Disclaimers

Phonographia.com and Friends of the
Phonograph have used recordings from the University of California
Santa Barbara Library Collection, the Library of Congress National
Jukebox, i78s.org, archive.org and other historical and cultural documents,
recordings and images which reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and
beliefs of different times. We do not endorse the views expressed
in those respective documents, images and recordings which may contain
content offensive to visitors of this site.
The following Disclaimers written by
the Library of Congress, UCSB and History Colorado are included here
to emphasize the importance of understanding context and of this distinction
between presenting historical materials versus endorsing and/or accepting
those views.
Library of Congress Disclaimer
The National Jukebox is a project of
the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation.
The goal of the Jukebox is to present to the widest audience possible
early commercial sound recordings, offering a broad range of historical
and cultural documents as a contribution to education and lifelong
learning. These selections are presented as part of the record of
the past. They are historical documents which reflect the attitudes,
perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress
does not endorse the views expressed in these recordings, which may
contain content offensive to users.
UC Santa Barbara Library Disclaimer
About "Dialect Recordings"
"Coon songs," "rube sketches," "Irish
character songs," and other dialect recordings that were popular in
vaudeville routines and genres of songs during the late 19th and early
20th century often contain negative stereotypes and portrayals of
blacks and other ethnic groups. These recordings reflect the attitudes,
perspectives, and beliefs of different times. Many individuals may
find the content offensive. Some of these songs and recitations were
written or performed by members of the ethnic group in question, while
others were not, such as the tradition of blackface minstrelsy of
whites performing caricatured portrayals of blacks. To exclude these
cylinders from the digital collection would deprive scholars and the
public the opportunity to learn about the past and would present a
distorted picture of popular culture and music making during this
time period. The mission of the UCSB Library is to make its resources
available to the faculty, staff, and students of the university community
and to the general public. The UCSB Library presents these documents
as part of the record of the past and does not endorse the views expressed
in these collections.
History Colorado
Some of the materials in our collection
reflect positions, norms, and values that are no longer—or never were—consistent
with those of History Colorado (formerly the Colorado Historical Society)
or its staff. We do not endorse prejudiced, stereotyped, or offensive
material in our collection and actively work to place those items
in context and with interpretation from our communities, as they are
an important resource in the study of past and contemporary cultures.
Other Perspectives
For another perspective regarding the
curation and preservation of sound recordings with racist language
see the New York Times October 14, 2020 article "How
to Handle the Hate in America’s Musical Heritage". A companion
to their “Anthology of American Folk Music” had already been 'pressed'
when Lance and April Ledbetter realized they couldn’t live with releasing
racist songs.
The Ledbetter's chose to redo the CDs
and eliminate several songs from the final release.
In my opinion lyrics in those removed
songs were clearly offensive. Omitting sounds and images from any
historical record, however, does not change its history or the reality
of what previous generations and popular culture believed and accepted
as part of their daily life. Clearly we do not want to reinforce stereotypes
by displaying or listening to words that can be insidious to human
consciousness, but "unexamined stereotypes" are harmful.
(1)
Phonographia.com and Friends of the
Phonograph welcome comments and questions. If you find inaccuracies
or misrepresentations in these galleries please contact this site
as the presentations and interpretations of our past are important
for how we understand where we are today and where we want to be tomorrow.
I believe that whatever we perceive
and experience during our lifetimes must always be considered and
"processed" with humility and with the full recognition
that future generations will have judgments about our own time period.
I am confident that decisions and actions that we have taken as human
beings during my lifetime will require our descendents to include
"disclaimers" when they document the historical record of
my generation, "the baby boomers."

Courtesy of New York
Times and Katty Huertas