KEEP ON PUSHING The Fight for Civil Rights and Black Empowerment in the Context of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Philadelphia

Lee Junkin Senior History Essay Spring 2016 African Americans in the southern United States, experiencing increased racial oppression through segregation and lynching, as well as seeking better economic opportunities, began moving north at an exponential rate starting after the Great Depression. Philadelphia was one of the northern cities that took in many of the migrants. The growth of the black population in Philadelphia increased the strain of racial tensions in the city. As historian Matthew Delmont points out in his book The Nicest Kids In Town, “from 1930-1960, the city’s black population grew by three hundred thousand, increasing from 11.4 percent of the city’s total population to

26.4 percent.”1 The growing racial diversity and developing culture of the city, along with the progression of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 60’s, established

Philadelphia as a battleground for racial relations and social change.

The movement of African Americans into northern cities began to change many aspects of American life, including popular music. This migration into urban areas, as well as increased access to electric instruments, caused a shift in black rhythm and blues musicians’ approaches to music. Music was played faster and with more energy. White musicians picked up on these musical changes and took black rock and crossed it with certain aspects of popular white music such as country-style lyrics and a cleaner sound. Music historians began to call this “rockabilly music”, a cross between rock ‘n’ roll and “hillbilly” country sounds. Rockabilly hits began to explode in popularity in 1953.2 This new form of music, enjoyed by both white and black

Americans, opened the door for considerable social change in all aspects of American life.

With the prominence of black artists in the genre, and a seemingly more open attitude of white Americans toward African Americans, many black artists were able to explode into rock

1 Matthew F. Delmont, The Nicest Kids in Town: American Bandstand, Rock 'n' Roll, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in 1950s Philadelphia. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012), 21. Ebook Library version. 2 Glenn C. Altschuler, All Shook Up: How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), “Chapter One: All Shook Up”. 1

’n’ roll fame. The most notable of these early artists were Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Fats

Domino. African American rock ’n’ roll music began to shift American ideologies on segregation and race among teenagers. In the 1950’s, Chuck Berry, writer of rock ’n’ roll standard “Johnny B. Goode”, commented on these changes. White superstar Carl Perkins claimed that Berry said “You know Carl, we might be doing as much with our music as our leaders in Washington to break down the barriers.”3 Though hyperbolic, Perkins and Berry reflected the belief that rock ’n’ roll music was affecting American ideas toward integration and racial harmony. As blues sensation B.B. King put it, “Along with this music, these white kids were hearing and feeling the souls of black people. They were getting to know us and like us and appreciate our talent.”4 These shifting feelings on race were most prevalent among teenage audiences.

Despite vast opposition from the older generation who believed that rock ’n’ roll was immoral and promoted sexual exploration, substance use, and integration5, the younger generations, infused with shifting ideologies on race and teenage life, were swept by the music.

While many of the rock ’n’ roll shows, especially in the early 1950’s were segregated, in order for white teenagers to experience black rock ’n’ roll, integration was a necessity. Venues were becoming integrated, even in the south. The press began to take notice of this phenomenon. A news story was run in the black newspaper The Pittsburgh Courier “Integrated Houston Dance

Draws Four Thousand” in 1956. Historian C. Vann Woodward wrote that “White teenagers are getting their first taste of discrimination and they don’t like it.”6 In 1955, Cashbox magazine, one of the most influential rock ’n’ roll magazines of the time, ran a story called “Breaking Down the

3 Michael T. Bertrand, Race, Rock, and Elvis, (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000), 41. 4 Ibid, 233. 5 Altschuler, All Shook Up: How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America, “Chapter Four: Yakety Yak, Don’t Talk Back”. 6 Bertrand, Race, Rock, and Elvis, 96. 2

Barriers” discussing the integration of rock ’n’ roll shows.7 As Ray Charles put it, “White

America was getting hipper.”8 This new form of popular music presented the first time that teenage mainstream white and black American musical interests overlapped to this degree, and it also marked the beginning of a truly “teenage” culture. In the 1950’s, the Dictionary of American

Slang claimed that “the United States was the only country “considering this age group as a separate entity whose influence, fads and fashions are worthy of discussion apart from the adult world.”9 This culture opened up a possibility for teen activism and an avenue for activists to speak to teenagers, and it also provided a space for integration. This new culture, developed through rock ’n roll music, would help ease future American ideologies toward integration as a whole in society and set this stage for teenage activism.

Though rock ’n’ roll had positive effects on American integration, it is important to note how detrimental it often was to African Americans. The all-white producing and recording industry exploited black artists. The musicians were shorted of the money that they deserved and this essentially put black money in the hands of white men. Covers of black songs by white artists exploded more than most of the black recordings. Elvis Presley took songs written by black musicians like “Hound Dog” by Big Mama Thorton and “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck

Berry and turned them into hits. Pat Boone’s version of “Aint that a Shame” by Fats Domino made far more money than Domino’s version and reached the top spot on the U.S. pop charts.10

Many of these white versions of songs had less energy and featured a cleaner sound with more understandable lyrics so the white community could find them easier to listen to.11 Though

7 Altschuler, All Shook Up, 47. 8 Ibid, 51. 9 Ibid, 100. 10 Ibid. pp. 52 11 Ibid. pp. 47 3 exploitative, these white cover versions often brought greater publicity to the black original versions. For example, Pat Boone’s cover of Fat’s Domino’s “Aint that a Shame” propelled it from number one on the black charts to number one on the white pop charts.12

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of integrated rock ’n’ roll was the fact that it was often seen by contemporaries, as well as by people today, as an illusion of integration. White

Americans were listening to and seeing black artists. Certain black artists were making a lot of money, such as Fats Domino who became the first black rock ’n’ roll millionaire.13 The Brown vs. Board of Education decision was passed in the midst of all this in 1954, and this helped give people the impression that American was now integrated. But racial violence over increased integration was raging all over the nation. Black artists were continually exploited in music, and segregation was still prevalent everywhere. White Americans may have believed that things were changing because of the shifts in pop culture, and this provided them with an opportunity to ignore the massive racial turmoil throughout the country. While there were certainly dangers and racial tensions associated with the rock ’n’ roll craze, the effect that it had in promoting civil rights and combatting racial inequality was incredibly influential, especially in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia became a rock ’n’ roll hotbed due to its increasingly diverse population as well as its proximity to New York City, where most major recording and producing industries were located.14 The growing rock ’n’ roll scene in Philadelphia set the background for civil rights movements and increased integration. Dances and parties throughout the city were beginning to become more integrated due to the diversity of musicians playing music and overlapping tastes in music by both white and black cultures, something that had not happened

12 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 45 14 Delmont, The Nicest Kids in Town, 12. 4 before to this extent in American history. Gerald Early, a history professor at Washington

University in St. Louis, recalled in a film called Philadelphia: The Great Experiment that “there was more racial integration than people think…There was so much music around and everyone wanted to appreciate the music”.15 Some local restaurants and businesses also integrated their venues in response to the increasingly integrated youth society.16 That being said, segregation still took place in all aspects of American life, including television and radio. White producers of hit rock and roll television shows, most notably Bandstand stationed in Philadelphia, believed that if they allowed African Americans to enter the show, they would lose support from their sponsors and then lose money in advertising17, a practice I will discuss in more depth later in the paper.

