Rock and Roll, Desegregation Movements, and Racism in the Post–Civil Rights Era: An "Integrated Effort." by Beth Fowler (review)

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• Rock and Roll, Desegregation Movements, and Racism in the Post–Civil Rights Era: An “Integrated Effort.” by Beth Fowler
• Brian Suttell

Rock and Roll, Desegregation Movements, and Racism in the Post–Civil Rights Era: An “Integrated Effort.” By Beth Fowler. (Lanham, Md., and other cities: Lexington Books, 2022. Pp. x, 362. Paper, $42.99, ISBN 978-1-7936-1387-5; cloth, $130.00, ISBN 978-1-7936-1385-1.)

Beth Fowler provides historical and social insights in Rock and Roll, Desegregation Movements, and Racism in the Post–Civil Rights Era: An “Integrated Effort.” The heart of her research is interviews from forty-five individuals, whose reflections on their experiences related to race and rock and roll illuminate both the subjects’ history and Fowler’s analysis. In assessing seemingly distinct yet interrelated topics, Fowler effectively delivers the historical context, and her skillful framing of the interviewees’ responses carries her subjects’ complexity.

Fowler offers nuanced yet clear arguments, such as “the focus on individual achievement that was so crucial to integration strategies also urged many white supporters to embrace a ‘color-blind’ approach to race relations rather than recognizing the need for group-based solutions to structural problems” (p. 9). She demonstrates broad patterns in music and in desegregation, as well [End Page 459] as their interrelatedness, without overstating connections. She points out that crossover records (appealing to different styles) were hitting Billboard charts concurrently with civil rights developments such as the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision and the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott. Much of her analysis emphasizes the limits of the seeming racial progress of things such as white youth embracing music by Black musicians or the apparently decreasing discrimination in the music industry. “But this ‘integration’ of popular culture through crossover records,” she states, “would not ultimately lead to the fundamental investigation of structural white supremacy that deeper change would require” (p. 75).

One strength of the book is its balance between explaining the impact of key musicians and using interviewee responses to reflect societal shifts. Fowler utilizes quotations from John Lennon and Mick Jagger to highlight the impact that R&B had on them, but she then provides reflections from interviewees. She addresses the influence of Black musicians such as Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Chuck Berry whose sounds were often emulated or covered by white artists. Some of her most insightful analysis suggests how lyrics were affected by the context of the times, as in the Coasters’ “Charlie Brown” pondering, “Why’s everybody always picking on me?” (p. 182). Fowler argues that the song demonstrates a lonesome response to public humiliation, which could “speak . . . [to] Black teenagers who chose to integrate white high schools” (p. 182). Whether discussing frustrating or encouraging moments, Fowler captures the zeitgeist related to music and desegregation.

In general, the chapters first convey introductory points related to both major topics, which are then addressed distinctly under subheadings, and later return to connections between music and desegregation. The organization is effective, allowing the author to provide nuance while addressing the interrelated history and significance. Historical interpretations by other scholars are woven in effectively. But instances in which there are multiple historiographical references within a paragraph might have been better if reduced to only one, which could still establish a base for her own arguments rooted in the impressive primary research. Overall, Fowler’s focus on the interviews and her insightful analysis illuminate a complex history that still resonates.

Fowler makes clear the perils of viewing most racial problems as being solved by official desegregation in the mid-1960s. She quotes an interviewee who expressed hope that on the heels of the Black Lives Matter movement there will be a wave of insightful music. Reflecting on the man’s statement, Fowler asserts, “music may be able to affect or reflect people’s political views, he [the interviewee] implies, but that relationship is not quite as simple as many listeners would like to believe” (p. 313). The main contribution of Rock and Roll, Desegregation Movements, and Racism in the Post–Civil Rights Era rests in advancing the understanding not only of the relationship of rock and roll and desegregation, but also of how...