The Dictionary of Black Composers, edited by Samuel A. FLoyd, Jr., is an
excellent starting point for information about African-American composers
Music Reference ML 105 .I5 1999 2 vols.
Use OneSearch to find books and articles about these composers:
Dawson, William
The Harlem Renaissance: Aesthetic Philosophy
In the 1920s, artists and writers in Harlem produced works of art celebrating the African-American experience and culture. Although jazz was taking hold in Harlem at the time, spirituals were more important to composers of the time than jazz idioms. Howard University professor of philosophy, Alain LeRoy Locke, one of the most influential writers of the time wrote about the arts and about music:
Music and the Harlem Renaissance
For more books on the Harlem Renaissance, search this subject in OneSearch:
Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- Intellectual Life -- 20th Century
See also: "Harlem Renaissance" in The Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd edition (Log in required from off campus)