A History of Music Education in the Black Community of Kansas City, Kansas, 1905-1954

Abstract

This study investigated music education in the black community of Kansas City, Kansas, from 1905 to 1954. It examined the facilities, teachers, curriculum, activities, and students to determine if this history was worthy of recognition by mainstream music education. Public documents, including annual reports, courses of study, personnel records, grade reports, programs, and newspaper articles, were the main sources of information. Interviews and letters of former students, teachers, and administrators were used as supportive evidence. The study documents the respectable music education that developed in this black community by identifying the black music educators who possessed outstanding credentials, the curriculum, and the musical activities that resulted from their students' involvement. This study, which helps to fill a void in the documentation of blacks in music education, provides valuable historical data on a nonwhite group's music educational development.