How Long to Read Jim Crow's Counterculture

How Long Does it Take to Read Jim Crow's Counterculture?

It takes the average reader 5 hours and 8 minutes to read Jim Crow's Counterculture by R. A. Lawson

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

In the late nineteenth century, black musicians in the lower Mississippi Valley, chafing under the social, legal, and economic restrictions of Jim Crow, responded with a new musical form -- the blues. In Jim Crow's Counterculture, R. A. Lawson offers a cultural history of blues musicians in the segregation era, explaining how by both accommodating and resisting Jim Crow life, blues musicians created a counterculture to incubate and nurture ideas of black individuality and citizenship. These individuals, Lawson shows, collectively demonstrate the African American struggle during the early twentieth century. Derived from the music of the black working class and popularized by commercially successful songwriter W. C. Handy, early blues provided a counterpoint to white supremacy by focusing on an anti-work ethic that promoted a culture of individual escapism -- even hedonism -- and by celebrating the very culture of sex, drugs, and violence that whites feared. According to Lawson, blues musicians such as Charley Patton and Muddy Waters drew on traditions of southern black music, including call and response forms, but they didn't merely sing of a folk past. Instead, musicians saw blues as a way out of economic subservience. Lawson chronicles the major historical developments that changed the Jim Crow South and thus the attitudes of the working-class blacks who labored in that society. The Great Migration, the Great Depression and New Deal, and two World Wars, he explains, shaped a new consciousness among southern blacks as they moved north, fought overseas, and gained better-paid employment. The "me"-centered mentality of the early blues musicians increasingly became "we"-centered as these musicians sought to enter mainstream American life by promoting hard work and patriotism. Originally drawing the attention of only a few folklorists and music promoters, popular black musicians in the 1940s such as Huddie Ledbetter and Big Bill Broonzy played music that increasingly reached across racial lines, and in the process gained what segregationists had attempted to deny them: the identity of American citizenship. By uncovering the stories of artists who expressed much in their music but left little record in traditional historical sources, Jim Crow's Counterculture offers a fresh perspective on the historical experiences of black Americans and provides a new understanding of the blues: a shared music that offered a message of personal freedom to repressed citizens.

How long is Jim Crow's Counterculture?

Jim Crow's Counterculture by R. A. Lawson is 304 pages long, and a total of 77,216 words.

This makes it 103% the length of the average book. It also has 94% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Jim Crow's Counterculture Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 7 hours and 1 minute to read Jim Crow's Counterculture aloud.

What Reading Level is Jim Crow's Counterculture?

Jim Crow's Counterculture is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Jim Crow's Counterculture?

Jim Crow's Counterculture by R. A. Lawson is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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