Summary Of Father Of The Blues By W. C. Handy

Father of The Blues, is written by W.C. Handy. This autobiography was published by The Macmillan Company in 1941 this 317-page work consists of forward, author's acknowledgments, table of contents, compositions, arrangements, and books and an index. We are introduced to an African-American music figure and how he pioneered the blues genre. The purpose of this critique is to examine Handy and his place in African-American music and his life. This critique will focus on how style and form amplify race and racism affected Handy's life. W.C. Handy was born on November 16, 1873 in Florence, Alabama. He was born to parents who were former slaves and his father became a preacher after emancipation. Handy's grandfathers were two completely different
This book is written in an autobiographical format so that readers can experience Handy's life as he did. A major influence in his life was race which Handy was aware of since his childhood. For example, when he heard Senator John Sharp Williams say,“...I shall not spend one dollar for nigger education,” he would weep in his pillow at home (Handy 81). As he grew older and travelled as a musician he was affected by racism, but he did not describe it as if it were intense. Handy was able to walk into a white bar and upon noticing his musical talents he was allowed to stay in the bar and they offered him clothes too (Handy 28). When he was living in destitution in St. Louis he slept in abandoned lots near a wide range of people, both black and white, which could have jaded his early views of race (Handy 27). He only spoke of his wife and children as their time around him and not of their experience and view of race. Handy was not a man who stood up for his race overtly as when Senator Williams made his comments of anti-negro education Handy went to a secluded location and, “slowly, deliberately, I had torn his arguments to bits” (Handy 81). Handy blindly followed the orders of a white stranger which caused his band to miss their train to accompany the stranger while this white man attacked someone (Handy
He previously spoke of black girls in the West who would impersonate Mexicans as they were conditioned to look at their heritage with disdain (Handy 165). He heavily focuses on race in chapter 22, “Black and white”, where he discusses race in a number of realms. He seemed to be proud of President Woodrow Wilson for choosing African-American soldiers to guard the white house during the war (Handy 293). Handy seems to be aware that the only reason the Wilson situation and others like the “Civil War” occurred was because of economics (Handy 295). People who politically define themselves as white only reform when the economy encourages them too. Handy noticed that white people liked music made by African-Americans, but wanted to separate the struggle they experienced while creating the art (Handy 232). Handy experienced both covert and overt racism even when he was internationally recognized for his musical contributions as a London musician claimed that “niggers” got Handy’s music before he did (Handy