Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

M.M. in Music

Department

Music

First Advisor

Alan L. Spurgeon

Second Advisor

Michael Gardiner

Third Advisor

Andrew Paney

Relational Format

dissertation/thesis

Abstract

What was music like, if it existed, in black schools before integration, and what happened to black music educators after integration? To properly address this, the history of segregation, major court rulings and other noteworthy attempts at integration, must be mentioned. This study reveals the untold history of the music department of Louisville Colored School in Louisville, Mississippi. This study will open the door for further, in-depth dialogue on the subject of music education in black schools before integration. Five years before the 1970 integration of public schools in Louisville, MS, Louisville Colored School, sometimes referred to as Camile Street High School, did have instrumental, choral, and elementary music programs. Like many records of black schools in the South, much information about Louisville Colored School was lost, thrown out, or burned intentionally. In viewing other city documents, however, I found that Mr. L. C. Eiland was the school's principal for thirty- five years, until his death in 1969, and under his supervision music was always taught in some capacity. In interviews, Mrs. Rosa Armstrong Prince, Choir Director from1963-1970, and Mr. Amel "Joe Frank" Eiland, Head Band Director and Music Area Coordinator, offer insight into the music programs at Louisville Colored School leading up to integration and their roles as a black music educators before and after integration. Mrs. Lula Wade (ca.1910-2006) was the Elementary Music teacher. Some sixteen years after the Brown v. Board and Brown II court rulings all public schools in Winston County, MS integrated during the 1970-1971 school year, merging Louisville High School (the white school) and Louisville Colored School. In tandem with related literature, this historical study presents two accounts of music education in a black school pre-integration.

Concentration/Emphasis

Emphasis: Music Education

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