While whitewashed rock ’n’ roll was being depicted on shows like Bandstand, an extremely influential black radio and television scene was developing in Philadelphia in contrast to this. Disc jockey Georgie “the guy with the goods” Woods, created one of the most influential radio programs in Philadelphia, a show listened to by a mixed audience including Bandstand host Dick Clark, who got much of his rock ’n’ roll from black radio shows.18 Disc jockeys like

Georgie Woods were able to capitalize on the rise of this new musical genre in ways other than just profit. Woods used his influence to encourage his audience to organize rallies and demonstrations. His fame put him in position to be a leader at demonstrations, and his ear for good music and organizational abilities enabled him to raise money for groups like the NAACP through concerts and shows,19 and he was not alone.

15 Philadelphia: The Great Experiment. Directed by Sam Katz. Performed by Gerald Early. Philadelphia: History Making Productions, 2011. Documentary Series. 16 Delmont, The Nicest Kids in Town, 34. 17 Ibid, 67. 18 Ibid, 113 19 Ibid, 115 5

With an increasing market for black programming among both black and white teenagers, more and more black radio and television programs came about in Philadelphia.20 While white

Americans still dominated the entertainment and media industries, these programs made a profound influence on race relations in Philadelphia. Along with Georgie Woods’ calls for direct political and social action via radio, black radio and television also made great strides in promoting black consciousness. African Americans were seeing and listening to role models of their own race on a national and integrated stage. DJ’s like Jocko Henderson embraced the strengths of the black community on the air, spoke to the empowerment of his people, and then played songs that preached the same message. After years of slavery, Jim Crow and systematic oppression, hearing positive and reinforcing messages throughout the black community unified and empowered many African Americans in the fight for their own civil rights.

Philadelphia may have presented the perfect illusion of racial harmony through its diversity and apparent attitudes toward integration and music while racial violence and segregation roared throughout the city; however, the growing American rock ’n’ roll scene was creating a culture in which African Americans could not only succeed, but could also put themselves in positions of influence to advance the causes of racial equality. Due to the increase in popularity of rock ‘n’ roll music, television, and radio in the 1950’s and 60’s, black activists and newspapers in Philadelphia were able to capitalize on the large, racially diverse, and primarily teenage, audiences to promote civil rights causes and black consciousness and make a considerable effect on American race relations. I will support this claim with newspaper articles and photographs from the leading black newspaper in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Tribune, from 1952-1965, and also from studying television clips, interviews, and song lyrics. I will

20 Ibid. 6 supplement these primary sources with secondary works from Glenn Altschuler, Michael

Bertrand, Brian Ward, and most prominently, Matthew Delmont’s The Nicest Kids in Town. My work differs from Delmont’s in that it is more of an examination of the positive work that

Georgie Woods other activists completed in the rock ‘n’ roll context of civil rights than a juxtaposition of this work with the dangers of American Bandstand.

Georgie Woods as a Civil Rights Activist

The most influential figure fighting for racial equality in the realm of rock ’n’ roll in

Philadelphia was DJ Georgie Woods. Woods is credited with bringing the term “rock ’n’ roll” to

Philadelphia, borrowing it from New York deejay Alan Freed.21 He grew up in Georgia, where his family faced constant threats from white supremacists such as the Ku Klux Klan. His mother moved his family to Harlem in 1936 to escape this danger and seek better employment opportunities. After a stint in the army, Woods found a job on Philadelphia’s radio station

WHAT in 1953.22 He began to capitalize on the changing youth movements in American culture.

As Woods stated in his column in 1955 in the Philadelphia Tribune, “There is a change taking place in the music industry of America…Today, as never before, white teenagers are buying rhythm and blues tunes…A change for the better is taking place and I for one can’t see anything wrong with that change.”23 Woods recognized the growing overlap in white and black musical tastes and realized the potential to both profit and drive social change through this new marketplace. He became the most popular black DJ in Philadelphia, and with his growing

21 Ibid, 129. 22 Ibid, 114. 23 Ibid. 7 influence, he was able to start organizing and promoting live rock ’n’ roll shows that consistently featured integrated audiences.

As the leading name in rock ’n’ roll in Philadelphia, Woods was able to use his influence to draw some of the most successful acts in the country. He also knew he could capitalize on

Philadelphia’s music scene, as the artists he drew would have the chance to perform on

Bandstand, an experience that would bolster any artist’s popularity.24 The Philadelphia Tribune noted that “the long waiting lines of teenagers outside the theater—sometimes more than a block long—are visible proof of the magic drawing power of Georgie Woods, the ‘King of Rock and

Roll’” (Peters, “Woods”).25 Woods harnessed this drawing power for the good of civil rights, as he used his shows to promote black music, integrate audiences, and raise money for the NAACP and other civil rights organizations.

Woods’ fundraising efforts became extremely successful due to the popularity of his concerts in the mid-50’s. His “Freedom Shows”, for example, beginning in 1955, would feature prominent artists like Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, The Impressions, Mahalia Jackson, Lavern

Baker, and Sam Cooke to name a few.26 These early shows were all filled to capacity, but as

Woods grew in popularity in the late 50’s, they began to explode. In 1958, the Tribune claimed that one of Woods’ shows brought 80,000 people to the Uptown Theater that June,27 and another smashed Philadelphia box-office records by grossing $37,500 that September.28 These funds enabled Woods to improve his concerts and continue to grow as a name in rock ‘n’ roll. When

Woods became vice president of the NAACP, he began to donate considerable sums of money to

24 Ibid. 25 Ibid, 130. 26 Ibid. 27 “Georgie Woods Rock, Roll Show Lures 80,000 Fans To Uptown,” Philadelphia Tribune, June 10, 1958. Source shared by Matthew Delmont. 28 “Woods’ Rock, Roll Show Sets Box Office Record For City,” Philadelphia Tribune, September 23, 1958. 8 the NAACP and other civil rights organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership

Conference (SCLC). He raised 60,000$ for the Philadelphia branch of NAACP at one show alone in 1963,29 and in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for civil rights organizations throughout the 1960’s. With this money, the NAACP was able to organize rallies, protests, demonstrations, and education. They were able to fund transportation of activists to Selma and

Birmingham for demonstrations and post bail for protestors in the sixties.30 Martin Luther King

Jr. commended Woods’ efforts during a speech to the National Association of Radio and

Television Announcers in Atlanta in 1967:

No one knows the importance of … the consistent fundraising and voter education done for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Civil Rights Movement by Georgie Woods, my good friend in Philadelphia . . . . In a real sense, you have paved the way for social and political change by creating a powerful cultural bridge between black and white . . . . I salute you.31

The financial contributions made by Woods to the NAACP were so influential that Dr. King, one of the most influential civil rights leaders in world history, was applauding his efforts. As many

African Americans had struggled financially throughout American history due to the residual effects of slavery and continued systematic oppression, Woods used the new form of popular music as well as the mediums of television and radio to raise money for an organization that needed funding to be as effective as it was. While his contributions were substantial, his work as an organizer and leader of demonstrations may have been more influential.

29 Matthew F. Delmont, "“They’ll Be Rockin’ on Bandstand, in Philadelphia, PA”: Dick Clark, Georgie Woods, and the Value of Rock ’n’ Roll," Journal of Popular Music Studies 24, no. 4, 457, EBL Reader, Colorado College Tutt Library, doi: 10.1111/jpms.12003. 30 “NAACP: 100 Years of History,” last modified in 2016, http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history. 31 Ibid, 457. 9

With Woods’ massive following in Philadelphia, he was able to organize support for civil rights demonstrations and protests more effectively than most other activists could have done.

