music and race

"Apple Valley, California, in the late eighties, a thirsty, miserable desert. Teenage James Spooner hates that he and his mom are back in town after years away. The one silver lining new school, new you, right? But the few Black kids at school seem to be gangbanging, and the other kids fall on a spectrum of micro-aggressors to future Neo-Nazis. Mixed race, acutely aware of his Blackness, James doesn't know where he fits until he meets Ty, a young Black punk who introduces him to the school outsiders skaters, unhappy young rebels, caught up in the punk groundswell sweeping the country. A haircut, a few Sex Pistols, Misfits and Black Flag records later: suddenly, James has friends, romantic prospects, and knows the difference between a bass and a guitar. But this desolate landscape hides brutal, building undercurrents: a classmate overdoses, a friend must prove himself to his white supremacist brother and the local Aryan brotherhood through a show of violence. Everything and everyone are set to collide at one of the year's biggest shows in town... Weaving in the Black roots of punk rock and a vivid interlude in the thriving eighties DIY scene in New York's East Village, this is the memoir of a budding punk, artist, and activist" From the publisher's web site.

"[A] collection of essays ... [that] consider[s] Eminmen's place in hip hop, the intellectual underpinnings of his work, and the roles of race, gender and privilege in his career, among various other topics"--Back cover.

Discusses what attracts white youths to hip-hop, examines the ways youths who love hip-hop view race, argues that young people have moved beyond the racial politics of their elders, and reflects upon how the hip-hop generation may change America and the world in the areas of race and human rights in the future.

Explores the relationship between rhythm and blues music, black consciousness, and race relations in the civil rights movement in the United States.

Chronicles more than forty years of African-American music from the hopeful songs of the Freedom movement to the disco tunes inspired by the Million Man March.

Examines the origins of jazz and argues that African-American musicians were influenced by a variety of traditions in American culture in creating this art form.