Elvis' Stand Against Segregation: Breaking The Law For Equality

Elvis Presley has been the subject of much debate regarding his influence on racial segregation and civil rights. Some have accused him of being racist and culturally appropriative, while others argue that he helped advance the civil rights movement by breaking segregation laws and bringing black music to white audiences.

Born and raised in a predominantly black neighbourhood in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley grew up around black people and was heavily influenced by black music, particularly gospel and blues. He regularly attended black-only events and churches, and was friends with several prominent black musicians, including BB King.

Presley's musical style, which blended different genres and crossed racial boundaries, was seen as a threat to racial segregation. His performances were criticised for being deliberately sexual and vulgar, with his iconic hip movements deemed noxious and animalistic. Despite the backlash, Presley continued to perform and record music that broke down racial barriers, covering songs by black artists and bringing black music to mainstream audiences.

While some have criticised Presley for appropriating black culture and not doing enough to actively support the civil rights movement, others argue that his influence on racial equality was significant. In 1956, he attended the Memphis Fairgrounds amusement park on coloured night, effectively cracking Memphis's segregation laws. He also attended the WDIA Goodwill Revue, an annual charity concert for deprived black children, where he greeted screaming fans with his trademark hip twist. These actions suggest that Presley was willing to challenge segregation laws and use his platform to advance racial equality.

Elvis's attendance at a 'coloured night'

In June 1956, Elvis Presley attended the Memphis Fairgrounds amusement park on a designated 'coloured night'. The Memphis World newspaper reported that Elvis had "cracked Memphis' segregation laws" by doing so.

The following month, in July 1956, Elvis attended the WDIA Goodwill Revue, an annual charity show put on by the radio station that called itself the "Mother Station of the Negroes". The event was otherwise segregated, but Elvis showed up to support his heroes, including Ray Charles, B.B. King, and DJ Rufus Thomas. Although his recording contract did not permit him to perform, he greeted the screaming crowds with a trademark rebellious twist of his hip.

Elvis's attendance at the WDIA Goodwill Revue was not his first interaction with B.B. King. In December 1955, the two met at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios, where B.B. King had recorded sides in 1950 and 1951. Elvis was also friends with other black musicians, including Jackie Wilson, whom he visited backstage at The Trip nightclub in Hollywood.

Elvis's support for black artists and causes, as well as his indifference to social distinctions, made him something of a hero in the black community during the early years of his career.

The 'shine my shoes' rumour

The "shine my shoes" rumour refers to an allegation that Elvis Presley made a racist comment, stating: "The only thing [black people] can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes." This rumour began circulating in early 1957, at the height of Presley's popularity. It was printed in an article in the April 1957 edition of Sepia magazine, a white-owned monthly for black readers, which discussed "How Negroes Feel About Elvis". The article included a statement from an anonymous source, presumed to be "from the 'people in the street' sample".

The quote was also attributed to Presley in a 1989 song by Public Enemy, "Fight the Power", which included the lyrics: "Elvis was a hero to most / But he never meant [expletive] to me, you see / Straight up racist, that sucker was simple and plain."

Presley denied the allegation, telling Jet magazine in 1957: "I never said anything like that, and people who know me know I wouldn't have said it." Many people who knew Presley also rejected the claim, including Dr W.A. Zuber, who knew Presley growing up, and Dudley Brooks, Presley's accompanist on records and for two of his movies. Brooks described Presley as "a helluva nice guy" and said: "I can't imagine Presley saying that, not knowing him the way I do."

Presley's supporters argue that the rumour was started by people who resented his success and commercial appropriation of black music. Music historians also believe the rumour persisted due to some resentment of Presley within the black community, as he achieved more success from R&B music than many black artists of the time.

His friendship with BB King

In the early 1950s, a young Elvis Presley first met B.B. King at Sam Phillips Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. King, already a recording artist, was laying down tracks or visiting as a guest. He often came into contact with other famous artists like Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis, but it was Presley who he hit it off with.

King recalled that Presley was "handsome and quiet and polite to a fault" and that he "spoke with this thick molasses Southern accent and always called me 'sir'". He remembered Presley as a country singer with a great voice, but had no idea he was "getting ready to conquer the world".

