Armstrong’s Experiences of Racism

Armstrong’s Experiences of Racism

Introduction

Louis Armstrong, popularly known as Satchmo, is one of America’s significant musicians in America’s jazz music industry. The nickname, Satchmo, was a short form of “Satchel Mouth.” He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 4^th August 1901(Johnson 173). One of the most significant factors that make him one of the most memorable musicians in America’s history is his significantly great ability to play trumpets. Armstrong was born t a time when jazz was still in the process of gaining nation-wide recognition. There were significantly few musicians making jazz music at the time(Johnson 173). He was born and raised in a community where poverty was an order of the day. The economic constraints during his childhood, however, did not prevent him from pursuing his dreams. He employed various strategies that would see him overcome many odds. He tried to perform his music in front of his age-mate boys during his early stages of development. He was later sent to Colored Waifs Home as a juvenile delinquent in 1913. That was one of the significant events that helped steer his passion for music. He got a chance to learn how to play the cornet. His love for music grew further, and he also saw the importance of increasing his music speed to make it more entertaining(Johnson 174). He learned different forms of music, but he was interested more in jazz music, which by then was not so popular. He could listen to some pioneer jazz musicians of the times, such as King Oliver. One of the significant factors that defined King Oliver’s music is his considerable ability to play the cornet. The significant positive inspiration Armstrong got from various musicians, and different life events made him develop rapidly in his music career. By 1918, he had gained enough skills to play in Kid Ory band(Johnson 174). By the 1920s, he had already gained enough ability to play in the Mississippi riverboat dance bands. Throughout his music career, Armstrong tried to call for solidarity among his black community and the nation at large. This paper discusses the challenges he experienced growing up and throughout his music career, as well as how he used music to end racial discrimination.

Armstrong’s Experiences of Racism

The conditions in New Orleans made Armstrong get the practical meaning of racism at an early stage. There were many cases of harassment, torture, and killings of the blacks in his community by the white soldiers(Teachout 8). One of the most significant events was the Robert Charles riots of 1900, which occurred as a response to a case in which a black person shot a police officer who was harassing him. Armstrong remembers an event that happened when he was at the age of five. He sat in the front section of the streetcar, which was reserved for whites only. Based on the fact that he was unable to read, he thought that the front part was more comfortable than the rear(Johnson 174). He learned that the rear section, which he did not want to sit, was labeled “for colored passengers only.” That is where he belonged. He was lucky enough not to be caught by the racists occupying the position reserved for the “superior” humans. A black woman noticed that Armstrong was seated on the wrong seat, a factor that could fuel significant aggression from the racists(Newsome 3). She rushed from the rear section and took Armstrong with her to the back. The young Armstrong asked the woman why she did that, but she responded rudely that the boy should stop asking many questions.

Later, Armstrong learned that being discrimination of racial grounds was not the only problem related to his skin color. He could also land himself in trouble by opposing racism in the presence of the whites(Shim 138). He remembers a case in which a white man lured his cousin, Flora, and got her pregnant. The man appears to have done that because he believed society could do very little in response because almost everyone was against the blacks. Some people urged the girls’ father to seek legal action against the man(Johnson 175). However, such a move could only consume people’s time and energy but yield no desired fruits. The fact that the criminal was white meant that the white-dominated legal system would also protect him. Armstrong believes that is the family would try to take such an action, the judge would have thrown all of them out in the streets.

Armstrong says that being discriminated based on color was not a significant issue during his early stages of envelopment in New Orleans. He remembers cases in which the police would whip the heads of black people than ask questions later(Shim 139). Armstrong also remembers an event that occurred while he was working as a musician on a riverboat. A white woman slipped on the deck in the presence of people of other races. One black woman could not hide her joy of experiencing a white person fail at least in some way. She shouted, “Thank God!” Armstrong was so terrified by the black woman’s statement because he believed that it could lead to severe consequences within a short time. He, however, did not see any response from other white people in that place(Shim 139). Armstrong did not understand why the whites did not do anything terrible to the black woman because he had experienced prior cases in which blacks were subjected to severe punishment for uttering words that had a lesser impact than what he heard the black woman say to the white woman.

Armstrong narrates an event that happened one night when he arrived late at the house of a white person where his wife worked. He was stopped by a night watchman who was so suspicious about him(Hobson 5). He asked so many questions before allowing him in. The following day he awakened his family very early in the morning and told them to leave that house at once. He could not continue livening in a community that perceived him as a criminal by default t just because of his black complexion. The many elements of racial discrimination that happened in Armstrong’s life as he grew up made him believe that he was pure of an “inferior” race(Hobson 6). That fact required him to act and live just like people of his category. Armstrong states that while working at a riverboat, every black person understood their racial characteristics and what society expected of them(Shim 137). They were not allowed to interact with the white guests for whatever reason. Their only role in that place was only to play good music for the whites. The fact that it was not the first time for the musicians to experience segregation prevented them from developing hard feelings about the restriction to interact with visitors.

Armstrong states that sometimes, one was forced to obey the whites unquestioningly for survival willingly. That is because no white person could respect a black person who did not have some white support from their fellow white people(Johnson 174). He states that black people who got proper white men to represent them in court, the representative were only required to offer significantly little support for the black person for them to be set free. Those who did not have any connections with influential white people lived an unfortunate life because the moment they were presented in court for whether reasons, they had high chances of getting imprisoned(Hobson 174). Armstrong narrates about a white boss who used to call him “nigger.” He states that he did not like the name. He felt like attacking the man for that reason but remembered blacks do not do that to whites unless one is ready to make their lives more difficult. The best thing he could do in response to the “insult” was by using other approaches apart from open rebellion.

