Jazz documentaries, racism and segregation Essay

Jazz documentaries, racism and segregation - Essay Example One of most popular documentaries on Swing Jazz was released during 2000. The name of this documentary was Jazz and directed by Ken Burns. This documentary was broadcasted in a series of 10 episodes and offered information regarding the chronological history of jazz and its prominent musicians. The documentary studies various aspects of  jazz,  including drugs and  racial segregation (Burns, 2000). Racial segregation was one of the most serious issues during the peak popularity of Swing Jazz. Although, the Black community had contributed greatly in World War I and II, the society continued to discriminate against them. Even in jazz, the musicians as well as the audience during a jazz performance  was  seated separately.   â€Å"Due to the racism found in many states, clubs throughout the country were often segregated. Just a few bands were racially mixed, of which Benny Goodman’s was possibly the first† (Swing and Racism, 2015). Part 7 of documentary and chapter 18, â€Å"These Things cant happen† offers bleak information about the Black soldiers, who fought to defend the ideals of their country, liberty and equality. Swing and Racism observes: â€Å"Hollywood films handled the race issue by including the African-American swing jazz band performances in films such a way that these sections could be easily removed from the movie reels that were to be distributed to Southern States without disturbing the storyline† (Swing and Racism,