{"id":5132,"date":"2021-09-26T21:33:42","date_gmt":"2021-09-27T02:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=5132"},"modified":"2021-09-26T21:34:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-27T02:34:31","slug":"samuel-coleridge-taylor-the-african-american-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2021\/09\/26\/samuel-coleridge-taylor-the-african-american-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Samuel Coleridge Taylor: the African American Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">TW: Discussions of racism and mention of lynchings.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S05Jd6iH0nI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Coleridge-Taylor&#8217;s preeminent work,\u00a0<em>Hiawatha&#8217;s Wedding Feast.<\/em><\/p>\n<h6><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2021\/09\/Samuel-Coleridge-Taylor-the-Anglo-African-Composer.pdf\">Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the Anglo-African Composer &#8211; Mary Church Terrell Article from &#8220;The Independent &#8230;Devoted to the Consideration of Politics, Social and Economic Tendencies, History, Literature, and the Arts&#8221;<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before Samuel Coleridge-Taylor\u2019s first American tour, writer Mary Church Terrell traveled to London to profile Coleridge-Taylor as a prominent \u201cAnglo-African Composer\u201d for an American audience. Within her writing, we can see how an African American audience would perceive Coleridge Taylor\u2019s music and status as a prominent British composer. <\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mary Church Terrell, one of the first black women to ever receive a college education, worked at the forefront of Civil Rights activism for her whole life. She was the first president of the National Association of Colored Women, an organization that predated the NAACP by at least ten years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In examining Church Terrell\u2019s writing, she depicts Coleridge Taylor with the utmost respect and reverence. Unlike other white reporters and composers who described Coleridge Taylor as \u201cthe African Mahler,\u201d <a class=\"sdfootnoteanc\" href=\"#sdfootnote1sym\" name=\"sdfootnote1anc\"><sup>1<\/sup><\/a>she never compares his work to white contemporaries or established masters. Of his talents, she simply says, \u201cHe is primarily and essentially a creative genius.\u201d <a class=\"sdfootnoteanc\" href=\"#sdfootnote1sym\" name=\"sdfootnote1anc\"><sup>2<\/sup><\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">She also takes care in characterizing Coleridge Taylor beyond tokenization. She calls him \u201ca cultured gentleman, affable, tho (sic) somewhat reserved;\u201d <a class=\"sdfootnoteanc\" href=\"#sdfootnote1sym\" name=\"sdfootnote1anc\"><sup>3<\/sup><\/a> she portrays Coleridge Taylor and his family as \u201c[a] beautiful picture of domestic happiness.\u201d <a class=\"sdfootnoteanc\" href=\"#sdfootnote1sym\" name=\"sdfootnote1anc\"><sup>4<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Terrell briefly describes societal conditions in Britain;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cFortunately for Mr. Taylor, he was born in a country in which he is not handicapped on account of his dark face and curly hair. The English may have a slight antipathy to all dark races on general principles, as is asserted by those who are supposed to know, but it must be admitted that they place no obstacle in the way of those representatives of dark races who possess extraordinary gifts.\u201d <a class=\"sdfootnoteanc\" href=\"#sdfootnote1sym\" name=\"sdfootnote1anc\"><sup>5<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I find myself fascinated by the phrase \u201cas is asserted by those who are supposed to know.\u201d Is this a subtle dig at the general establishment, or a distinction between racism in Britain and America?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This article was published on November 24, 1904. According to the Library of Congress\u2019 \u201cAfrican American Timeline,\u201d seventy-six black Americans are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">known<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to have been lynched in 1904. We are still having conversations about the importance of positive representation for minorities, and here, Church Terrell\u2019s writing provides stereotype free and nuanced depiction of a successful black man existing within an incredibly white domain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Footnotes<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"sdfootnotesym\" href=\"#sdfootnote1anc\" name=\"sdfootnote1sym\">1<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Robles, 1.<\/span><br \/>\n<a class=\"sdfootnotesym\" href=\"#sdfootnote1anc\" name=\"sdfootnote1sym\">2<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Church Terrell, 5.<\/span><br \/>\n<a class=\"sdfootnotesym\" href=\"#sdfootnote1anc\" name=\"sdfootnote1sym\">3<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Church Terrell, 1.<\/span><br \/>\n<a class=\"sdfootnotesym\" href=\"#sdfootnote1anc\" name=\"sdfootnote1sym\">4<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Church Terrell, 1.<\/span><br \/>\n<a class=\"sdfootnotesym\" href=\"#sdfootnote1anc\" name=\"sdfootnote1sym\">5<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Church Terrell, 1.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Primary Source<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Church Terrell, Mary. 1904. &#8220;Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the Anglo-African Composer.&#8221; The Independent &#8230;Devoted to the Consideration of Politics, Social and Economic Tendencies, History, Literature, and the Arts (1848-1921), Nov 24, 1141. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/magazines\/samuel-coleridge-taylor-anglo-african-composer\/docview\/90536671\/se-2?accountid=351\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/magazines\/samuel-coleridge-taylor-anglo-african-composer\/docview\/90536671\/se-2?accountid=351<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Secondary Sources<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dignity and Defiance: A Portrait of Mary Church Terrell. Directed by Hamilton, Robin N. Around Robin Production Company, 2017.\u00a0 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/video.alexanderstreet.com\/watch\/dignity-and-defiance-a-portrait-of-mary-church-terrell\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/video.alexanderstreet.com\/watch\/dignity-and-defiance-a-portrait-of-mary-church-terrell<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Robles, Zanaida Noelle. 2014. &#8220;The Sacred Choral Works of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.&#8221; Order No. 10799226, University of Southern California. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/dissertations-theses\/sacred-choral-works-samuel-coleridge-taylor\/docview\/2066762619\/se-2?accountid=351\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/dissertations-theses\/sacred-choral-works-samuel-coleridge-taylor\/docview\/2066762619\/se-2?accountid=351<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cTimeline of African American History, 1901 to 1925.\u201d Library of Congress. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/collections\/african-american-perspectives-rare-books\/articles-and-essays\/timeline-of-african-american-history\/1901-to-1925\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/collections\/african-american-perspectives-rare-books\/articles-and-essays\/timeline-of-african-american-history\/1901-to-1925\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TW: Discussions of racism and mention of lynchings.\u00a0 Coleridge-Taylor&#8217;s preeminent work,\u00a0Hiawatha&#8217;s Wedding Feast. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the Anglo-African Composer &#8211; Mary Church Terrell Article from &#8220;The Independent &#8230;Devoted to the Consideration of Politics, Social and Economic Tendencies, History, Literature, and the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2021\/09\/26\/samuel-coleridge-taylor-the-african-american-perspective\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3549,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[933,788,469,970],"class_list":["post-5132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-african-american-composers","tag-african-american-historical-newspapers","tag-civil-rights","tag-samuel-coleridge-taylor"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jEhR-1kM","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3549"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5132"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5157,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5132\/revisions\/5157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}