Studio Press

I've decided to do a review of the song "Black and Blue" by Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong was an African-American jazz trumpeter and vocalist who was born in New Orleans and whose career began in the 1920's. Being a black man, he encountered many difficulties in both his daily life and his career.
Through my review of the song "Black and Blue" I want to explore how social institutions helped to shape the music industry and the experiences of black musicians during the Jazz Era. By dissecting Louis Armstrong's lyrics, I think I will find reflections of social structures that enabled racial oppression. For example, a lyric from the song says "My only sin is in my skin./What did I do to be so black and blue?". This sounds like he is blaming himself for any hardships he has encountered, a form of internalized racism. Gloria Yamato said "People of color come to believe misinformation about their particular ethnic group and thus believe that their mistreatment is justified."
I also hope to explore how Armstrong's position as a famous musician in the public eye served as a platform for his acknowledgment of oppression and how he used his position in the limelight in response to oppression.