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In 1904, a musician and lecturer by the name of Jeannette\u00a0<\/span>Robinson\u00a0<\/span>Murphy published an unusual volume entitled \u201cSouthern Thoughts for Northern Thinkers,\u201d in which she voices several complex and controversial opinions about black music in the American South. \u00a0Murphy, who grew up in the South, was intimately familiar with black spirituals and became well-known for giving lectures and demonstrations of spirituals to Northern audiences. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although her academic approach to teaching and preserving spirituals certainly demonstrates her respect for the spiritual-singing tradition, she also exoticizes black music in a way that is deeply problematic, especially when viewed through a modern lens.<\/span><\/p>\n The opening paragraph of Murphy\u2019s text reveals the deep respect she has for black spirituals. \u00a0She writes:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFifty years from now, when every vestige of\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n slavery has disappeared, and even its existence has become a fading memory, America, and probably Europe, will suddenly awake to the sad fact that we have\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n irrevocably lost a veritable mine of wealth, through our failure to appreciate and study from a musician\u2019s standpoint the beautiful African music, whose rich stores will then have gone forever from our grasp\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Modern-day readers may scoff at Murphy\u2019s naivete in\u00a0<\/span>believing that slavery will be quickly forgotten, but it seems to me that her basic impulse is praiseworthy: she is arguing that African-American music is rich and beautiful, and that it is worthy of musicological study and preservation. \u00a0Later on in the same chapter, she goes on to condemn blackface minstrelsy. \u00a0Calling minstrel songs \u201cbase imitations\u201d of African music, she insists that \u201cthe white man does not live who can write a genuine negro song.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Despite her making several laudable arguments, Murphy still\u00a0<\/span>ends up voicing some seriously racist opinions about black music, at one point describing its melodies as \u201cstrange, weird, untamable [and] barbaric\u201d but with a \u201crude beauty and a charm.\u201d These exoticist statements m<\/span>ake it difficult to endorse Murphy as any sort of progressive figure. \u00a0\u00a0In her writing, she simultaneously endorses black music and demonstrates a perverse fetishization of black culture. \u00a0Although it may be tempting to try to read her work as simply an anti-racist text that champions black spirituals as important musics that are worthy of study, the truth seems to be far more complicated than that. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sources<\/span><\/p>\n Murphy, Jeanette Robinson. \u201cSouthern thoughts for Northern thinkers.\u201d New York: Bandanna Publishing, 1904. \u00a0<\/span>America\u2019s Historical Imprints<\/span><\/i>, accessed Nov. 15 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 1904, a musician and lecturer by the name of Jeannette\u00a0Robinson\u00a0Murphy published an unusual volume entitled \u201cSouthern Thoughts for Northern Thinkers,\u201d in which she voices several complex and controversial opinions about black music in the American South. \u00a0Murphy, who grew … Continue reading