{"id":5346,"date":"2021-10-03T13:07:35","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T18:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=5346"},"modified":"2021-10-03T13:07:35","modified_gmt":"2021-10-03T18:07:35","slug":"racism-within-the-national-jukeboxs-tagging-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2021\/10\/03\/racism-within-the-national-jukeboxs-tagging-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Racism within the National Jukebox&#8217;s Tagging System"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>TW: Extensive use of slurs in both lyrics and titles of songs.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The last paragraph on the National Jukebox\u2019s About This Collection reads as follows:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These selections are presented as part of the record of the past. They are historical documents which reflect the language, attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress does not endorse the views expressed in these recordings, which may contain content offensive to users.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In early stages of research, I hoped to link musical traditions in modern musical theater to some of the early recordings within the \u201cHumorous Songs\u201d tag. However, as I scrolled, I began to notice how many of these songs were also tagged \u201cEthnic Characterizations.\u201d We\u2019ve begun to explore research and presentation of complicated data and information within this class, and I wondered how a database run by the Library of Congress would present difficult topics. I selected two songs tagged as \u201cEthnic Characterizations,\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and examined what is missing and necessary for productive conversation.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/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\/neEnhgBDVlM?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><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first song to examine is entitled \u201cIf the Man in the Moon were a Coon.\u201d Not only does it extensively use slurs within the title but also within the body of the song, it also perpetuates images of black men as predatory and exploitative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No roaming \u2019round the park at night<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No spooning in the bright moonlight<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the man in the moon<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Were a coon, coon, coon<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tagged as \u201cPopular Music\u201d and \u201cEthnic Characterizations,\u201d there is no information concerning the use of racial slurs or racial stereotypes. Like every other recording on the national database, there is no information other than the \u201cfacts\u201d &#8211; title, composer, general recording information.\u00a0<\/span><\/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\/EgjIY8JoRCo?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><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The second song is \u201cThe Sheik of Avenue B.\u201d Sung by famed cabaret singer Fanny Brice, it describes the sexual prowess and conquests of an unidentified, ethnically dangerous man living on Avenue B:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He&#8217;s no bluff, He treats girls rough;<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">His hugs and kisses scare &#8217;em,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He don&#8217;t spare &#8217;em,<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You should see his Hebrew harem<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is no distinction between the tagging of these examples. Despite carrying two completely different racial stereotypes, there is no effort taken by the Library of Congress to differentiate the songs with content warnings (or lack thereof).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">From a purely academic standpoint, I find the tagging system lacking. If a researcher is looking specifically the portrayal of Middle Eastern people in these songs, there is no way to separate them from any of the other \u201cEthnic Characterizations.\u201d This system exposes researchers to potentially triggering racist material that needs to be more clearly labeled. But, the question is, how can we categorize these songs within the National Jukebox database in a way that provides a nuance perspective?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Through the tagging system, I found that there were 876 recordings tagged \u201cEthnic Characterizations,\u201d a number I feel is grossly underestimated.\u00a0 However, within those recordings, there was no further information, and no distinction between ethnicities. And can we talk about the term \u201cEthnic Characterizations?\u201d What a neutral copout! The Library of Congress uses the term \u201cEthnic Characterizations\u201d to describe music titled with slurs. Neutrality is insidious. The National Jukebox attempts to present an unbiased database, but ultimately fails, because the material presented is incredibly biased. It is the responsibility of academics curating databases to provide nuance and educate their audiences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">PRIMARY SOURCES<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I had trouble embedding from the Library of Congress, so I embedded from YouTube. However, I believe they are the same recording.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bourdon, Rosario, Fanny Brice, Bert Kalmar, Sam Downing, Al Friend, and Harry Ruby. The sheik of Avenue B. 1922. Audio. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/jukebox-63518\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/jukebox-63518\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fisher, Fred, Ada Jones, and Fred Fisher. If the Man in the Moon Were a Coon. 1907. Audio. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/jukebox-250404\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/jukebox-250404\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">SECONDARY SOURCES<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Billig, Michael. \u201cHumour and Hatred: The Racist Jokes of the Ku Klux Klan.\u201d Discourse &amp; Society 12, no. 3 (2001): 267\u201389. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/42888362\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/42888362<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Johnson, Stephen, ed. Burnt Cork: Traditions and Legacies of Blackface Minstrelsy. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2012. Accessed October 3, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TW: Extensive use of slurs in both lyrics and titles of songs. The last paragraph on the National Jukebox\u2019s About This Collection reads as follows:\u00a0 These selections are presented as part of the record of the past. They are historical &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2021\/10\/03\/racism-within-the-national-jukeboxs-tagging-system\/\">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":[],"class_list":["post-5346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jEhR-1oe","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5346","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=5346"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5354,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5346\/revisions\/5354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}