Imani Perry

really does it's not even just it's not just metaphorical it functions as a kind of representation or an example of the fact of of being black and particularly being black American I want to play an early reference that you write about it's Louis Armstrong's 1951 recording of what did I do to be so black and blue let's listen to a little

really does it's not even just it's not just metaphorical it functions as a kind of representation or an example of the fact of of being black and particularly being black American I want to play an early reference that you write about it's Louis Armstrong's 1951 recording of what did I do to be so black and blue let's listen to a little

Yeah, so the original version of the song actually took place in a black musical, and it was sung by a dark-skinned black woman who was actually talking about colorism in the black community and the kind of preference for lighter-skinned women. And the transition is beautiful, but what Armstrong does is it's this example of the sort of multi-layered references that exist in both black and blue.

Yeah, so the original version of the song actually took place in a black musical, and it was sung by a dark-skinned black woman who was actually talking about colorism in the black community and the kind of preference for lighter-skinned women. And the transition is beautiful, but what Armstrong does is it's this example of the sort of multi-layered references that exist in both black and blue.

Yeah, so the original version of the song actually took place in a black musical, and it was sung by a dark-skinned black woman who was actually talking about colorism in the black community and the kind of preference for lighter-skinned women. And the transition is beautiful, but what Armstrong does is it's this example of the sort of multi-layered references that exist in both black and blue.

And it's a song that bridges blues and jazz as well, so it has this blues phrasing and sensibility, but then with the horns and the scatting, you hear the kind of growing complexity of jazz. And we have black and blue in the sense of being bruised. And you have blues in the sense of melancholy. And of course, the general sense of sort of the blues that exist along with blackness.

And it's a song that bridges blues and jazz as well, so it has this blues phrasing and sensibility, but then with the horns and the scatting, you hear the kind of growing complexity of jazz. And we have black and blue in the sense of being bruised. And you have blues in the sense of melancholy. And of course, the general sense of sort of the blues that exist along with blackness.

And it's a song that bridges blues and jazz as well, so it has this blues phrasing and sensibility, but then with the horns and the scatting, you hear the kind of growing complexity of jazz. And we have black and blue in the sense of being bruised. And you have blues in the sense of melancholy. And of course, the general sense of sort of the blues that exist along with blackness.

And in Armstrong's personal life. You have this struggle around being a person who is actually sent into the world as an advocate of the United States in the context of the burgeoning Cold War and as a kind of figure that is supposed to be an example of the glory of the United States.

And in Armstrong's personal life. You have this struggle around being a person who is actually sent into the world as an advocate of the United States in the context of the burgeoning Cold War and as a kind of figure that is supposed to be an example of the glory of the United States.

And in Armstrong's personal life. You have this struggle around being a person who is actually sent into the world as an advocate of the United States in the context of the burgeoning Cold War and as a kind of figure that is supposed to be an example of the glory of the United States.

And yet, as was often the case, and we saw this in the context of World War I and World War II, even as black people served the nation valiantly, they were subject to deep inequality at home. And so the song actually is able to encapsulate all of those dimensions with these rather... Simple sentences, lyrics that are not directly about all of that, but absolutely are about all of that.

And yet, as was often the case, and we saw this in the context of World War I and World War II, even as black people served the nation valiantly, they were subject to deep inequality at home. And so the song actually is able to encapsulate all of those dimensions with these rather... Simple sentences, lyrics that are not directly about all of that, but absolutely are about all of that.

And yet, as was often the case, and we saw this in the context of World War I and World War II, even as black people served the nation valiantly, they were subject to deep inequality at home. And so the song actually is able to encapsulate all of those dimensions with these rather... Simple sentences, lyrics that are not directly about all of that, but absolutely are about all of that.

So you get the sense of innuendo, of multi-layered discourses. It's just so elegant and beautiful and profound.

So you get the sense of innuendo, of multi-layered discourses. It's just so elegant and beautiful and profound.

So you get the sense of innuendo, of multi-layered discourses. It's just so elegant and beautiful and profound.

I'll just say, you know, I grew up on Nina Simone. My mother loved Nina Simone, and so I've been listening to her literally for my entire 52 years of life. And, you know, we talk a great deal in some ways about the late Nina Simone and the world of sort of popular culture. Nina Simone as a woman who was both...

I'll just say, you know, I grew up on Nina Simone. My mother loved Nina Simone, and so I've been listening to her literally for my entire 52 years of life. And, you know, we talk a great deal in some ways about the late Nina Simone and the world of sort of popular culture. Nina Simone as a woman who was both...

I'll just say, you know, I grew up on Nina Simone. My mother loved Nina Simone, and so I've been listening to her literally for my entire 52 years of life. And, you know, we talk a great deal in some ways about the late Nina Simone and the world of sort of popular culture. Nina Simone as a woman who was both...