Woods said in the Philadelphia Tribune:

I’d go on the air and tell people where I was going to be demonstrating, and a mob of people would show up and I had a microphone and I was directing people. When school let out I had all the kids in town listening to me. When school got out all the teenagers came and got into the picket lines because I was there demonstrating for our rights (Quoted in Barlow 206).32

In the past, demonstrations would have to be mobilized through black papers and by word of mouth. With the rise of rock ’n’ roll in Philadelphia, Woods could organize larger demonstrations than were possible before the increased influence of African American radio.

Furthermore, Woods’ audiences were largely integrated, meaning that he could organize integrated demonstrations in a way that black newspapers never could. White activism in civil rights proved to be extremely influential, especially in the Freedom Summer of 1964.33 However, the most important aspect of Woods’ efforts were his works mobilizing and inspiring African

American teenagers.

Much of the success of the Civil Rights Movement in the 50’s and 60’s, in contrast to early racial movements in American history, could be attributed to the amount of people participating, and in this case, Woods was able to mobilize a massive population of African

American youths that could not have been activated as effectively before the advent of rock ’n’ roll and radio. Delmont noted that “Almost all of the marchers were black and many were

32 Delmont, "“They’ll Be Rockin’ on Bandstand, in Philadelphia, PA,”. 473. 33 Eric Foner and John A. Garrity, “Freedom Summer,” The Reader’s Companion to American History, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1991, retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom- summer. 10 teenagers from the city’s public high schools”.34 Woods, and other black radio and television personalities, had a direct line of communication to massive youth communities, something that had never been possible on such a large scale in African American history. He would utilize this following to make direct changes in racist policies and institutions in Philadelphia.

Woods’ most successful political demonstration was his work desegregating Girard

College in Philadelphia. Despite the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, the private institution of Girard College in Philadelphia remained segregated. Girard College was created for

“fatherless boys”, and in founder Stephen Girard’s will, he explicitly excluded black boys from being admitted. Woods fought against this segregation by leading demonstrations, consisting of primarily African American youths, and recruiting further support for the cause on his radio shows. He announced this cause during every show, and civil rights activists picketed Girard every day from May 1 to December 18, 1965.35 In a 2011 interview conducted by Temple

University, civil rights activist and Girard College protestor Richard Watson commented on

Woods’ influence.

Georgie Woods was on the radio, and Georgie Woods was out in the street, because he was very well respected…I think Georgie Woods as a personality, one would expect you to be a leader, but as a person who could put a thought out and have it heard over the airwaves—the airwaves were a very popular, very powerful medium that we had at that time.36

Watson points to the power that the radio had to communicate these causes to the rest of the black community. He also mentions the respect that Woods possessed as a leader. This respect as

34 Ibid, 477. 35 Ibid, 478. 36 Richard J. Watson, "Oral Histories of the Desegregation of Girard College," Interview by Dr. Diane Turner, Temple University Library, conducted October 10, 2011, retrieved from http://northerncity.library.temple.edu/content/collections/desegregation-girard-college/who-oral-histories. 11 a civil rights leader rather than just as a rock ‘n’ roll figure was explained by Dr. Kenneth A.

Salaam of the NAACP, who was also involved in the Girard College protests.

Georgie Woods … put his money where his mouth was. He took all those buses to the March on Washington. He helped support King; he was in Birmingham, you know. He was out there on the front line all the time. He’s been arrested… So him and Cecil Moore [president of the NAACP] and George… being two popular, known leaders, you know. He had support…”37

Woods wasn’t just sitting in a radio studio telling people to go protest; he was putting himself right in the middle of these demonstrations, and his example led even more people to join the cause. Along with compelling support, Woods’ influence also allowed him to control the demonstrations. Woods emerged as both the leader and the peace keeper, knowing that if these protests turned too violent they would not be received well by the white community, whose support they needed to make legislative change. Salaam said “Yeah, that same night and they had the bullhorn, you know, he was talking and, you know, telling everybody to calm down...”38

Watson also said, “Georgie Woods was the most vocal exponent of peace, of keeping the peace together, and he was thrust into that.”39 Cecil Moore was the head of the NAACP and the leader of these protests, but with Woods’ influence, he was able to both recruit protestors and keep them peaceful. Woods’ influence was integral in keeping these protests peaceful and intact, allowing them to be successful.

The relatively peaceful picketing of Girard College proved to be extremely effective. It put significant pressure on the city, the people, and most importantly, the courts. In December of

37 Dr. Kenneth A. Salaam, "Oral Histories for the Desegregation of Girard College," Interview by Dr. Diane Turner, Temple University Library, conducted May 9, 2011, retrieved from http://northerncity.library.temple.edu/content/collections/desegregation-girard-college/who-oral-histories. 38 Ibid. 39 Watson, "Oral Histories of the Desegregation of Girard College." 12

1965, after nearly seven months of picketing and protesting, a suit was filed in the U.S. District

Court challenging the racial restrictions of the college.40 The power of the protests was noted in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. In a 1965 article, they claimed that at the end of the protests, both the picketers and the police were singing Christmas carols in rejoice.41 Everyone wanted an end to the protests and were willing to meet the demands of the protestors, but Moore and Woods kept the pressure on. In another article, the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin claimed that “Cecil B.

Moore said yesterday that he will order picketing resumed at Girard College next month unless he is given some assurance that a decision in the court suit to force integration at the school is imminent.”42 On May 19, 1968, the US Supreme Court ruled that Girard College’s policy of admitting only white students was unconstitutional.43 The influence of Georgie Woods and his power created through rock ’n’ roll and radio was instrumental in rallying the support necessary to pressure on the city and the court to make this decision.

The Girard College victory was largely symbolic, as it was a relatively small private institution in Philadelphia, but the movement mobilized the black youth protestors in

Philadelphia.44 Through movements like this, Woods made young African Americans more aware that they should make more of an effort to combat unjust institutions. This was articulated by aspiring musician Kenny Gamble, who noted that

40 "Civil Rights in a Northern City: Philadelphia," Timeline: Desegregation of Girard College, Temple University Library, accessed April 10, 2016, retrieved from http://northerncity.library.temple.edu/content/collections/desegregation-girard-college/when- timeline.

41 James Geoffrey, "Girard Picketing Ends And Even Police Sing," Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, December 18, 1965, accessed April 10, 2016, retrieved from http://northerncity.library.temple.edu/content/girard-picketing-ends- and-even. 42 "Moore Says He'll Step up Picketing at Girard," Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, July 13, 1965, accessed April 10, 2016, retrieved from http://northerncity.library.temple.edu/content/moore-says-hell-step-picketing. 43 "Civil Rights in a Northern City: Philadelphia," Timeline: Desegregation of Girard College.

44 Delmont, "“They’ll Be Rockin’ on Bandstand, in Philadelphia, PA,” 477. 13

The public school system didn’t teach us anything about our culture or our heritage or anything like that. So the Girard College demonstrations sort of opened my eyes to discrimination . . . . I felt good that Georgie Woods was there because this was somebody that I knew . . . . And when they were talking about how Girard College would not admit Black people, and how racist Stephen Girard and his whole system had been, it really opened my eyes up. From that day on I started to be more aware (Quoted in Spady iii,).”45

This quotation exemplifies what made Georgie Woods’ position so unique and effective. Public schools did not always teach students about the racist institutions in American society, but

Woods now had the capability to communicate with and educate large groups of African

American, and white American, youths on these problems. Woods’ peacekeeping efforts as well as his organizational leadership, derived from his radio career caused direct change in the case of

Girard College, and also exposed a new generation to the problems faced by the African

American community and urged them to do something about it. Woods organized the help of his following in other causes as well.

