The New Huck Finn

[Tim Twiss]

There was a 60 Minutes episode on last night about the removal of the N word in Huck Finn. Regardless of how you feel about it, both opinions fall on both sides of the color line. I wonder if eventually there will ever be an open dialogue over Foster songs, and others...or is music separate from literature?  Just talking abou it is powerful. We are all so used to sanitizing our songs, I can't imagine not doing it. Pop culture is a little different from a great literary work, but then again, somebody like Foster is considered representative of an art form in 19th Century America.

[Greg Adams]

Tim,

Thank you for your post. I have not seen the 60 Minutes episode you mentioned. Did it seem like it was helping or hindering the promotion of dialog?

Whether we are talking about lyrics, instruments, or their current or historical use, this is a fascinating and extremely important issue to consider as we on this site (and other places) engage instruments and content from earlier time periods--especially within a genre whose structure reinforced many contradictory beliefs about race, women, politics, honor, sentimentality, competition, and many other things. William Mahar, Dale Cockrell, and other researchers have clearly delineated issues surrounding these points. 

In some ways, I believe this "open dialogue" you reference is happening at least on a smaller scale and the banjo is the perfect instrument to put on display because its contested history links so many people together who are grappling with 1) how the past is relevant in our lives today and 2) how we are trying to unpack our American cultural inheritance (an inheritance whose content offers much to celebrate, at one end, and much to abhor, on the other). Speaking only for myself, the last 16 years has been an amazing series of learning experiences. I did not live through the traumatic experiences of my parents, grandparents, and ancestors, so I do not carry their baggage or cultural memories in the same way they did. From education, reading, and lots of conversations with people whose own lives and family histories were affected by recent and historical traumas, I have developed a strong sensitivity and empathy to many perspectives (even those perspectives I disagree with). 

I just came back from teaching at Suwannee Banjo Camp in Florida where I was given the opportunity to teach about minstrel stroke style banjo, 19th century fingerstyle banjo, and my experiences as a student of the Jola ekonting. It was remarkable because we didn't just sit around an learn tunes. We talked about context, history, and how those things impact what we do with the banjo in our lives today. Our ability to engage in such conversations at the camp, at least to me, were the result of being open to conversations that spanned references to many generations of scholarship, oral histories, and living traditions. I believe that our involvement in these issues can actually contribute to type of social healing that is part of an open dialogue and why historical texts, such as Huck Finn or Stephen Foster lyrics, still strike a nerve. 

I hope that the upcoming Antietam event will give us more of an opportunity to talk about these very issues. 

Best regards,

Greg

[Steve Jeter]

 I think it should be left as is. Is is representative of thought , feelings and attitudes of the times. That DOES not make it right. But you cant change history to suit  individual taste.   That is not a  word in my vocabulary, but some of the old folks I know do use it,, and they do it without hate, its just what they grew up with.

 Some black friends I have use it freely, and not in a harmful way. 

  YMMV

[Moschella Banjos]

I saw the piece, and thought it was good. I definitely sided with the professor who felt strongly that it should remain and be taught in its original version. His arguments are very compelling, I feel, in that the essence of the work vanishes when you replace the n-word with "slave"--you lose context, you lose actual meaning, and in a classroom setting, you lose an opportunity to have an important dialogue about history and culture. Here's a link to the piece. Well worth watching. Particularly the last minute or two.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7360250n&tag=related;pho...

[Tim Twiss]

I agree with you. The problem with music is that there is not generally the opportunity to put it into a "teachable moment". Playing it on the street is different from presenting it in a classroom. The melodies are catchy and the words just weird enough that you only get a little "word picture" of an event or a landscape, so you can play it anywhere. There is some of the music, taken in context, that will have the "teachable moments".

 

Moschella Banjos said:

I saw the piece, and thought it was good. I definitely sided with the professor who felt strongly that it should remain and be taught in its original version. His arguments are very compelling, I feel, in that the essence of the work vanishes when you replace the n-word with "slave"--you lose context, you lose actual meaning, and in a classroom setting, you lose an opportunity to have an important dialogue about history and culture. Here's a link to the piece. Well worth watching. Particularly the last minute or two.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7360250n&tag=related;pho...

[Rob Morrison]

To the general discussion as to whether or not to abridge classic American literature to conform to contemporary sensibilities, I fall squarely on the side of leaving it as is for reasons already put forth here.

As to the more specific context of interest, the tunes and songs of the period in which Huckleberry Finn is set, I have some opinions based on my personal experiences of playing this music in public.  Almost all my public performances are done in living history settings at state historic sites in period costume.  To begin with, I never have and never will belt out a song with racially offensive lyrics.  Secondly, I can't sing to save my life, and thirdly I have at least some of the common sense my parents gave me.  This does not, however, in any way prevent me from addressing  the societal context from which this music sprung, namely the migration of African slaves to North America.

Because of the setting in which we perform, my fiddler and I always accompany our performances with an account of the roots of the music and the historical realities of the time.  I never attempt to sugar coat or obscure the conditions from which this music sprang.  But neither do I apologize for the music.  I always emphasize that the combination of African rhythms with Western scales and melodies has culminated in blues, ragtime,  jazz, American popular music, rhythm and blues, rock  and roll, rap music, hip-hop, and beyond.   The glory of American music is celebrated world-wide despite, rather than because of its dark origins.  The contribution of African Americans to this mix has been and continues to be a great source of pride to all Americans.