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Summary:

Abstract: In this thesis, I explore the careers and songs of Florence Price and Margaret Bonds-two African American female composers who were part of the Chicago Renaissance. Price and Bonds were members of extensive, often informal, networks of Black women that fostered creativity and forged paths to success for Black female musicians during this era. Building on the work of Black feminist scholar Patricia Hill Collins, I contend that these efforts reflect Black feminist principles of Black women working together to create supportive environments, uplift one another, and foster resistance. I further argue that Black women's agency enabled the careers of Price and Bonds and that elements of Black feminism are not only present in their professional relationships, but also in their songs. Initially, I discuss how the background of the Harlem and Chicago Renaissances and racial uplift ideology shaped these women's artistic environment. I then examine how Bonds and Price incorporated, updated, and expanded versions of these ideals in their music and careers. Drawing on the scholarship of Rae Linda Brown, Angela Davis, and Tammy L. Kernodle, I analyze Price's "Song to the Dark Virgin," "Sympathy," and "Don't You Tell Me No" and Bonds's "Dream Variation," "Note on Commercial Theater," and "No Good Man" through a Black feminist lens. I contend that although Price and Bonds depicted harsh realities of Black women's experiences, they also celebrated Black women's resistance in spite of intersectional oppression. Ultimately, analyzing Black feminism in these composer's careers and songs opens a path for further exploration of how Black women's agency can facilitate activism through art.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction : Racial uplift, black renaissances, and black feminism
• Florence Price : black feminist strategies for survival and resistance
• Margaret Bonds and Langston Hughes : reframing racial uplift through black feminism.

Author/Creator:

Durrant, Elizabeth , author

Contributors:

Wright, Brian F. , major professor

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Chicago Renaissance Women: Black Feminism in the Careers and Songs of Florence Price and Margaret Bonds [by Durrant, E.]

Related Series:

NT thesis, Music (Complete); [volume] 2021

Subjects:

Price, Florence, 1887-1953

Bonds, Margaret

African American women composers

Women composers, Black

Feminism and music

Music and race

United States

Genres:

Academic theses

Dissertation Notes:

M.A. ― University of North Texas, 2021.

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 71-75).
Description based on: Online resource; title from PDF title page (UNT Digital Library, viewed July 8, 2022).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (v, 75 pages) : music.

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

Electronic Thesis

OCLC Numbers:

1341354592