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Black Musicians in Northern US Cities during the Early 20th Century: A Test of the Critical Mass Hypothesis of Urban Sub-culture Theory

Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Mississippi State University, 207 Bowen Hall, Hardy Road, Mississippi State, MS 39762-5503, USA, Boyd{at}Soc.MsState.Edu

According to the sub-culture theory of urbanism, a vital social world will emerge in a city when there is a 'critical mass' of members of some unique population. This hypothesis is tested by analysing the entertainment sub-culture that developed around the musical styles of the southern Blacks who moved to northern cities in the US in the early 20th century. The employment rate of Blacks in the musical professions is examined as an indicator of the vitality of this sub-culture, because this rate reflects the extent to which Blacks could make a living as musicians. Regression analyses of census data from 1910 to 1930 show that, as hypothesised, the rate at which Blacks were employed as professional musicians became positively associated with the size of the Black populations of the urban north only after these populations reached critical mass levels. It is concluded that the central notion of sub-culture theory-that group size intensifies sub-cultures and fosters unconventionality-can help to explain the rise of the social world of Black musicians in northern cities in the US during the early 20th century.

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