Armstrong extends his narrative about the streetcar by stating that sometimes blacks were allowed to occupy the front on Sunday evenings. He says that it felt right for almost all the blacks that occupied it probably because they were prohibited from holding that position(Johnson 175). Another factor that increased the fun during such moments is the fact that people who had experienced similar forms of oppression met to experience a feeling of freedom together. Armstrong remembers another instance in which he got similar feelings of pleasure. He remembers sitting with his mother in a bar where he could interact with other black people. He felt good interacting with people with whom they could speak the same language and share similar experiences(Johnson 175). It was a moment for them to stay away from the oppressive white community in New Orleans. It was a chance for them to think about themselves and the present moment without caring about the outside world. Armstrong stats that such moments allowed blacks to discuss strategies that would help them overcome the difficulties in their communities. It is through such platforms that they discovered that the best way to deal with their conflicts is by solving them without including the oppressive white police(Shim 138). There was a need for the entire black nation in the United States to be united in the fight against the common enemy. To achieve unity, they needed to employ many approaches, among them music.

Armstrong’s Role in the Fight against Racial Discrimination

Armstrong used his life and music career to oppose some of the societal values that appeared to oppress specific groups of people. He approached the issue of discrimination differently from most black musicians by focusing mainly on campaigning for support for his music from the conflicting parties as opposed to most black musicians who addressed racism directly(Hobson 15). He believed that the imaginary racial hierarchy created by the majority white community in the United States was disadvantageous at least to some extent to other races in the United States, particularly the blacks. Being black, Armstrong experienced various forms of racial discrimination, a factor that encouraged him to join other human rights activists in the fight for equality and eradication of racial discrimination(Hobson 16). His music was accepted by people of all races, a factor that united them at least to some extent. People who enjoy a common thing in life have something to unite them. However, his music appeared to assert blackness, a factor that brought African American elements to the center of American Music. According to [[]]]], the true definition of a revolutionist is not the one who points guns at people in public because if one does that, they get arrested or shot by the security agents (Hobson 23). The best definition of a revolutionist is the one that smiles and drops a piece of poison in the enemies’ coffee. That kind of revolutionist goes unnoticed and is never arrested by the police. To [[]]], Armstrong was that kind of a fighter against racial discrimination. He used approaches that entertained people but in the process, informed them of their evil racial perceptions.

Some people believe that a more significant percentage of Armstrong’s life supported the view that he was not concerned with the issue of civil rights. However, during his late years, Armstrong stated that he did not vote for a significantly long time and did not participate in many democratic activities because he did not understand the meaning of voting for a system he knew significantly little about(Johnson 175). During the life of Armstrong, he experienced various events that influenced to conform to the white community. He however remained firmly attached to his “blackness.” He refused to straighten his hair since the 1930s as a sign that he was still strongly affiliated to the black community(Shim 138). Armstrong wrote to President Eisenhower in 1938, expressing his displeasure with the way the significantly little action against various forms of racial discrimination in different parts of the United States.

Armstrong’s strategies of addressing the issue of racial discrimination are similar to the events that took place in the medieval carnival, where people of all backgrounds could meet and get entertained by significant comedians in the community. Most of the factors that caused laughter in the carnivore touched on social boundaries, at least to some extent(Johnson 178). They targeted social hierarchies that appeared to oppress some groups of people. Similarly, Armstrong’s music tried to overturn the racial hierarchy in the united states. He tried to remove the racial dominance that had been established by the majority white community over the minority ethnic groups, including the blacks(Hobson 33). The medieval carnivals gave some people a chance to experience equality. Even though the feeling was temporary, at least it was a form of a practical explanation of justice as opposed to the eternal theoretical promise for equality.

Having been born and raised in the poverty-stricken New Orleans, Armstrong believed that the best way to gain happiness is by opposing any factor that acts as a barrier. His most significant obstacle to happiness during the early stages of development was a lack of economic opportunities(Shim 137). Growing up, he believed that he could only achieve happiness by overcoming that challenge. In the latter days, he realized that racial discrimination was a significant problem facing his black community. It was a new barrier to happiness. Armstrong believed that blacks should feel superior amidst the significant racial discrimination(Shim 137). He thought that his fellows could only feel happy by celebrating their blackness in front of the white communities. He led by example by expressing his love for blackness in a number of his music.

Armstrong was among the few people who used music to call for solidarity among the black people in New Orleans. He performed in various social functions ranging from funerals to lawn parties. He believed that music gave blacks lives a sense of continuity and togetherness(Teachout 7). Armstrong thought music cold create harmony between the whites and blacks as well. After a few years of consistency in his music career, he “conquered the world” by gaining massive recognition in the United States(Brothers 13). He was loved by not only fellow blacks but the whites as well. The extensive support he got from people of both races had a significant impact on the relationship between the whites and blacks. The two parties had something in common, which was the love for the same mcommon artist(Brothers 13). Some events that happened before Armstrong’s massive success gave him hope that he could use his music to foster solidarity at a higher level. He remembers when he started working at the riverboats, the audience was usually hostile to the dancers. They were not ready for a world in which blacks could perform in such places. However, Armstrong and his team persisted for long enough until the white audience finally accepted that they could be entertained by the blacks(Johnson 175). He believed that he could experience the same resistance at higher levels. He learned to use persistence as a tool for fostering positive relationships between people.

Conclusion

The above is a brief description of Louis Armstrong’s experiences as a black musician in the United States and his role in fostering positive relations between whites and blacks. The text shows that life in New Orleans and other parts of the United States was significantly tricky for blacks. Racial segregation in public places and negative perceptions from security agents was a significant issue. Access to justice was a change because the white-dominated legal system would rule in favor of the whites regardless of whether they were wrong or not. Armstrong used his music to call for solidarity among his black community and the entire nation. He got massive support from both his black community and whites. The two parties felt united by having a liking for the same music and artist.