The Fight for African American Representation on Television and Radio

The fight for a more equal representation of African Americans on TV and radio was one of Woods’ main areas of focus, and it proved to be representative of many of the problems facing

African Americans on a larger scale. Despite the success of many black performers, African

American representation in ownership and hosting television shows was significantly disproportionate to white owners and hosts. Much of the argument against African Americans hosting shows lies in the belief that sponsors would drop their funding if shows portrayed

45 Ibid, 479. 14

African American hosts and stars.46 Despite the apparent buying power of the African American community, most television and radio networks still neglected to employ people in leading roles.

Woods believed that getting more black television and radio hosts would provide more job opportunities to African Americans, role models to the black youth, and would put more African

Americans in positions of influence to continue the advance of civil rights causes.

Georgie Woods made it a point in his Tribune columns to enlist the support of his followers in this cause. Woods’ efforts here led to cases such as North Philadelphia teen Sandra

Williams, who was collecting signatures petitioning to get a black deejay on television. Woods was sure to highlight her efforts in one of his columns.47 African American teens in Philadelphia looked up to Woods as a role model, and seeing him encourage action like Williams’ would have inclined them to get involved themselves. The actions of Sandra Williams are direct evidence of the effect that Georgie Woods had on compelling African American youths to fight these institutions. In this case, Woods had encouraged an African American teenage female, one of the most disenfranchised groups in American history, to join the cause. He continued to exemplify actions and achievements of African American teenagers. He wrote in 1955, “The Eyes of the

Nation, glued to their TV sets a few Sundays back, observed a colored girl – Leontyne Price – make both operatic and TV history by enacting the leading role of ‘Tosca’ over NBC…”.48 This continued to provide black teenagers, male and female, with examples of people who were making a difference. In highlighting the accomplishments of African Americans on national television, he showed that they could and were succeeding to fight racial bias on television, prompting more support in the coming years.

46 Ibid, 474. 47 Georgie Woods, “Rock and Roll With Georgie Woods,” Philadelphia Tribune, September 19, 1959. 48 Woods, "Rock and Roll With Georgie Woods," Philadelphia Tribune, December 12, 1955.

15

Also fighting for black representation on television and radio was fellow Philadelphia deejay Kae Williams. Like Woods, Williams also held the respect of a popular following, staged a number of successful rock and roll concerts, and wrote a column in the Tribune. He featured a column in 1955 entitled “How to become a DJ”, encouraging more African Americans to enter the field.49 This provided African Americans with the knowledge of economic opportunities, as well as the strategic support from Williams to make becoming a DJ a realistic goal. This helped fight the causes of black empowerment, black representation, black economic standing, and for empowerment of the black youth. In another column, Williams commended NBC for acknowledging the National Association of Negro Musicians (2/8/55).50 This made African

Americans aware that more of them were getting opportunities to be on national television than earlier in the decade.While less influential than Woods, Williams also used his position to fight the lack of African American representation in media by compelling African Americans to get involved in music, arts, and television.

Thanks in part to advocates like Woods and Williams, the issue began to draw more interest and frustration from the African American community as a whole. The Philadelphia

Tribune published an article on July 9, 1955 headlined “Negroes Should Build Their Own T.V.

Shows! Why are Negroes unable to crack the T.V. color bar?”51 This article contended that despite African American consumption of the products sold by the most prominent television sponsors like car, food, cigarette companies, etc., the sponsors were still neglecting to feature black stars on the most acclaimed television programs. This would have rallied the sentiment among the African American community that blacks did not have access to the basic rights that

49 Kae Williams, “How to Become A DJ,” Philadelphia Tribune, February 4, 1955. 50 Williams, “On the Air by Kae Williams,” Philadelphia Tribune, February 8, 1955. 51 "Negroes Should Build Their Own T.V. Shows!" Philadelphia Tribune, July 9, 1955.

16 they should have deserved as consumers in American society. It also raised the concern of black ownership of entertainment programs. An article published by the Tribune a few weeks later on

July 30th titled “WHY NEGROES NEED TO CONTROL A MEDIUM IN ENTERTAINMENT

BUSINESS” stated that “of all the radio stations throughout the country, only three are Negro owned, although the Negro radio audience numbers into the millions.” 52 At this point the buying and viewing power of African Americans should have been evident due to the amount of African

Americans who were listening to radio and attending concerts. Much of the entertainment business was essentially funded by black consumerism, yet their representation and ownership on and of TV and radio stations was vastly underwhelming. The second article also illuminated the problem that black musicians and performers were significantly underpaid for their work compared to white counterparts, and if African Americans were in positions of ownership, then pay would increase. It stated that many African Americans had the money to invest in television and radio and urged them to do so. If black ownership increased, so would the presence of

African American stars and hosts, and so would the salaries of African American performers.

These articles were instrumental in educating the general public on the racial problems prevalent in the entertainment business, which was important because the black entertainment business was still developing and the public was largely unaware of these concerns. The increase in awareness on these issues led by Woods, Williams, and the Tribune, began to lead to direct pressure on white television shows.

The Tribune began to shift their efforts toward Bandstand, a largely segregated, extremely popular and influential program located in Philadelphia. In 1956, the Tribune ran an

52 “Why Negroes Need To Control A Medium In The Entertainment Business,” Philadelphia Tribune, July 30, 1955. 17 article titled “No Negroes on Bandstand, Station Boss Says They’re Welcome”.53 They claimed that complaints of segregation were “flooding” the Tribune as well as prominent radio and television stations. The article quoted a receptionist at WFIL-TV, American Bandstand’s broadcasting station, who noted that numerous inquiries regarding racial segregation on the show had come to her. Due to the support of activists as well as coverage in the press, white television executives were beginning to feel the pressure. The American Bandstand program planner was interviewed in this same article and claimed that the station did not prevent black people from attending. “Why I saw some here only last week,” he said.54 While this statement was false, it put more pressure on the program to adhere to an anti-discriminatory stance. In 1957, just over a year after this statement was made, the Tribune ran a front-page article headlined “NEGROES

CRACK BARRIER OF BANDSTAND TV SHOW”. The article stated that ten African

American teenagers, with tickets, were denied entrance to the show, and after demanding entrance, they were allowed in. The tone of the article was defiant, hailing these teens as heroes,55 and serving to commend this stride made by the teenage activists. The article also continued to press further on the racist views of the ownership of Bandstand. It refutes claims made by the directors of the program stating that they held no racial bias, and mentions that it wasn’t until after a Tribune reporter arrived on the scene that the teenagers were allowed in. This shows that the constant pressure that the Tribune and other activists were putting on Bandstand was starting to make an effect on the racial policies of the program.

