Celebrate Soulfully is currently happening at the Disneyland Resort. This is a showcase of experiences that celebrate Black heritage and culture through music, food and art that is found throughout the Resort. One of the experiences that Disneyland has for Celebrate Soulfully is at the Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland. This is an exhibit called Golden Horseshoe Exhibit: Black Music at the Turn of the 20th Century .
The exhibit is found on the stage of the Golden Horseshoe. It showcases two genres of music that inspire American culture. The two genres are ragtime and Black country music. On the stage, there can be found names, props, graphics, and other décor that showcase these musical styles. Below is a look at this exhibit. It isn’t known at this time how long it will remain on this historic stage.
Before entering the Golden Horseshoe, a sign says the following:
Celebrate Soulfully
The Disneyland Resort invites you to Celebrate Soulfully, shining a light on the brilliance, depth and beauty of Black culture. Throughout Black Music History Month learn about several distinct genres of music and the groundbreaking Black artists who lent their unique voices to make a lasting impression on American culutre.
We encourage you to become inspired by the history and the legacy of music. Find your beat, find your music, find your inspiration and Celebrate Soulfully because…
we all have a song to sing!
Once inside, the stage can be seen filled with musical instruments, sheet music, names, graphics, and some other artifacts representing the era and the lives of the musicians. Two additional signs join a replica of the sign from outside. Each sign goes into one of the two different musical genres that are represented in the exhibit.
THAT OL’ RAGTIME FEEL
Originating in the African American communities of the late 19th Century, Ragtime grew to prominence from the 1890s to the 1910s. Ragtime became the first mainstream Black genre to captivate America; spearheaded by Black artists like Earnest Hogan, Scott Joplin—known as “King of Ragtime”—and James Scott, just to name a few. Deriving from the sound of “piano thumping” and associated with progressing dance styles of the time—the foxtrot and slow drag—ragtime evolved into a mature sound, influencing future genres like jazz, blues, and swing. Some Black musicians, such as Jelly Roll Morton, performed their unique sound during the period when jazz and ragtime overlapped. Widely underappreciated, ragtime created the music industry as we know it by producing the first Black musical celebrities and modernizing the way musicians play classical instruments.
BLACK COWHAND MUSIC
Cowboy music is just another example of how Black culture influenced and enriched America. Black culture influenced and enriched America. Making up one in four cowboys, Black people had joined the Westward expansion between 1866-1895 and prospered significantly because of their experience toiling the land and grooming horses and cattle. Addison Jones, Bass Reeves, “Stagecoach” Mary Fields and “Biddy” Mason are just some of the notable Black figures who greatly added to the archetypal cowboy and cowgirl motif. Black cowboys were prone to sing and pick the guitar or banjo around campfires to not only entertain themselves, but to calm their cattle. Necessity soon evolved into a powerful art form, producing a genre known as cowboy music. In fact, the version of “Home on the Range” known today derived from Black cowboys. Through the years the profound and creative contributions of Black cow folk has permeated the sound of country music.
The exhibit arrived during Black Music Appreciate Month. It joins a collection of other exhibits, entertainers, and foods that can be found throughout the Disneyland Resort. This includes an exhibit about Disney Legend Floyd Norman that debuted earlier this year in Disney California Adventure. What do you think of this exhibit? Have you seen it in person? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
