The Burden of Racial Innocence: British-Invasion Rock Memoirs and the U.S. South
Mid-sixties British rock musicians have rationalized their firsthand experience and profitable interactions with American racial segregation by adopting a stance of racial innocence, or a belief that youth and virtue make one immune to charges of complicity with organized structures of racism. This...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Groningen Press
2022-04-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Life Writing |
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| Online Access: | https://ejlw.eu/article/view/38627 |
| _version_ | 1811303652183244800 |
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| author | Matthew Sutton |
| author_facet | Matthew Sutton |
| author_sort | Matthew Sutton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mid-sixties British rock musicians have rationalized their firsthand experience and profitable interactions with American racial segregation by adopting a stance of racial innocence, or a belief that youth and virtue make one immune to charges of complicity with organized structures of racism. This almost childlike subject-positioning disingenuously separates musicians’ expertise on African American blues from a more mature acknowledgement of the oppressive racial conditions that shaped the music, implicitly excluding them from culpability in the continued imbalance of power between black and white musicians. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T07:51:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f545788b178148ae89a0b63a198bb115 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2211-243X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T07:51:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | University of Groningen Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Life Writing |
| spelling | doaj.art-f545788b178148ae89a0b63a198bb1152022-12-22T02:55:31ZengUniversity of Groningen PressEuropean Journal of Life Writing2211-243X2022-04-0111214010.21827/ejlw.11.3862728277The Burden of Racial Innocence: British-Invasion Rock Memoirs and the U.S. SouthMatthew Sutton0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5770-2669Morehead State UniversityMid-sixties British rock musicians have rationalized their firsthand experience and profitable interactions with American racial segregation by adopting a stance of racial innocence, or a belief that youth and virtue make one immune to charges of complicity with organized structures of racism. This almost childlike subject-positioning disingenuously separates musicians’ expertise on African American blues from a more mature acknowledgement of the oppressive racial conditions that shaped the music, implicitly excluding them from culpability in the continued imbalance of power between black and white musicians.https://ejlw.eu/article/view/38627rock musicautobiography/memoirrace relationsu.s. south |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Sutton The Burden of Racial Innocence: British-Invasion Rock Memoirs and the U.S. South European Journal of Life Writing rock music autobiography/memoir race relations u.s. south |
| title | The Burden of Racial Innocence: British-Invasion Rock Memoirs and the U.S. South |
| title_full | The Burden of Racial Innocence: British-Invasion Rock Memoirs and the U.S. South |
| title_fullStr | The Burden of Racial Innocence: British-Invasion Rock Memoirs and the U.S. South |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Burden of Racial Innocence: British-Invasion Rock Memoirs and the U.S. South |
| title_short | The Burden of Racial Innocence: British-Invasion Rock Memoirs and the U.S. South |
| title_sort | burden of racial innocence british invasion rock memoirs and the u s south |
| topic | rock music autobiography/memoir race relations u.s. south |
| url | https://ejlw.eu/article/view/38627 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthewsutton theburdenofracialinnocencebritishinvasionrockmemoirsandtheussouth AT matthewsutton burdenofracialinnocencebritishinvasionrockmemoirsandtheussouth |