53 “No Negroes on Bandstand, Station Boss Says They’re Welcome,” Philadelphia Tribune, September 22, 1956. 54 Ibid. 55 Art Peters, “Negroes Crack Barrier of Bandstand TV Show,” Philadelphia Tribune, October 5, 1957. 18

Woods continued to make a significant effect against racial bias on television into the late

50’s and 60’s. In a 1959 column, he highlighted a letter he received from a fan who was starting a “We Want Georgie on T.V. movement.”56 Woods was continuing to rally support, and his fans continued to put pressure on the television networks. These efforts finally came to fruition in

1964 when Woods established a television station on Channel 17. The Tribune claimed that he and partner Reggie Lavong became the first African Americans to have a share in the ownership of a television station.57 Woods seized this opportunity to combat some of the main problems associated with lack of black representation and ownership by primarily employing African

Americans. “It’s not that we want to segregate ourselves, but the obvious fact is that other stations don’t or won’t give Negroes work.”58 With Woods in control of a television station, he could address the issues arising from a lack of representation such as the lack of African

American employment on and off the screen in television networks. He could also now expand his influence over the public through his programming.

The pressure put on by Woods, Williams, the Tribune, and their followers cannot be overlooked in driving increased black representation on television. Woods’ columns garnered tremendous support from the African American youth, who berated stations with complaints and directly attacked discriminatory policies of shows such as Bandstand. Bandstand was the most popular rock ‘n’ roll show in Philadelphia and it would be broadcast nationally as American

Bandstand beginning in 1957. While segregation on the show still occurred into the 60’s,59 the fight against racial bias was nationalized after American Bandstand moved to ABC. With a

56 Woods, “Rock and Roll With Georgie Woods,” Philadelphia Tribune, August 5, 1959. 57 Mark Bricklin, “DJ’s Georgie Woods, Reggie Lavong Join Local Businessmen To Establish New Commercial TV Station for Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Tribune, August 22, 1964. 58 Ibid. 59 Delmont, The Nicest Kids in Town, 138. 19 larger audience, more pressure was put on the Bandstand directors, and the studio audience would be more consistently integrated in the mid 1960’s. This national pressure would influence a number of television networks.

As pressure continued to mount in the 60’s, many of the policies of prominent television networks began to change. In 1963, a group of top television sponsors from corporations such as

General Mills and Coca-Cola were pressured by the Congress of Racial Equality to sign an

“agreement of intent” to work to desegregate their sponsored television programming

(9/28/63).60 A few months later the CBS Vice President said that “[t]here is a revolution taking place in the use of Negroes in key roles on all television programs…The major advertisers are asking that Negroes be given good roles now, not in 1965 or 1966, but now in programs now in production.”61 The pressure put on these networks and their sponsors by activists and newspapers, as exemplified in Philadelphia, drove these changes in black representation on television. As black people gained more of a foothold in national television, more competition was driven by black shows against white shows, incentivizing more integration by prominent white TV stations. Delmont notes that integration on American Bandstand may have been intensified in the 70’s by competition from black programs like Soul Train.62 Thus, the success of these early movements of increasing black representation on television laid the foundation for greater strides in the late 60’s and 70’s. By placing African Americans in leading roles on TV and radio, more job opportunities were created, white Americans had the chance to see blacks portrayed as strong individuals, and more role models were created for the African American

60 Lou Potter, “Top TV Sponsors Given 90 Days To Desegregate,” Philadelphia Tribune, September 28, 1963. 61 “Dick Gregory Calls TV Dishonest, Says It’s Controlled by Sponsors,” Philadelphia Tribune, November 30, 1963. 62 Delmont, The Nicest Kids in Town, 155. 20 youth, a main focal point of Woods and his supporters. This increased representation also provided an opportunity to raise black consciousness.

Promoting Black Empowerment and Consciousness on Television and Radio

As African Americans were intensifying the fight to improve their situation in society, many leaders promoted black empowerment. In recognizing a distinctly black identity, one would acknowledge a history of constant systematic oppression. Dr. Sudhi Rajiv summarized the main ideas of black consciousness in a 1992 article.

‘Black consciousness grew out of the unrelieved suffering and psychological traumas of a group of people who were subjected to overt and covert racism in the United States of America for about four centuries (p. 1).’ This consciousness is ‘a body of attitudes, sentiments and beliefs which serve to unify its members’, and ‘gives blacks an understanding of their predicament, of the social order of which they are a part and their place in relation to it …’63

This explanation was made long after the black power and black consciousness movements began, but it is a concise and clear explanation. Though not explicitly stated as black consciousness, Woods and his contemporaries sought to instill similar ideas of unification and confidence in the youth of Philadelphia.

Through rock ’n’ roll, black people were given an audience through music, radio, and television to promote empowerment. Black leaders could promote consciousness in making

African Americans, and white listeners, aware of their predicament and “the social order of which they are a part and their place in relation to it”. This was a major foundation of Georgie

Woods’ strategy to fight for civil rights, especially in regards to television. He concluded in an

63 Sudhi Rajiv, Forms of black consciousness, (Jainsons Publications, 1991.), Google Scholar. 21

October 1959 Philadelphia Tribune column that, “[i]t is our contention that there is many a

Negro who can sell soap, cosmetics, beer, automobiles, food or anything else just as well as a white person can. All he asks is a chance. Begin to flood the TV stations here, folks, and advise them the time is RIPE for a Negro to be engaged”.64 This spoke to the fact that black Americans were just as competent as white Americans and that it was time for blacks to be equally engaged in American society. Woods likely felt that many young African Americans, who were his primary audience, might have accepted the fact that there were few black people on television simply because that is the way society always had been. Woods attacked this notion and worked to make his teenage audience aware that this was a problem that needed to change. Woods was promoting black consciousness by teaching young African Americans to assert themselves as competent individuals who could and should be able to do anything they wanted to.

While there were few black personalities on television in 1950’s Philadelphia, the ones that were effectively promoted black empowerment and awareness. The most successful black television personality at this time was Mitch Thomas. Matthew Delmont claimed that Thomas

“brought black rock and performers and teenage fans to television” as effectively as Georgie

Woods did to radio. The Mitch Thomas Show premiered on August 13, 1955 on WPFH, a station that broadcast to Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. The show was essentially a black version of Bandstand, utilizing a black DJ host in Mitch Thomas, and a studio audience of black teenagers, in contrast to Bandstand’s primarily white audience. It featured rock ’n’ roll performers and televised the audience dancing. Like Georgie Woods, Thomas used his contacts as a successful deejay, along with the drawing power of the Philadelphia music scene, to book

64 Woods, “Georgie Woods Says,” Philadelphia Tribune, October 10, 1959. 22 local Philadelphia artists as well as some of the biggest names in rock ’n’ roll, such as Little

Richard, The Moonglows, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and Ray Charles.65

The Mitch Thomas Show proved to be one of the first television programs focusing on a distinctly black teenage culture, highlighting the talents of black people and constructing a unified identity for black teenagers. The show dominated the discussion in the Philadelphia

Tribune column “Teen Talk.” In one of Delmont’s interviews, South Philadelphia teen Donna

Brown contended that The Mitch Thomas Show “was something for the black kids to really identify with.”66 In seeing successful black performers and a black host, black teenagers identified with the show and found role models to look up to. In a time when the world was dominated by white men, black teenagers were seeing The Mitch Thomas show as a counterexample to this. Bandstand was completely segregated except for its performers, and now

African Americans were seeing their opportunity to succeed and be on television.

