History of Jazz project
Jazz musicians of the 20th century have often been
praised for possessing the personal qualities of ideal citizens in an ideal multi-
cultural democracy. This is a unique form of praise given the forms of racial
oppression experienced by black jazz musicians. You will want to choose four qualities that you believe make an ideal citizen. These can be your choice. You may assign one to each of four people, or choose all four qualities for one person that you have studied this semester. (Please give me about a paragraph for each.)
1) Write an essay on this topic, including four of these personal qualities. For
each personal quality, discuss an instance in the history of jazz in which a specific
jazz musician studied in this course exhibited that quality and link this to the
experiences of the specific musician’s experience of racial inequity (1 1/2 pages)
2) How do you see these qualities plus additional measures that you might
propose moving present-day America toward a thriving multi-cultural society
given this history of racial oppression in our country? (3/4 page)
3) What do you see as your role in this thriving multi-cultural society which still
exhibits multiple forms of racial inequity? (3/4 page)
