Through the dark days of legalized segregation and on into the civil rights era, jazz shone as a beacon for achieving interracial respect and understanding. It seemed as if the dream of a color-blind society was within reach in the jazz world, where musicians were judged on merit and not skin color.

Where the dark and the light folks meet: race and the mythology, politics, and business of jazz (ed. Scarecrow Pr, 2010) - ISBN: 9780810866522