The show also reached white audiences due to the prominence of its performers and the energy of its dancers. Thomas said that “[t]he whites that came, they just said, 'Well I'm gonna see the artist and that's it.' I brought Ray Charles in there on a Sunday night, and it was just beautiful to look out there and see everything just nice.” Ray Smith was a white Philadelphia teenager, whom Delmont interviewed, and was highly involved in the rock ’n’ roll scene and a frequent attender of American Bandstand. Smith said that he and other white teenagers watched

The Mitch Thomas Show to learn new dance moves. He said that “often one would see dances on the show, and within a few days the moves would be translated to Bandstand. All you had to do was look at 'Bandstand' the next Monday, and you'd say, 'Oh yeah, they were watching.’"67 This

65 Delmont, The Nicest Kids in Town, 117-118 66 Ibid. 67 Ibid, 147-148. 23 popularity among integrated audiences made whites more aware of the obvious talents of African

Americans and eventually helped drive support for more African American personalities to be televised. This also may have helped diminish the myth of white superiority that was likely still engrained in many white Americans and some African Americans.

Another Philadelphia television show called They Shall Be Heard fought for black consciousness and white awareness the racial situation in the United States. They Shall Be

Heard, which broadcasted from 1952-1953, also capitalized on the growing impact of the

American youth, focusing more on social change than profit. The show brought teenagers from different racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds and facilitated discussions on discrimination.

Produced by Philadelphia’s leading civil rights group the Fellowship Commission, the host and head of the organization, Maurice Fagan, made it a priority to minimize his role as moderator and enable the teenagers to talk and learn about the issues through discussion.68 The spontaneity of a live discussion on television allowed teenagers to think through these issues honestly and without the pressure of parents or teachers constructing their views. The show was often broadcasted in schools in the mornings, and it eventually moved to a more contested time slot in the afternoon, revealing that the viewership of the program had grown.69 It is important to note that the audience of this show was not as substantial as rock ’n’ roll shows, and it only lasted for about a year, but it was made possible by the rise of teenage influence in American society and helped promote discussion among these teenagers and made people more aware the racial structures dominating society.

Another Philadelphia television show called TV Gospel Time, which aired for four years beginning in 1962 was one of the most effective TV shows of the time at promoting black

68 Delmont, The Nicest Kids in Town, 52-65. 69 Ibid. 24 feminist consciousness. All of the black radio and television shows mentioned in this paper were hosted by black men, while this program was hosted by an African American woman. Many of its most prominent performers, such as rock ‘n’ roll and gospel star Sister Rosetta Tharpe, were

African American women. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a guitar virtuoso who produced a number of rock ’n’ roll hits and was a major influence on rock ‘n’ roll stars such as Elvis Presley. Black women were some of the most oppressed people in American history, and seeing extremely talented and successful black women like Sister Rosetta Tharpe on television would have a more profound effect on their own consciousness than seeing shows like The Mitch Thomas Show or especially American Bandstand. This show also served as a crucial link between perseverance, spirituality, and rock ‘n’ roll music.

Connecting rock ‘n’ roll to religion was a major factor in popularizing the musical form.

A clip from the program in the early 60’s shows the performance of “Up Above My Head”, a gospel song performed in a rock ’n’ roll style by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Tharpe combines a clapping gospel choir behind her with her rocking blues style on the electric guitar, and even takes a blaring rock ’n’ roll style guitar solo.70 This link between rock ’n’ roll and religion is important because many of the anti-rock ’n’ roll advocates pointed to the fact that rock ’n’ roll culture was sacrilegious, promoting sexual freedom and drug and alcohol use.71 A change in perception on the morality of rock ‘n’ roll music may have made white people more receptive to the social changes associated with the music. The religious lyrics and sentiments of gospel music also created a more unified black identity of perseverance.

70 TV Gospel Time. Directed by Howard Schwartz. Performed by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Critical Commons. Accessed April 10, 2016. http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/mattdelmont/clips/sister-rosetta-tharpe-up- above-my-head-tv-gospel. Video posted by Matthew Delmont. 71 Altschuler, All Shook Up, 6. 25

Gospel music often promotes an uplifting feeling and the notion that through music and faith, African Americans can persevere through oppression. These messages in the lyrics are exemplified in the Tharpe’s performance of “Up Above My Head”:

I can hear when I'm all alone Even in those times when I feel all hope is gone Up above my head there is music in the air. Up above my head. I really do believe that joy is somewhere.72

The “music in the air” unifies black people in the notion that peace can be found in music. These lyrics speak about the belief that there is “joy somewhere” despite the current oppressive state of society, and that black people should not give up on finding that joy.

Messages of African American perseverance in music would become much more prevalent in the

60’s and 70’s, especially in the music of Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, and this would become a point of unification in the black community.

Connecting to black traditions and history was an important aspect of the rise of black music. One of the most influential black Philadelphia and New York deejays alongside Georgie

Woods was Jocko Henderson. Jocko utilized scat style speaking and rhyming in his broadcasts that were used in jazz music. Jocko started his own magazine called “Philly Talk” and even ran for United States Congress in 1978.73 Though he was unsuccessful in running, his influence was clear. Jocko along with playing rock ’n’ roll and R&B records also recited rap-like poetry on the air. Jocko’s connections to black history helped develop a distinctly black identity through music. African American writer and poet David Henderson illuminated Jocko’s influence on black consciousness of black roots in some of his poetry. He said in his poem “Jocko for Music and Dance”:

72 Tharpe, TV Gospel Time.

73 “Douglas 'Jocko' Henderson, 82; a pioneering radio personality,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 18, 2000. 26

sometimes Jocko is the only person I know the only person from my past who offers memory without propaganda

let me speak of tribal ritual and dance let me declare Jocko my atavistic purveyor of tribal tunes and gossip-

the medicine man who strings the tendons of memory incarnate [lines 9-15]74

Henderson describes Jocko’s appeal to black culture and tradition. He speaks to the idea that black people have a unique past that most people on radio could not understand. Henderson believed that Jocko was the only DJ whom he could trust, as he spoke “without propaganda”.

Jocko gave African Americans like Henderson someone to identify with and allowed them to appreciate their unique past. Historian Jean-Philippe Marcoux in his book Jazz Griots: Music as

History in the 1960’s African American Poem, refers to Jocko as a “Griot”, connecting history, music, and freedom movements. Henderson continues in his poem that Jocko’s “true remedy” is to play “James Brown back to back”.75 Henderson saw Jocko as a bridge between music, black unity, and freedom, as many of Brown’s songs detail black empowerment and consciousness.

Relevant Artists Attacking Racial Constructions and Promoting Black Empowerment

Along with DJ’s and television hosts promoting black power and consciousness, it is important to note the artists whose music was being played who were doing the same on a more national level. The Black Power Movement took form in 1960’s, after rock ’n’ roll had been

74 Jean-Philippe Marcoux, Jazz Griots: Music as History in the 1960s African American Poem, (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2012), 100. 75 Ibid, 100-101. 27 fully engrained as America’s popular music, and many lyrics in black soul music in the sixties and seventies detailed black power, but artists in the late fifties and early sixties were also promoting civil rights. The most prominent example of this was performed by Pete Seeger, a white folk artist. Seeger took a song rooted in black history, “We Shall Overcome” and adapted some of the lyrics. This song was sung extensively by both black and white civil rights activists during the Civil Rights Movement.76 White folk and rock ’n’ roll superstars like Bob Dylan and

Joan Baez continued this fight in their songs for many years after this. Rock ’n’ roll artists in the realm of this study found it difficult to promote black power in many of their songs because of the domination of the white recording industry, and so they often wrote and performed indirect commentary on the situation.77

The most popular artist who was utilizing music to promote racial equality was Chuck

Berry. Although Berry may have been a fantastic guitar player first, he was a businessman second. He recognized the massive buying power of the American youth, like Woods had done, and catered his songs to a young audience by singing songs about things like teenage love, driving fast cars, dancing, and life in school.78 After establishing himself as one of rock n’ roll’s greatest stars, Berry began to infuse racial messages into his songs, initially discretely so he would not disenfranchise his white listeners, but he gradually began to include clear racial overtones.

