Black Lives by Conyers James L

Author:Conyers, James L.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781317475781
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

8

A Black Composer Speaks

William Levi Dawson

Ralph Anthony Russell

The first three decades of the twentieth century saw the emergence of a generation of African American composers who found inspiration for their vocal and instrumental works in the music and culture of black America. These composers used Negro folk music, quotes from Negro folk songs, and poems of black poets in their compositions to instill racial pride, espouse the African heritage, and describe the black experience in America. William Levi Dawson, one of the leading composers of this period, composed a collection of choral and instrumental works that uses the melodies and rhythms from the rich reservoir of African American folk music. Like his contemporaries—for instance, William Grant Still and Florence Price—within the Harlem Renaissance, Dawson spoke of slavery, the African heritage, spirituality, black pride, and the future of black America through his numerous choral and instrumental works. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of Dawson’s life and give a brief descriptive analysis of his symphonic work, the Negro Folk Symphony.

William Levi Dawson, the eldest of seven siblings, was born on September 26, in 1899 to Eliza and George Dawson in Anniston, Alabama (Malone 1981). His parents came from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Eliza grew up in a family of property owners who stressed the importance of self-sufficiency, religious faith, and education (Malone 1981). His father had a strong work ethic and believed that learning a trade was the practical way to earn a living and to support a family. Consequently, the value systems of both parents would leave an indelible mark on Dawson’s emotional, intellectual, and spiritual development.

Education was of the utmost importance to William, and was a virtue that was in part instilled in him by his mother. Dawson’s ambitious educational goals were furthered inspired after he met students and graduates of the Tuskegee Institute (Malone 1981). The kinds of students and graduates that the institute produced had a profound effect on the young Dawson. Because there were no schools in Anniston that catered to the educational needs of Blacks, “Dawson resolved that he would go to Tuskegee, pursue an education, and play in the band” (McMillian 1991, 68).

In 1913, at the age of fourteen and with approximately six dollars in his pocket, Dawson left home and boarded a train for Tuskegee. Founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington, the institute began as an elementary and secondary school that offered instruction in grammar, mathematics, music, and industrial arts. After the turn of the century, the school’s enrollment grew to nearly one thousand, with a student body made up of students from over twenty states and Puerto Rico and from foreign countries such as Cuba, Jamaica, and parts of Africa (McMillian 1991). For a young man from small-town Alabama, being a part of this culturally diverse student body must have been a truly rewarding educational experience.

Before Dawson was permitted to take classes, the institute administered diagnostic tests and, as a result, Dawson was placed in basic courses (McMillian 1991).

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