“I think we sounded black!”: space and community in Black drum and bugle corps

This thesis examines three Black drum and bugle corps from the Civil Rights era of the nineteen-fifties and sixties: the Carter Cadets and the CMCC Warriors Drum and Bugle Corps from New York City, NY and the Washington VIPs from Washington, D.C. It uses historical and ethnographic methods to present a history of Black corps, mainly based on interviews with alumni. By using theories of space and community, the goal is to analyze how urban planning made way for the formation of Black corps in inner cities. These marching ensembles served two purposes within their communities: to teach youth valuable life skills to benefit their socioeconomic advancement, and to protect them from likely life-threatening situations, including drugs and violence, by showing them how to embrace their Black identities and create awareness of different opportunities. This significance of this study is to present a little- researched performing ensemble within the United States, and base it historically during the Civil rights era to show one way Black communities coped with urban planning and the lack of socioeconomic opportunities in their neighborhoods.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.Mus.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Jorge, Jamil

Contributors dc:contributor

• Solis, Gabriel
• Magee, Gayle

• Black drum and bugle corps
• Drum and bugle corps
• Space
• Community

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 Jamil Jorge

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/97299

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/97299