Skip to main content
0
Search products
Search
Mugs
Tees
Hoodies
Search products
Search
Chat
Share
Free Shipping
Menu
Mugs
Tees
Hoodies
Back to urbandictionary.com
Pro Customization
Create unique products with your own words and definitions
Preview
Personalize Your Design
Your Word
Your Definition
White men regarded as oppressors of blacks. An article by John Cowley, "Shack Bullies and Levee Contractors: Bluesmen as Ethnographers," in The Journal of Folklore Research, vol. 28, nos. 2/3, pp. 135-162, recounts the story of the Lowrence family, a set of seven brothers, the oldest named Charley, who were notorious contractors of cheap labor, mostly [African American], to build the levees alongside the [Mississippi] in the 1920's. A number of songs quoted in the article refer to "Mr Charley" specifically in this context, giving rise to speculation on the part of Alan Lomax that he may have "[discovered] the identity of the elusive "Mr. Charley." Cowley's article goes on, however, to quote a comment by Alan Dundes on Lomax' article that 'Mr. Charley' "would appear to date from antebellum times." But the repeated reference to a "Mr. Charley" by southern bluesmen was undoubtedly in reference to Charley Lowrence.
Text fits
Save
Cancel
🤖
Shopping Assistant
Online
Hey! 👋 I'm your shopping assistant. What are you looking for?
Ask about products
AI-generated responses. Verify claims.