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Gerald Horne talks to Black Perspectives about “Jazz and Justice”

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Gerald Horne, over decades, has written dozens of books analyzing issues of racism in labor, politics, civil rights, aeronautics, the slave trade, international relations, and war. Recently, entering a vital new field, Dr. Horne finished Jazz and Justice: Racism and the Political Economy of the Music, about which Ajamu Amiri Dillahunt of Black Perspectives asked:

Ajamu Amiri Dillahunt: Please share with us the creation story of your book– those experiences and factors that caused you to research this specific area and produce this unique book. What impact do you hope this work will have on Jazz and the broader Black Freedom Struggle?

Gerald Horne: I grew up in Jim Crow St. Louis with working class parents with roots in Mississippi. From an early age I recall a guitar in our house, that our father would pluck from time to time. Undoubtedly, my younger brother Marvin Horne—who has played with such giants as percussionists, Chico Hamilton and Elvin Jones, and as part of Aretha Franklin’s band just before she expired—was influenced to pick up this instrument because of its ubiquitous presence in our small house….

Read the interview at Black Perspectives

Jazz and Justice: Racism and the Political Economy of the Music by Gerald Horne

Copyright © AAIHS. Reprinted with permission

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