Race, Performance, and Colonial Governance: The Philippine Constabulary Band Plays the St. Louis World’s Fair

This article explores intersections of race, performance, and colonial governance by historically analyzing the experiences of African American conductor Walter Loving and the Philippine Constabulary (PC) Band at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Amid an enormous Philippine exhibit and minimal African American representation at the fair, Loving and the Filipino musicians not only helped justify U.S. colonization of the Philippines through patriotic and “civilized” music, but also used their music as leverage to expose the inadequacies of American colonial governance. Their music expressed Filipino nationalism, contested colonial scripts toward Philippine self-governance, and challenged whites’ exclusive claims to colonial leadership.