A prominent Negro clubwoman in Philadelphia paid eleven dollars to hear Raquel Meller sing Andalusian popular songs. But she told me a few weeks before she would not think of going to hear “that woman,” Clara Smith, a great black artist, sing Negro folksongs. And many an upper -class Negro church, even now, would not dream of employing a spiritual in its services. The drab melodies in white folks’ hymnbooks are much to be preferred. “We want to worship the Lord correctly and quietly. We don’t believe in ‘shouting.’ Let’s be dull like the Nordics,” they say, in effect.
It is really sad and jarring for me to see such an outward rejection of black culture within the community. Although I don't feel super in touch with my culture, I still always support artists in my community trying to branch out. This really highlights the self-loathing within the community and reminds me of "the veil". The blacks see themselves the way they whites see them, and in turn reject how they see themselves.