Don Cornelius died this week. Soul Train, his nationally televised spin on American Bandstand, helped integrate African-American musicians into the mainstream across four decades. I’m glad these challenges are being discussed again, because as many corrective steps as society’s taken in said arena, there’s still much more to be done.
It’s easy to feel like all races and ethnicities are well represented in the music scene, but really, how are they represented? African-Americans dominate the rap scene, but how often do we see African-Americans fronting indie rock or metal bands? Or Asian Americans, or Latinos?
Soul Train was part of a great movement, and now it’s up to my generation to continue it. Most of what goes on in the rock world isn’t blatantly racist. It’s the usual institutional racism that’s so hard to combat. Our culture doesn’t exactly make for an easy career in rock & roll if you’re not a white male.
Perhaps these issues weigh on my mind more than most. I’ve spent most of my young career speaking bluntly about the discrimination I’ve faced in the music industry. I’ve had many opportunities I’m grateful for, and many people don’t care that I’m a young woman. But I still come up against the societal constraints of my gender more than you’d think.
It’s always there, the obvious pressure to “just be one of the boys,” which, admittedly, has always come easily to me, or the assumption that I must be dating a guy in a band. And of course when you speak out about these issues, you’re automatically labeled “whiny,” not exactly welcoming mature discourse.
It’s not all bad. One local beacon of hope is the Girls Rock Camp I attended in high school. Such a great camp, a lot of it focused on learning instruments, but there were also lots of frank conversations about being a woman in the music industry. They offer lots of scholarships so that local girls from all backgrounds are able to attend. Every year they host a fundraiser called “Ladies Rock Camp,” a Girls Rock Camp for adult women. I’ve heard it’s a great time, and they’re running a session later this month.
It’s a fantastic program, and I’m a big supporter. And like Soul Train, I wish it wasn’t necessary. I have the same stories as all the guys do; we all got excited about the same sweet riffs, we all worked hard and got coffees and lifted amps. So what’s going to close the gap between women and men, between white and black and beyond?
I don’t have a concrete answer, but supporting everyone in the local music scene, no matter what, seems like a start. I don’t think it’s out of line to say it’s what Don Cornelius would have wanted.
For more information on Ladies Rock Camp, contact Melinda Chow at melinda.n.chow@gmail.com.
This article appears in February 3 • 2012.