Black History

Florence Beatrice Price: A First in Classical Music

In 1903, Price attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Knowing that race was a barrier for entry, she presented herself as being of Mexican descent. In three years, she earned a soloist’s diploma in organ and a teacher’s diploma in piano.

Published

3 years ago

June 25, 2021

Christy Price

Florence Beatrice Price/ International Florence Price Festival

Eleven years into the Jim Crow laws, Florence B. Price (1888–1953) was born into a middle-class family in Little Rock, Ark. It was a time when anyone of African descent in North America, no matter their successes, was viewed as part of the under-class.
Price’s mother was a music teacher, owned and ran a restaurant, worked in real estate, and served as secretary of the International Loan and Trust Company.

Her father was an artist, a notable dentist, and inventor of patented dental tools.
The family was considered among the ‘10 percenters,’ meaning people who benefited from a classical education and had the potential to lead American society.

They were known to host gatherings of the Black intelligentsia. Young Florence entertained those guests on the piano, a skill taught by her mother.
In 1903, Price attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Knowing that race was a barrier for entry, she presented herself as being of Mexican descent. In three years, she earned a soloist’s diploma in organ and a teacher’s diploma in piano.
Encouraged to compose, Florence studied composition and counterpoint. Her early works included pieces for piano and organ. She later returned to the South, teaching at the Arkadelphia Presbyterian Academy and later at Little Rock’s Shorter College. She became head of the music department at Clark University in Atlanta (1910–1912), and then returned to Little Rock.
Despite her qualifications, Price was denied membership to the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association. Refusing to give up, she established her own music studio and founded the Little Rock Club of Musicians.

At that time, racial tension in Little Rock was escalating. The numbers of Black men being beaten and lynched were on the rise. Price and her husband fled to Chicago for their safety.
The Prices divorced in 1931, leaving Florence a single mother. She then played the organ for silent film screenings and wrote popular songs for WGN radio. She forged friendships with like-minded musicians and artists and continued her composition studies. Eventually, Price’s concert music came to the attention of one of her teachers, which led to her big break in 1932.
Price won several prizes at the Wanamaker Music Composition Contest. These successes attracted the attention of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director, who, soon after, conducted a performance of Price’s First Symphony (1933).

At that moment, she became established as a composer of note and the first Black woman in American history to have a symphonic work performed by a major American orchestra.
“It is a faultless work, a work that speaks its own message with restraint and yet with passion … worthy of a place in the regular symphonic repertory,” the Chicago Daily News reported.
Despite her success, Price struggled, surviving mostly on the kindness of friends. She suffered from poor health and was often hospitalized. By 1953, her work was gaining a new momentum. While preparing for a promotion trip to Europe, she suffered a heart attack and died.

Christy Price

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

3 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.