Ashley Street Blues: Racial Uplift and the Commodification of Vernacular Performance in Lavilla, Florida, 1896-1916

• Other Authors: Smith, Peter Dunbaugh (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Arts; Humanities
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-0356

This study is a cultural history. It traces the interconnected narratives of the entertainment communities that flourished during the early years of the twentieth century in LaVilla, one of Jacksonville, Florida's African-American neighborhoods. Vaudeville houses, theatrical stock companies, touring tent shows, and honky-tonk theaters comprised this dynamic local scene, providing important venues for the exchange of newly emergent performance practices and ideologies. Individuals and institutions with ties to LaVilla have made significant contributions to African-American vernacular culture. Composers and musicians like John Rosamond Johnson and Eugene Francis Mikell; touring companies such as Patrick Chappelle's Rabbit's Foot Minstrels and Eph Williams' Silas Greene from New Orleans Company; and vaudeville houses, such as Frank Crowd's Globe Theater, are included among them. Nationally recognized figures, including Billy Kersands, "Ma" Rainey, and "Jelly Roll" Morton worked for a significant amount of time on LaVilla's stages. Although this period is characterized by the implementation of legally enforced segregation and progressively encroaching "Jim Crow" laws, it also represents black entertainment's final chapter before innovations in communication technologies necessitated entirely new economic strategies. Performing for segregated black audiences on stages owned by black businessmen, entertainers began to explore new and distinctively African-American styles and themes, including new forms of music, such as jazz and the blues. === A Dissertation submitted to the Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2006. === Date of Defense: March 21, 2006. === Silas Green From New Orleans, Pat Chappelle, John Rosamond Johnson, Jacksonville Florida, LaVilla Florida, Rabbit's Foot Minstrels, Jazz, Blues, Vaudeville, African-American === Includes bibliographical references. === William “Rip" Lhamon Jr., Professor Directing Dissertation; Marilyn Young, Outside Committee Member; William Cloonan, Committee Member; Michael Bakan, Committee Member.