MIddle Schoolers and the Blues
multitude of the diverse perspectives, customs, and habits of the vast groups that have made the United States their home. This nation’s complexity of diverse cultures and its ability to strive for common values seem almost overwhelming. Nonetheless, from the cultures of many, one culture can emerge. Through sharing of music, language, religion, and customs, the people of the United States have strengthened and grown as a society. Many of the contributions and influences on American culture are well documented in educational texts. Unfortunately, the major influences cited in U.S. school textbooks are those from dominant cultures. Sharing only the influences from dominant cultures gives students an opportunity to explore only those voices in American culture. Other influences and contributions from groups not considered dominant are not sufficiently recognized, even though their influences are significant. To ignore or dismiss the influences of less dominant cultures denies students the total American story. One influence on American culture, which has not been highly recognized in textbooks, is the blues. The blues are an original musical art form that was created in the United States by black Americans. They are the voices of the black Americans during the time of the Jim Crow laws who refused to accept the roles assigned to them in a postslavery society. Cone (1972) explains that the blues ring true because they combine art and life, poetry and experience, the symbolic and the real: They are an artistic response to the chaos in some blacks’ lives at that time. The blues are not the voice of all black Americans because the music was far too decadent for some. Instead, the blues gave voice to those who valued the seductive environment and felt marginalized and rebellious. The feelings of marginalization and rebellion manifested themselves through expressions of song, ribaldry, and freedom that could not be contained. At first, the blues were considered unsophisticated and primitive, but the music depicts a musical journey charting how a group of people survived and conquered unfavorable conditions. The blues are not the only genre of American music to represent the common man and woman. Country music and folksongs are two more genres that have historically represented such groups. Country music artists have had a long tradition of writing and singing about ordinary folk faced with everyday concerns and confronted with unusual, sometimes threatening, events (Brown 1985). Seidman (1985) expresses similar thoughts about folksongs, which, unlike history, do not deal mainly with the leaders and generals but focus on the common man and woman—the workers, housewives, and soldiers who explored, fought for, and built our country. The blues-type music compares well with country music and folksongs. First, the three genres communicate a voice from American subcultures. Second, the voice they share is the voice of the common man and woman. Third, each genre attempts to capture the sincerity, passion, and truthfulness of the voice they express. These comparisons demonstrate that the common man and woman, regardless of differences, demand to be heard and that music is the perfect medium for achieving this goal. Although the similarities are most significant because they demonstrate a shared interest in all humans, differences between the blues, country music, and folksongs do exist. The blues were Middle Schoolers and the Blues