueled by the economic difficulties at the time but also by the phenomena of Jazz Capitalism (Stewart). Increasing economic opportunity led to an increase in the number of white artists infiltrating the predominantly African American cultural creating of jazz and Swing (Stewart). A major contributor to the concept of Jazz Capitalism was the invention of the radio. This technological innovation induced a rapid geographical spread of music which transformed swing into a paradigm for popular music in America (Gioia 135, Swing Changes 54). More and more white musicians tapped in on the potential for economic profit which accompanied the transformation of swing from a predominantly black cultural creation into becoming the popular music of America. Jazz Capitalism led to the emergence of swing in a corporate setting and therefore required music artists to collaborate with talent agents, many of which were white and raised in privileged middle-class families, in order to realize their ambitions (Gioia 128).

 Contrary to the disintegration and creation of racial tension induced by economic transformations, the Swing era also permeabilized racial and class boundaries (Swing Changes 73). The harsh economic conditions of the Great Depression together with the corporate setting that the music industry found itself in during the Swing Era created a mutual dependency between white producers or talent agents and music artists thereby setting the stage for increased racial integration (Swing Changes 73). During the 1930s Swing “challenged the ironclad rigidity of the Depression-era racial segregation, crediting blacks with unique powers of spontaneous artistic creativity” (Swing Changes 53). Despite harsh economic conditions, the political and social landscape of 1930s America was introduced to left-leaning ideologies, American exceptionalism, freedom of expression and a domain of ethnic pluralism and socioeconomic opportunity (Swing Changes 73). This enabled Swing which “was in a fundamental sense an African American music” to become the American culture of choice. Interracial collaborations among musicians or between talent agents and music artists created an intertwining of cultures which was epitomized by the interactive nature of swing that created a bond between white dance audiences and black musicians. However, the infusion of mainstream America with black culture created a discourse between admiration of cultural creation and the threat of an emerging black population endangering personal socioeconomic standing within society. (Swing Changes 54) Nevertheless the Swing Era offered a major contribution to the development of establishing racial equality by exposing and intertwining mainstream white America with the beautiful and popular artistic creation of Jazz and Swing, which originated from African American culture and tradition.