The first person to come to my mind when I think of Jazz is Louis Armstrong.

Louis
Armstrong was a well-known African-American trumpet player in the jazz genre, singer, and
bandleader in the early 20th century. One of his well-known songs and one of my favorites is
What a Wonderful World. Even though Louis Armstrong was famous, with him being African
American, he faced many employment issues, touring issues, and criminal justice issues.
Louis faced many employment issues. One of them occurred during the great depression.
Daniel stated in the Biography of Louis Armstrong, Master Trumpeter and Entertainer that
“Because of the Great Depression, Armstrong, like many other Americans and especially Black
Americans, had trouble finding work” (Daniel). Louis Armstrong moved and found work at
clubs. Throughout Louis Armstrong's life, he had troubles with employment, since many other
famous jazz players did not appreciate Armstrong being himself or something of his physical
appearance was not appreciated. UKEssays stated in Louis Armstrong and the Discrimination in
His Career that “Steward rejected his application because Louis skin was too dark. This form of
discrimination was practiced among black musicians against other blacks.” (UKEssays). Who
would have known that an African American musician would not hire another African American
since their skin was too dark? You would think that a fellow African American musician would
help out another African American musician, but it was hard when all were facing harsh racism.
Louis Armstrong faced some touring issues with hotels. UKEssays stated in Louis
Armstrong and the Discrimination in His Career that “When Armstrong became quite famous
and traveled a lot he still faced issues with staying at certain hotels. He would refuse to perform
at hotels during the daytime because he was not allowed to stay overnight due to the fact the
hotels were only for whites. He also was denied use of bathroom facilities at a restaurant.”
(UKEssays). This was typically how colored people were treated at that period. There was
segregation between whites and colors, which affected many famous African Americans, like
Louis Armstrong.
Louis faced a lot of criminal justice issues. Louis Armstrong was arrested for sitting next
to a white woman. Schwartz stated in What Louis Armstrong really thinks that “Armstrong was
arrested by the Memphis Police Department in 1931. His crime? He sat next to his manager’s
wife, a white woman, on a bus. Armstrong and his band were thrown in jail as policemen
shouted that they needed cotton pickers in the area.” (Schwartz). Luckily, Armstrong's manager
was able to get him out of jail and even mocked the police at his show that night. Another one
that was before this one was in 1930. Daniel stated in Biography of Louis Armstrong, Master
Trumpeter and Entertainer “After an arrest for marijuana possession in November 1930,
Armstrong received a suspended sentence and returned to Chicago. According to writer Marco
Medic, it is widely believed that the police officers responsible for his arrest were fans of his and
that this played a role in his receiving a lighter sentence even though marijuana-related crimes
were harshly punished across the board during this time.” (Daniel). Whether this was because the
police were fans of him or if they just arrested him because marijuana at that time was not well-
known, this caused trouble for Armstrong.
Louis Armstrong was not only attacked by whites but also by African Americans.
Andrew stated in 9 Things You May Not Know About Louis Armstrong that “Armstrong’s
hesitancy to speak out against racism was a frequent bone of contention with his fellow black
entertainers, some of whom branded him an “Uncle Tom.” (Andrews). Another problem African
Americans had with Armstrong was that he did not politicize his race. At this time being called
an Uncle Tom was extremely offensive to African Americans. Later on, you see Louis
Armstrong stand up on a subject. Andrew stated in 9 Things You May Not Know About Louis
Armstrong that “In 1957, however, he famously let loose over segregation. At the time, a group
of black students known as the “Little Rock Nine” were being prevented from attending an all-
white high school in Arkansas. When asked about the crisis in an interview, Armstrong replied,
“The way they are treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell.” He added
that President Dwight D. Eisenhower was “two-faced” and had “no guts” for not stepping in”
(Andrews). A month later, the president did send some aid to help down there, but this was very
daring for Louis Armstrong to say at this period.
One of the ways Louis Armstrong spoke about the racism he experienced was through his
music and his tapes. Scherstuhl states in Louis Armstrong’s Last Laugh that “The tapes are
thrilling, revelatory, wrenching: the warm-gravel voice of Louis Armstrong, perhaps the most
famous voice of the 20th century, speaking harsh truths about American racism, about the
dehumanizing hatred he and millions of others endured in a world he still, to the end, insisted
was wonderful.“ (Scherstuhl). Through the tapes, he speaks up against the negative aspects of
what he had to endure but also tries to maintain a positive point. Also, Scherstuhl states in Louis
Armstrong’s Last Laugh that “Armstrong, as early as 1929, actually did address race in his
music. His example: “Black & Blue,” the song on which Jenkins’s film title riffs. On it,
Armstrong sings, “I’m white inside, but that don’t help my case / ’cause I can’t hide what is in
my face.” (Scherstuhl). As stated before, many African-American musicians did not think Louis
Armstrong spoke of the difficulties he and all the other African-American musicians faced.
However, even if he did not speak of them, he did include them in his work.
Louis Armstrong faced many challenges just like other African-American Musicians had
to face at that time. However, he always tried to stay positive. He did not let all the negativity or
discrimination get to him and continued to make wonderful music.

Works Cited

Andrews, Evan “9 things you may not know about Louis Armstrong” A&E Television Networks,
22 August 2016 Accessed 24 Oct. 2023. https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-
know-about-louis-armstrong

Daniels, Patricia E. “Biography of Louis Armstrong, Master Trumpeter and Entertainer.”

ThoughtCo, 31 Aug. 2020, Accessed 24 Oct. 2023. www.thoughtco.com/louis-armstrong-
1779822#:~:text=Because%20of%20the%20Great%20Depression,Americans%20were%20out
%20of%20work.

Scherstuhl, Alan. “Louis Armstrong’s Last Laugh.” The New York Times, 4 Nov. 2022, Accessed
24 Oct. 2023. www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/movies/louis-armstrong-black-blues.html.

Schwartz, Ben “What Louis Armstrong really thinks” The New Yorker, 18 June 2017 Accessed
24 Oct. 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-louis-armstrong-really-thinks

Starkey, Arun. “Louis Armstrong and His Complex Relationship with Race.” Far Out Magazine,
1 Feb. 2022, Accessed 24 Oct. 2023. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/louis-armstrong-complex-
relationship-with-race/.

"Louis Armstrong and the Discrimination in His Career." UKEssays. ukessays.com, November
2018, Accessed 24 Oct. 2023. https://us.ukessays.com/essays/music/louis-armstrong-and-the-
discrimination-in-his-career-2907.php?vref=1