Analyzing All Shook Up: by Gleen C. Altschuler (Research Paper Sample)

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Racial integration in all shook up: rock and roll by Glenn Altschuler
Glenn Altschuler (in his book) reveals the rise of rock and roll which brought to the fore the cracks that existed in the American history yet were always conservatively protected by the bureaucrats. The book explores the wide fissures in American society along the fault lines of family, sexuality and race. This paper unveils the issue of racism which was a thorn in the flesh in American society.
According Altschuler (36), the nation that is now the United States of America was conceived as a slave society, which left an indelible imprint on the nation’s history. In gaining its current democratic state, a lot of people were slaughtered in their attempt to rid the nation of the un-democratic acts. Notably, however, the end of slavery did not come with it liberation and equity for the black Americans. According to Altschuler, the racial discrimination was so evident that the Black African Americans were considered less human beings and inferior beings (59).
Rock and roll provided vehicle with the help of which the blacks could compete against white and accumulate wealth. The existing barrier of racial segregation was broken down and the exploitation, though, still existed was majorly reduced. Against the wish of the whites, rock music became popular among the active black generation (the teenagers) who played such music even in the presence of the whites (Martin, 27). The whites felt that this was wickedness. The white racists were enraged over the trend toward rock and roll mainly because well-established financial interests were declining and being hurt by the market process (Martin 36). Whereas Radio stations which played only ‘correct’ music were losing market, small independent record companies, the so-called “indies” were experiencing phenomenal growth rates by producing rock and roll records. (Martin 28).
‘Rock and roll’ has been one of the most revolutionary cultural phenomena in American history, and it did more than just contributing to the musical heritage of the world. Moreover, it delivered deep and profound quakes through certain wicked beliefs of American adults (Altschuler 57). History has it that, in the 1950s, there has been a struggle over the use of popular culture to determine who would speak and to what audience. This marked a clear cut segregation which allowed the blacks only to speak to their fellow blacks and the whites to speak only to the whites. At the center of the struggle, rock and roll brought the nation which has been sleeping on an age of anxiety to a sudden jerk. Rock and roll helped the young American to construct social identities and also provide a discourse through which they could examine and contest the meanings adults ascribed to family, sexuality and race. With the creation of this music, America went through racial revolution, from racially discriminating African Americans as inferior to an era where all were considered humans (Martin 35). Amidst the war against prejudice, in the North, however, discrimination was still evident especially in employment in public and private sectors. African Americans had to be given only the menial jobs. This condition was placed in the change plan through the use of other means.
The music business could not solve the problem solely, and since it depended heavily on African American writers and performers. Civil rights advocates pressed record producers and radio station owners to integrate and practice what they preached (Altschuler 59). The civil rights movement tried to shape the moral and political awareness of the American public regarding the questions of race. However, the ‘rock and roll’ effect opened doors to more insightful considerations.
In spite of the fact that the end of the road was not yet on sight, significant progress had since been made. Gradually, the authors of Black and White would have it that the racial segregation would be washed away or would die. Even though, the problem still remained, the most appropriate solution would be what Martin (66) would call affirmative action program, a traditional civil right strategy. Affirmative actions were meant to break down the racial barriers and were meant to make sure that everybody was given an equal break. They were not meant to guarantee equal results, but to proceed on the common idea of equal opportunity to African Americans, women, people with disabilities and other groups facing discrimination to be fairly represented in the nation’s workforce and educational institutions (Martin 66).
An affirmative program goes beyond paperwork exercise (Altschuler 58). It included policies, practices, and procedures that ensured that all qualified applicants and employees were receiving equal opportunity for employment. However, the debate that still raged was whether this affirmative action would help solve racial discrimination (Martin 66). This division centered on a number of questions: to what extent discrimina...