Browse Items (24 total)

Gabriel_Brown_LOC.jpg
This photograph shows blues musicians Gabriel Brown and Rochelle French in Eatonville, Florida in 1935. Zora Neale Hurston introduced Library of Congress folklorist Alan Lomax to Brown. Lomax’s recordings for the Library of Congress led Brown into a…

FL_T02.mp3
Folklorist Alan Lomax recorded this selection in 1935 in Eatonville, Florida. The selection is broken into two parts demonstrating Florida A&M College graduate Gabriel Brown’s exceptional guitar talent. Brown alludes to working-class hero John Henry…

Book_T_Sapps_Belle_Glade_LOC.jpg
Library of Congress folklorist Alan Lomax discovered Booker T. Sapps in Belle Glade, Florida. Sapps and other musicians worked the citrus fields in Belle Glade and entertained other farmworkers during their off hours. Working-class audiences across…

FL_T01.mp3
Agriculture and other industries brought thousands of laborers to South Florida every year. Alan Lomax recorded Booker T. Sapps in Belle Glade in 1935. Sapps and other local musicians worked in the citrus fields. They entertained other farmworkers…

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Hurston_Lyrics.png
The blues allowed performers and audiences to criticize racial oppression, working conditions, and other aspects of life in the South. This lyric fragment recorded by Zora Neale Hurston displays a common form of social criticism in blues lyrics.…

twilight_club_pensacola.jpg
The widespread popularity of big band jazz allowed Americans in some cities in the 1920s and 1930s to cross racial boundaries and enjoy the music together. Southern cities were not as permissive as northern cities, but the large military presence in…

Jax Knights of Pythias.jpg
African American businesses and homes in Jacksonville were restricted to segregated districts within the city. The Knights of Pythias Hall, depicted in this 1943 photograph, formed the center of Jacksonville’s LaVilla neighborhood. Known as the…

Two_Spot_Men_Posing.jpg
The African American neighborhood centered on West 45th St. and Moncrief Road in Jacksonville was an enclave of segregation on the outskirts of the city established in the late nineteenth century. The Two Spot, pictured here in the 1940s, hosted…

02goodson.mp3
African American performers created Dixieland jazz from the blues and ragtime in the early twentieth century. This 1982 recording of jazz pioneer Ida Goodson demonstrates a transitional style between traditional blues and the more polished jazz style…

Two_Spot_Dancehall_and_Soda_Fountain.jpg
The Two Spot nightclub in Jacksonville’s 45th & Moncrief neighborhood was home to a large dance hall, tables for small and large groups on two levels, and a luxurious soda fountain. Visitors to the club could also rent a cabin on the grounds or watch…
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