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15 chapter one ambivalent inclusion During the first week of June 1939, Washington, D.C., avidly followed news of the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. “A crowd as enthusiastic and large as ever greeted an American President on inauguration day turned out today to watch and take part in the pomp,” the New York Times reported, chronicling all aspects of the historical occasion, down to the king’s and queen’s attire.1 On June 8, President Roosevelt received the royals at a state dinner; before approximately three hundred guests, he joined the king in a pledge to “walk together along the path of friendship in a world of peace.”2 Along with proclamations of international cooperation , the evening also included performances that featured what the White House considered “authentic” representations of American music. Showcasing elements of this “vital and undeniably American” folk culture, the evening’s entertainment included cowboy ballads, Appalachian folk songs, and rural-based dancing “handed down through generations.”3 The central focus, however, was on African Americans. In evaluating the origins of American music, the program notes for the evening stated, “above all, the negro has made the most distinctive contribution.” At the musicale’s opening, the American hosts and their British guests heard the voicesoftheNorthCarolinaSpiritualSingers,a“communityactivitygroup” directed by the WPA’s Federal Music Project. As the program explained, the Spiritual Singers included a “cross section of Negro life in the State, composed of workers from the tobacco plants, clerks, doctors, school teachers . . . and housewives.” The program also noted that several of the performed folk songs were of “Negro origin” or derived from black minstrel songs. Last, African American contralto Marian Anderson delivered three compositions , including “Ave Maria” and “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord”; chapter one AMBIVALENT INCLUSION During the first week of June 1939,Washington, D.C., avidly followed news of the visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. “A crowd as enthusiastic and large as ever greeted an American President on inauguration day turned out today to watch and take part in the pomp,” the New York Times reported, chronicling all aspects of the historical occasion, down to the king’s and queen’s attire.¹ On June 8, President Roosevelt received the royals at a state dinner; before approximately three hundred guests, he joined the king in a pledge to “walk together along the path of friendship in a world of peace.”² Along with proclamations of international cooperation , the evening also included performances that featured what the White House considered “authentic” representations of American music. Showcasing elements of this “vital and undeniably American” folk culture, the evening’s entertainment included cowboy ballads, Appalachian folk songs, and rural-based dancing “handed down through generations.”³ The central focus, however, was on African Americans. In evaluating the origins of American music, the program notes for the evening stated, “above all, the negro has made the most distinctive contribution.” At the musicale’s opening, the American hosts and their British guests heard the voices of the North Carolina Spiritual Singers, a “community activity group” directed by the WPA’s Federal Music Project. As the program explained , the Spiritual Singers included a “cross section of Negro life in the State, composed of workers from the tobacco plants, clerks, doctors, school teachers . . . and housewives.” The program also noted that several of the performed folk songs were of “Negro origin” or derived from black minstrel songs. Last, African American contralto Marian Anderson delivered three compositions, including “Ave Maria” and “My Soul’s Been An- 16 AMBIVALENT INCLUSION chored in the Lord”; only two other solo performers, Kate Smith and Lawrence Tibett, were part of the state dinner production. At this important event, for arguably the most respected of foreign dignitaries, the White House chose to highlight African American culture, not in a demeaning fashion, but as an affirmation of African American citizenship and inclusiveness .⁴ This focus on black performance was integral to the Roosevelt administration ’s development of federal cultural programs and its larger racial policy by the end of the 1930s. However, understanding why African Americans were so centrally staged in an event such as the royal reception in 1939 requires an explanation of how racial issues became increasingly important to the administration’s political agenda. We must also consider why New Dealers advocated for the establishment of a federally sponsored arts program, one that would come to play a central role in the government ’s recognition of African Americans. Upon Roosevelt...

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