Here are some of our favourite resources, organisations and charities that share information on the history of jazz music, African American vernacular jazz dances, anti-racist education, and social justice initiatives within swing dance and wider arts communities.
Follow us on Instagram to catch our history stories and reels spotlighting the women who pioneered jazz performance in the 20s, 30s and 40s.
Community
Collective Voices for Change
Collective Voices for Change (CVFC) is an international initiative committed to building a new and equitable social fabric in the Jazz dance community. They host events and webinars, which can all be viewed (for a donation) here.
The Jazz Centre UK
The Jazz Centre UK, located in Southend-on-Sea, celebrates jazz music’s heritage, and actively supports and promotes contemporary performance and education.
Charities USA
Frankie Manning Foundation
The Frankie Manning Foundation carries on the work and the spirit of Frankie Manning in spreading the culture and joy of the Lindy hop throughout the world.
Programs include Ambassador Scholarships, youth initiatives, and archiving, with special emphasis on: the underrepresented African-American community;
children and young people; and new geographic locales around the globe. They have incredible archives of early Lindy Hop here.
Black Lindy Hoppers Fund
The Black Lindy Hoppers Fund is an independent program supported by the Houston Swing Dance Society.
Championed by Black leadership of the Lindy Hop community, it’s mission is to provide assistance to established and developing dancers, musicians, researchers and community builders who want to be of greater service to members of African and African diasporic heritage.
Charities and social enterprises UK
Black Ticket Project
BTP work as a bridge organisation between independent youth workers, schools, youth groups, charities and youth arts companies and cultural institutions and organisations to widen cultural access for Black young people across England.
Black Heroes Foundation
The Black Heroes Foundation is a community-based charity for the development and promotion of talent, together with cultural and artistic initiatives in the community. They focus on youth, education, training, social up-lifting and personal development programmes.
IRIE! dance theatre
Britain’s leading dance theatre company and charity working in the field of African & Caribbean dance fusion. IRIE! heightens the profile of Black dance in Britain, creating a repertory of works reflective of the African Caribbean influence on the Black British cultural experience.
The Black Curriculum
The Black Curriculum is a social enterprise founded to address the lack of Black British history in the UK Curriculum. They deliver arts focused Black history programmes, providing teacher training and campaign through mobilising young people to facilitate social change
Books
Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century
Essays delve into the Africanist elements within jazz dance and discuss the role of Whiteness, including Eurocentric technique and ideology, in marginalizing African American vernacular dance. They offer strategies for teaching and performing rooted jazz dance and emphasize the importance of centring Africanist and African American principles, aesthetics, and values.
Swingin’ at the Savoy – Norma Miller
Written by swing dance legend, Norma Miller, this memoir chronicles a significant period in American cultural history and race relations, the glorifies the home of the Lindy Hop. Miller shares anecdotes about her youthful encounters with many of the greatest jazz legends in music history, including Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, and Ethel Waters.
Articles
The Harlem Renaissance: Guide to Historic Jazz Clubs – Lew shaw (2018)
A fascinating article looking at the work of E. Simms Campbell, an illustrative map of all the jazz clubs in Harlem in 1932!
Social Media
Black Dance History (@blackdancehistory)
Instagram account documenting Black dance for education and entertainment.
April4U (@oldhollywoodblackhistorybeauty)
Instagram account by blogger and vlogger, April, sharing videos of Black women and women of colour performing in the early part of the 20th century.
The Jazz Estate (@thejazzestate)
Instagram account exploring amplifying and presenting jazz music.
Women in Jazz (@women.in.jazz)
Instagram account for the Women in Jazz podcast. Their Instagram feature #WomenofJazzHistory showcases incredible female jazz musicians through the early 20th century.
Podcasts
NPR’s Code Switch: The dance that made its way from Harlem to Sweden
Lindy Hop is a dance that was born in Harlem, created and performed by African Americans in segregated dance halls. But today, one of the world’s most vibrant Lindy Hop communities is in Sweden. This podcast looks at cultural appropriation, cultural surrogacy and the experience of Black American women dancing Lindy Hop in Europe.
Theatre
Swing Sister Swing
Swing Sister Swing brings together dancers, musicians, storytellers and artists who champion the stories of jazz music and dance greats, alongside the modern feminist stories of women in swing dance today. Whether in the community, or on stage, all the work is female-led, reflective of modern society and presents at minimum 50/50 gender equity across all activities.
The London Starlings 