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so this morning i saw someone VERY ancillary to me on fb mention on a post, "well Beethoven was black" & I can& #39;t tell you how much it ruined my shower because a) it& #39;s WRONG and b) because the motivation behind that statement is SO dangerous (A THREAD) 1/6
first, if you want to read more about this, i would suggest @MusHistCliches& #39; great post on compositions & whiteness (featuring a nod to yours truly) here …https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2018/09/who-wrote-symphonies-and-why-should-it.html?m=1">https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2018/09/w... 2/6
but here& #39;s the reason why i find this incorrect claim so dangerous: people who mention it use it as a way to decenter whiteness from concepts of "genius"…"well if Beethoven were black that proves that genius is everywhere." 3/6
while on its face, that& #39;s a nice sentiment, it requires a black Beethoven rather than forcing us to do the work of making clear that whiteness & genius are NOT synonymous 4/6
INSTEAD, we should be reminding people that the construct of "genius" (let& #39;s remain in the realm of Western art music) is part & parcel of a larger structure of supremacy & power that obliterates & sublimates the work of women & POC 5/6
so let& #39;s stop with this. but if you *do* encounter this, think about why this myth is persistent & what this says about how we understand the narratives around genius, creation, & power 6/6
