Curtis Brown Black Swan Records Assignment Exercise 1 African Americans in the Entertainment Business What did it mean for an African American to be a professional entertainer in the first two decades of the twentieth century? It seems that both songs seemed to talk of the hardships endured by African Americans during the early 20th century but the Text: Bert Williams, "The Comic Side of Trouble" (1918) seems to talk of the singer be so disillusioned by …showed first 75 words of 373 total…

…showed last 75 words of 373 total…class. If they produced high-quality recordings of black artists performing European-style music would change people's opinions. Originally their plan was to produce blues to sustain the company then to release a more serious classical album that would be liked by all thus being recognized as art; making African Americans a respectable people. Though this was not the case due to the astounding speed that musical fads change no including the changing social climate for Americans.