In 1956, Presley attended the WDIA Goodwill Revue, a benefit concert held by the WDIA radio station to help deprived children in Memphis. The all-black line-up featured B.B. King, Ray Charles, and other big stars of the era. Although Presley's contract with RCA prevented him from performing, he supported from the wings. When invited on stage, he greeted the screaming crowds with a trademark rebellious twist of his hip.

King acknowledged that Presley had risen to superstardom by incorporating rhythm and blues sounds created by Black artists: "The new stuff was R&B sung by a good-looking white boy. I believe he was showing his roots. And he seemed proud of those roots."

In a 2010 interview, King dismissed the idea that Presley had "stolen" any of his music: "Music is owned by the whole universe. It isn’t exclusive to the Black man or the white man or any other color." In his autobiography, *Blues All Around Me*, King wrote, "Elvis didn't steal any music from anyone. He just had his own interpretation of the music he'd grown up on, same is true for everyone. I think Elvis had integrity."

The two musicians became friends, and Presley would help King land gigs as his own star ascended. King would also defend Presley from accusations of cultural theft. When asked about Presley in a 2010 interview, King said, "If anyone says Elvis Presley was a racist, then they don't know a thing about Elvis Presley or music history."

Accusations of cultural appropriation

Elvis Presley's musical style, heavily influenced by African-American blues, Christian gospel, and Southern country, has been the subject of cultural appropriation accusations. His music was also influenced by the black musicians he listened to and spent time with while growing up in a predominantly black neighbourhood in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Some people view Elvis as a cultural appropriator who benefited from the oppression of Black people. They argue that he took the hymns and blues that Black people sang to find solace in their pain and turned them into jigs that white crowds could dance to. It is claimed that these Black artists were never given the same opportunities as Elvis to expand their reach and showcase their talents.

Elvis' signature dance moves, including his leg-shaking and hip-swivelling, have also been criticised as appropriations of black performance styles. His dancing was deemed so controversial that he was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, for 'vulgar dancing'.

However, others argue that Elvis was simply a devoted music fan who devoured, dissected, and internalised the work of his favourite artists. They claim that his music was an unselfconscious amalgam of gospel, blues, and country and that he always publicly credited his sources of inspiration.

Elvis himself said, "I never sang like this in my life until I made that first record - That's Alright, Mama. I remembered that song because I heard Arthur (Big Boy) Crudup sing it and I thought I would like to try it".

The debate around Elvis and cultural appropriation is ongoing and complex, reflecting the multifaceted nature of cultural exchange and the ongoing struggle for equity and representation in the music industry.

His support for black artists and causes

Elvis Presley was a white singer who "sounded black". He was renowned for his gyrating hips and infamous performance techniques, which were said to be borrowed from black musicians.

Elvis grew up in a poor Southern community and spent much of his early years absorbing the music of local impoverished black communities. He would attend the coloured East Trigg Baptist Church, where he would hear local black gospel music. He was not guided by colour but by what he liked and felt good with.

In 1956, when Elvis became a household name, rumours began circulating that he was racist or that he stole music from black artists and never gave them credit. However, these rumours were false. All the black artists of the day loved Elvis, and in the 1950s, Presley's music was popular in the black community. Between April 1956 and September 1958, Presley had 22 songs among the Top 15 on Billboard's rhythm and blues charts – charts that were meant to capture the tastes of black listeners and buyers.

Elvis was always the first to give credit to the black community. In a 1957 interview with Jet magazine, he said:

> A lot of people seem to think I started this business, but rock ‘n’ roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that kind of music like coloured people. Let’s face it: I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that. But I always liked that kind of music. I used to go to the coloured churches when I was a kid – like Rev. Brewster’s church (Rev. W. Herbert Brewster of East Trigg Ave. Baptist Church in Memphis).

Presley's genius was his ability to mix multiple styles of music from white and black cultures. Early in his career, a Memphis columnist summarised Presley's singing style: "He has a white voice [and] sings with a negro rhythm which borrows in mood and emphasis from country style."