Berry adapted a rock ’n’ roll standard called “The Promised Land”, which would eventually be covered by white artists like Elvis Presley and the Grateful Dead, to serve as a

76 "We Shall Overcome," Wikipedia, last modified, April 2, 2016, retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Shall_Overcome. 77 Altschuler, All Shook Up, 65. 78 Michael Gallant-Gardner, "Chuck Berry and Teenage Culture in the 1950s," last modified 2001, retrieved from http://www.plosin.com/beatbegins/projects/gallant-gardner.html. 28 movement in black freedom fights. He referenced the 1961 Freedom Riders who rode buses into the segregated United States to stage protests. Berry’s version juxtaposed a biblical tale of reaching “The Promised Land” with the freedom movements taking place in the south.79 He follows their journey “We had motor trouble it turned into a struggle down in Alabam / And that

‘hound broke down and left us all stranded in downtown Birmingham.” He then ends the song with hopes for a better world. “Tell the folks back home this is the Promised Land callin’ and the poor boy’s on the line.”80 Berry was forced to disguise these messages, but people who understood the lyrics saw support for the civil rights movements and the goal of a better society.

Berry’s hit “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” was his most direct plea for civil rights and a call for black empowerment.81 Berry wrote and released the song in 1956 after witnessing a

Hispanic man being placed under arrest while appearing relatively innocent in California.82

“Arrested on charges of unemployment / he was sitting in the witness stand / The judge's wife called up the district attorney /Said you free that brown eyed man”.83 This intent behind this lyric is clear. “Brown eyed man” is referring to a man with brown skin. “Arrested on charges of unemployment” refers to the poor economic situation of colored people in America, the general public’s unwillingness to deal with this problem, and police targeting of minorities. The song continues with messages of minority empowerment, detailing beautiful women “losing arms in a

79 Brian Ward, Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), 213. 80 Chuck Berry, “Promised Land,” St. Louis to Liverpool, Chess Records, 1965, retrieved from https://play.google.com/music/preview/Tuzdlrohd7xoetnl32dd4bm2sea?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_mediu m=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics. 81 Altschuler, All Shook Up, 65. 82 Jann S. Wenner, "Brown Eyed Handsome Man by Chuck Berry,” Rolling Stone, archived from the original on February 9, 2011, retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20071016130025/www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596219/brown_eyed_handsome_ man. 83 Chuck Berry, “Brown-Eyed Handsome Man,” After School Session, Chess Records, 1956, retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/chuckberry/browneyedhandsomeman.html 29 wrestling match”, walking across deserts, and shedding tears to win brown eyed handsome men.

The final verse acknowledges a brown eyed handsome man hitting a game winning home run in baseball game, likely a nod to Jackie Robinson, who had broken the color barrier a few years earlier and was on his way to a hall of fame career. Berry’s acknowledgement further demonstrates the importance of successful black men in American pop culture.

Despite the racial overtones, as well as some outrage by white fans over the Brown Eyed

Handsome Man’s apparent appeal to white women in the song,84 the hit reached #5 on Billboards

R&B singles that year. The song was eventually covered by some of the most prominent white rock and roll stars at the time, such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny

Cash, and Carl Perkins.85 The success of the song, as well as its cover versions, meant that millions of Americans, black and white, were enjoying it. While it is real possibility that many of these listeners were missing the point of the lyrics, their meanings are evident enough for many

Americans to grasp them. Black Americans were listening to one of their most influential people singing to the entire nation about the successes and power of black and minority peoples. At a time where many African American civil rights activists were fighting to promote a black consciousness and feeling of empowerment, especially among the youth through the works of the likes of Mitch Thomas and Georgie Woods in Philadelphia, Berry was doing this on a national scale. It is evident that white Americans were also warming up to black Americans to a degree by supporting and listening to their music, and here a massive white audience was listening to the potential that black Americans possessed, and this certainly affected the ideologies of some

84 Martha Bayles, Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music, (New York: Free Press, 1994). 85 "Brown Eyed Handsome Man," Wikipedia, last modified April 5, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Eyed_Handsome_Man#cite_note-4. 30 people, most importantly the white American youth, who would play an integral part in the Civil

Rights Movements in the coming years.

The Philadelphia Tribune made it clear that black artists were making a significant effect promoting civil rights and racial equality on a national scale. Throughout the 50’s and 60’s the

Tribune would highlight stories, often on the front page, of African American musicians succeeding and breaking down racial barriers. In 1957, they published a front page article

“Segregationists Unable to Knock King Cole Off Of Television: Show Gaining In Popularity

Despite Raps Of Dixiecrats”.86 This article detailed segregationist organizations who were attempting to remove Nat King Cole’s, one of the most influential African American singers in history, television show from national TV. The article rallied behind the fact that the show was only gaining popularity amidst segregationist opposition. This made it clear to their primarily

African American readers that the American sentiments toward segregation were changing. It also revealed that American ideologies on segregation on television were shifting. In 1963, the

Tribune ran a story on black Philadelphia rock ’n’ roll sensation Chubby Checker, whose hit song “The Twist”, was one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll hits of all time.87 Checker cancelled his world tour that year after a performance in Japan where some members of the audience decorated themselves in “blackface” and some audience members held confederate flags. The article portrays Checker as triumphant, who is quoted saying “My self-respect is all I have and

I’m not for sale!”88 This article celebrated one of Philadelphia’s native rock ’n’ roll stars fighting against racial oppression, and supported the notion that being a black rock ’n’ roll star was not enough, and that they needed to keep pushing for advances in civil rights. These types of articles

86 “Segregationists Unable to Knock King Cole Off Of Television: Show Gaining In Popularity Despite Raps Of Dixiecrats,” Philadelphia Tribune, November 19, 1957. 87 "The Twist (song)," Wikipedia, last modified April 12, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twist_(song). 88 Art Peters, “Chubby Checker Quits His Tour After Racial Incident,” Philadelphia Tribune. March 19, 1963. 31 were extremely prevalent in the Tribune from 1952-1965, and they demonstrate that African

American stars were amplifying the attack against racial injustice utilizing their positions of influence.

Philadelphia Civil Rights Scene in the 1960’s

Philadelphia’s racial scene had developed greatly by the mid-60’s. While racism, segregation, representation, and other issues still plagued the city and the country, great strides had been made in unification and education on civil rights issues since the 50’s, and the stage was set for those movements to continue to progress. A 1964 Tribune article described the attitudes of the Philadelphia mayor at that time. He said, “[t]he Negro community has played a vital role in Philadelphia’s history and development, and it will have an even greater role to play in the years ahead.”89 This signifies that the white community in 1964 was becoming more attuned to the needs and demands of the black community and acknowledged that the black community had played a big role in causing changes in the city. While there were still great problems facing Philadelphia, the mayor stated that the unified white and black communities needed to continue fighting racial injustices “so that the trials and tribulations thrust upon the current generation will not be thrust upon future generations.”90 This shows that by 1964, both the white and black communities were more aware of the racial problems facing the city, and importantly, that more work was needed. Racial sentiments were shifting in American society as a whole, but the works of Georgie Woods, the Tribune, and other activists in Philadelphia through rock ‘n’ roll and media had made a profound impact on the city’s ideologies.

