Music and Black Community in Segregated North Carolina
“It’s All Right…”
Author(s): Gregory Freeland

A personal reflection on how music influenced and impacted emotional courage in those of Black identity in North Carolina in the 1950s and 1960s.

Collection: Black Studies
Publication Date  Available in all formats
ISBN: 9781915271211
Pages: 254

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Emotional courage is an underestimated characteristic of successful Black life in the segregated, unjust US south. Author Greg Freeland reflects on how music reflected, impacted, and influenced Black life in 1950s and 1960s North Carolina.

The celebratory aspect of the Black rhythm and blues, jazz, and gospel music of Freeland’s life is one of his clearest memories of the time. In this book, he recalls and reflects upon how music was integral to the solidary and resilience of his Black community in an unequal and unjust society. Through examples of music in the household, church, clubs, parties, and schools, this book explores how music worked in a manner that facilitated the development, mobilization, and realization of Black life.

Learning objectives
Introduction
1: Music and community
2: Durham, North Carolina
3: Musics in Durham, from rhythm and blues to gospel
4: The church and gospel music
5: Intersection of music and everyday life in segregated society
6: Music in the Civil Rights Movement
7: Hayti, the Black Wall Street
8: Dining in Durham
9: Roots in slavery
10: Women in Hickstown; women in North Carolina; women in the struggle
11: A Change is Going to Come
12: Reflections on music and dance
13: Radio and WLAC
14: Music as a Transcendant Force
15: School days
16: Segregation in; segregation out
17: Sam Cooke takes it to another level
18: Improvisational survival
19: The music encompasses the struggle
20: Back to the Movement and out
Conclusion
Activities and learning objectives

Gregory Freeland PhD is Uyeno-Tseng Professor of Global Studies and in the Department of Political Science for California Lutheran University. A member of the Caribbean Studies Association and the Western Political Science Association, he teaches courses on Social Movements, Latin American/Caribbean Politics and Culture, and Music and Civil Rights Movement. In April 2017, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Central Coast Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community.

On Thursday June 21, 2023, we held a seminar in our Topics in Black Studies series:

The Lens of Lived Experience: Music and Black Community in Segregated North Carolina

This free seminar was a conversation between author Gregory Freeland and Chris McAuley, Lived Places Publishing Collection Editor. They talked about the pivotal role that music played in keeping a community together during one of the most legally segregated times in U.S. history.

>> VIEW SESSION REPLAY

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About The Book

Emotional courage is an underestimated characteristic of successful Black life in the segregated, unjust US south. Author Greg Freeland reflects on how music reflected, impacted, and influenced Black life in 1950s and 1960s North Carolina.

The celebratory aspect of the Black rhythm and blues, jazz, and gospel music of Freeland’s life is one of his clearest memories of the time. In this book, he recalls and reflects upon how music was integral to the solidary and resilience of his Black community in an unequal and unjust society. Through examples of music in the household, church, clubs, parties, and schools, this book explores how music worked in a manner that facilitated the development, mobilization, and realization of Black life.

Table of Contents

Learning objectives
Introduction
1: Music and community
2: Durham, North Carolina
3: Musics in Durham, from rhythm and blues to gospel
4: The church and gospel music
5: Intersection of music and everyday life in segregated society
6: Music in the Civil Rights Movement
7: Hayti, the Black Wall Street
8: Dining in Durham
9: Roots in slavery
10: Women in Hickstown; women in North Carolina; women in the struggle
11: A Change is Going to Come
12: Reflections on music and dance
13: Radio and WLAC
14: Music as a Transcendant Force
15: School days
16: Segregation in; segregation out
17: Sam Cooke takes it to another level
18: Improvisational survival
19: The music encompasses the struggle
20: Back to the Movement and out
Conclusion
Activities and learning objectives

About The Author

Gregory Freeland PhD is Uyeno-Tseng Professor of Global Studies and in the Department of Political Science for California Lutheran University. A member of the Caribbean Studies Association and the Western Political Science Association, he teaches courses on Social Movements, Latin American/Caribbean Politics and Culture, and Music and Civil Rights Movement. In April 2017, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Central Coast Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community.

Related Content

On Thursday June 21, 2023, we held a seminar in our Topics in Black Studies series:

The Lens of Lived Experience: Music and Black Community in Segregated North Carolina

This free seminar was a conversation between author Gregory Freeland and Chris McAuley, Lived Places Publishing Collection Editor. They talked about the pivotal role that music played in keeping a community together during one of the most legally segregated times in U.S. history.

>> VIEW SESSION REPLAY

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