Louis Armstrong Ineffective

Armstrong became a Jazz Ambasador for the U.S. government and ended up playing Black and Blue for people of other countries (Meckna,Satchmo: The Louis Armstrong Encyclopedia , 2004, p. 38). Many argue that Armstrong was an ineffective advocate for racial tolerance and equality due to the way he appeared to play into black stereotypes created by whites. One example of this is his performance as King of the Zulus. Though this was his boyhood dream come true, younger generations of African Americans were embarrassed and frustrated by it. Even Armstrong’s supporters clumsily tried to support his actions with no avail (Teachout, Pops: a life of Louis Armstrong, 2009, p. 324). One of his supporters actually compared him to Uncle Tom and accidently

What he didn’t want was people marching in the streets in a civil rights movement rallied under the banner created by his music and words. ((Teachout, Pops: a life of Louis Armstrong, 2009, p. 326) Although, during the struggle in Little Rock, Arkansas for the nine black children Armstrong wasn’t afraid to speak out against the government on the matter and even refuse to be a Jazz Ambassador until the government intervened. (Eschen, Satchmo Blows Wp the world Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War, 2006, p. 58) Overall I believe that Louis Armstrong was an effective advocate for racial tolerance. Though he wasn’t perfect he wanted to stand up for the injustice and help create a world where people would look past skin differences. I define him as an effective advocate because of what he wanted and tried to do in a way that was more peaceful and focused on the mindset of a person. Others may argue differently but even today younger generations of different races recognize the name Louis Armstrong as a talented African American musician and historical figure where as many other Jazz figures have faded away through the culture of up and coming