Rockabilly legend Carl Perkins addressed how rock and roll challenged segregation in the South:

> There was no [segregation] in music. When you walked up to an old ’54 or ’55 model Wurlitzer jukebox, it [didn’t say] ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’ Carl Perkins, white, ‘Blueberry Hill,’ Fats Domino, black. No. There was no difference. Kids danced to Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis.

Elvis felt an affinity to the black community because he grew up in black neighbourhoods in his hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi. As a white Southern boy, he did not see colour. Because they were poor, the Presleys lived the same kind of life as any poor black family.

> Poor people in the South, both black and white, shared a common heritage that stamped them as outsiders, explained Bertrand. The two groups shared similar living conditions, effects of poverty, endurance of scorn, and pursuit of relief.

When Elvis was 13 years old, he and his parents moved to Memphis in hopes of better economic opportunities. From 1949 to 1953, Elvis and his parents lived in a government housing project called Lauderdale Courts. After that, they moved to a neighbourhood in Memphis that was shared by both blacks and whites.

Presley’s high school friend, Buzzy Forbess, described how nearby there were “coloured beer joints and it wasn’t unusual to walk into one of those to get a coke. At this time, [Elvis] heard a lot of rhythm and blues.”

Elvis did not just talk about his affinity to the black community, but he also showed it in his many acts of generosity. He saw no colour when it came to giving gifts. There are countless stories of people, black and white, who were given free cars by Elvis just for being at the car dealership the same day he was there.

Elvis was devastated when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. At the time, Elvis was filming Live a Little, Love a Little in Hollywood. One of Presley’s co-stars in the film, Celeste Yarnall, recalled what happened as she and Elvis watched King’s funeral on television in Presley’s dressing room. Yarnall said that Elvis proceeded to sing an a capella version of “Amazing Grace” in honour of Martin Luther King, Jr.

> He sobbed in my arms like a baby, Yarnall said, because he was so, so devastated by Martin Luther King’s assassination. And, you know, he felt that he was such an integral part of the black community and that he felt that they had taken a brother from him. And he told me that he [Elvis] had felt embraced by the black community, because his struggle had been so, so big.

One of Elvis’s favourite things to recite was King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. According to Presley’s friend, Jerry Schilling, Elvis would recite the speech word for word in King’s voice.

> He was a tremendous fan of Martin Luther King, recalled Presley’s former girlfriend, Linda Thompson. We used to listen to his speeches over and over, and the cadence and the mellifluous tone of Martin Luther King’s voice was so inspirational.

In 1956, Presley attended the Memphis Fairgrounds amusement park during what was designated as a 'coloured night'. On December 7, 1956, he also attended the otherwise segregated WDIA black radio station's annual fund-raiser for 'needy Negro children' at Memphis' Ellis Auditorium. On this night, Elvis performed alongside some of his own heroes, including Ray Charles, B.B. King and Rufus Thomas.

B.B. King defended Elvis in a Sepia article:

> What most people don't know, stated King, is that this boy is serious about what he's doing. He's carried away by it. When I was in Memphis with my band, he used to stand in the wings and watch us perform. As for fading away, rock and roll is here to stay and so, I believe, is Elvis. He's been a shot in the arm to the business and all I can say is 'that's my man'.

In his 1957 investigative article in Jet, Louie Robinson concluded that not only did blacks know Presley, but Presley also knew blacks. Robinson was impressed with Presley's honest evaluation of his contribution to the genre:

> A lot of people seem to think I started this business, Elvis explained, but rock 'n' roll was here a long time before I came along. Nobody can sing that kind of music like coloured people. Let's face it; I can't sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that. But I always liked that kind of music.

Robinson was also able to dispel the rumour that Elvis had made a racist comment about black people only being good for shining his shoes and buying his records. He found no basis to the claim. However, the Jet journalist did find plenty of testimony that Presley judged people "regardless of race, colour or creed".

> To Elvis, people are people, regardless of race, colour or creed.

Little Richard said of Presley:

> He was an integrator. Elvis was a blessing. They

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