89 Charles Hamilton, “Mayor Hails Negro Role In Phila. History,” Philadelphia Tribune, September 15, 1964. 90 Ibid. 32

The mediums of television and media in Philadelphia had been established as an extremely effective avenue to fight for civil rights, and this would continue through the 60’s. The

University of Pennsylvania, an esteemed Ivy League institution, announced that they were offering a course entitled “Negro History and Culture,” which dealt with “the historical, social, and cultural factors contributing to the plight of the Negro in American society...” This course was a “television seminar” airing three times a week.91 The people of Philadelphia were well aware of the need for education on the subject of race relations and the power of television to do so. Georgie Woods had been doing this for the black community for years, and now the

University of Pennsylvania would do the same, with a more academic focus, to a larger white audience. The description of the course serves to combat myths of racial superiority, which would have been formed by white people who assumed blacks were inferior without accounting for the history of constant oppression. At the same time that the white community was becoming more educated on the racial situations of the city, Georgie Woods continued his work with the black community.

Georgie Woods would continue to use the position that he had created for himself to fight for the rights of African Americans. In 1965, while still working for the NAACP, as an event organizer, and a DJ, he became the leader of another civil rights organization called North

Philadelphia United. Their main purposes were to combat racial issues pertaining to housing segregation and to juvenile delinquency.92 This was indicative of the success of Georgie Woods’ career. All of his positions were still intact and effective, and other organizations were recruiting him. He continued to work with the black youth because those were the people that would continue to be able to make the greatest effect on civil rights as time passed on. The Tribune

91 “Negro History TV Course Set For Television.” Philadelphia Tribune, September 15, 1964. 92 Fred Bonaparte, “Georgie Woods Heads Up New Rights Outfit,” Philadelphia Tribune, March 30, 1965. 33 article discussing Woods’ new position mentioned that he had just filled Convention Hall for a

Freedom Show93, ten years after the first show, and he was still donating this money to civil rights organizations. His financial contributions throughout the 50’s and 60’s were in the hundreds of thousands, but what is most important in Georgie Woods’ activism is how many people, especially teenagers, that he was able to educate and get involved. In that respect, the effect that Georgie Woods, and his contemporaries, had on promoting civil rights on a local and national, immediate and long term, scale is unquantifiable.

Conclusion and Relevance of this Study Today

By 1965, a number of things had changed within the context of the rock ‘n’ roll scene in

Philadelphia as well as the entire nation. Georgie Woods had finally gotten the chance to run his own television network. The Philadelphia rock ‘n’ roll civil rights community was mobilized as evident in the Philadelphia Tribune and the many people who had been empowered and enlightened by the teachings of Georgie Woods and his contemporaries. The Civil Rights Act of

1964 outlawed racial discrimination and, on paper, made racial segregation in public places illegal, including Georgie Woods’ are of concern, radio and television. Yet, of course, de facto segregation prevailed. Racial tensions and violence increased throughout the country.

Segregation in the workplace, schooling, and housing persisted and still occurs today. White and black music has never been as integrated as it was during the times of rock ‘n’ roll and R&B in the 50’s and 60’s, as white Americans became more interested in white rock and black musicians took to soul in the 70’s.94 Nevertheless, the racial movements derived from rock ‘n’ roll in

93 Ibid. 94 Ward, Just My Soul Responding, 388-389. 34

Philadelphia were crucial to developing effective strategies to promote civil rights and black empowerment.

Music presented an illusion of racial harmony during this time period. Matthew Delmont concludes in his book that American Bandstand is often remembered as an instrument at driving social change and integration, but in reality, it reinforced the oppressive social structure and made Americans forget about the continuing systematic oppressions that necessitated the Civil

Rights Movement.95 While the Civil Rights Movement would have occurred with or without the changes in American popular music described in this paper, cases like Philadelphia helped shift ideologies among a group of people who would continue to fight for civil rights and established music as a battleground to do this, and at the same time, established music as a form of connection and organization for both oppressed people and people who can rally around the cause of advancing civil rights.

As musical tastes began to become more segregated in the late 60’s and early 70’s,

African Americans used this opportunity to rally more support from their own community.96 The white audiences of the 50’s had necessitated black artists to disguise their racial messages, but in the late 60’s and early 70’s, black power lyrics were written more explicitly in soul music, especially in the lyrics of James Brown, exemplified in the 1968 single, “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” and Curtis Mayfield’s, “Keep on Pushing,” which described the need for a unified, proud, black community to continue to fight for civil rights.97 White musicians sang more and more about racism such as Bob Dylan’s 1976 Hurricane, which detailed the wrongful

95 Delmont, The Nicest Kids in Town, 186-189. 96 Ward, Just My Soul Responding, 393. 97 Craig Hansen Werner, A Change is Gonna Come: Music, Race & the Soul of America, (Michigan University Press, Ann Arbor, 2006), 144-150. 35 imprisonment of black man.98 Bob Marley sang about black empowerment and unification to an integrated and international audience throughout the 60’s and 70’s. Music like this continued to develop and question notions of race in American society.

The works in Philadelphia demonstrated a case where the structure of a racist society could be attacked using the culture and media of music, and where people were mobilized in this cause through music. This study is extremely pertinent in regards to the racial situations of today.

Racial tensions have been amplified by prevailing systematic oppression such as police targeting of black people, the war on drugs, environmental racism, exploitation, underrepresentation of blacks on television, and de facto segregation, to name a few. Today, another musical form in

American hip-hop is immensely popular among, mostly teenage, black and white audiences, and features some of the same problems and potential strengths that rock ‘n’ roll and R&B did in the

50’s and 60’s. In a 2013 article by Steven Netcoh titled “Droppin’ Knowledge on Race: Hip-

Hop, White Adolescents, and Anti-Racism Education”, Netoch details the same issues of color- blindness plaguing rock ‘n’ roll where white teenagers are listening to black music, but are largely unaware of the social and racial problems facing society. He then goes on to discuss how hip-hop could be used as a platform to educate white and black teenagers on how race influences society.99 This is exactly how people like Georgie Woods utilized music to drive social change.

By using a form of music popular mainly among an integrated teen audience, activists and musicians created discussion and education on racial and societal issues, and organized and implemented strategies to combat those injustices. The movement in Philadelphia was most effective at mobilizing and educating the youth which helped paved the way for the growing

98 Bob Dylan, “Hurricane,” Desire, Columbia Records, 1975, lyrics retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/hurricane.html. 99 Steven Netcoh, "Droppin’ Knowledge on Race: Hip-Hop, White Adolescents, and Anti-Racism Education," Radical Teacher Rt 97 (2013), 10. doi:10.5195/rt.2013.39. 36 fight against racial injustice. While music was by no means the only platform attacking societal injustices in America in the 1950’s and 60’s, it played an integral part in driving action and creating education and discussion on the subject in the case of Philadelphia and could still do the same today.

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