Jazz Ambassadors: A Model for Cultural Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the practice of negotiating, compromising, and communicating with people or nations to find a nonviolent solution to a perceived problem. Cultural Diplomacy uses these same principles but puts a nation’s arts, humanities, or other cultural product in the service of reaching a peaceful solution. The agents who serve as cultural diplomats are not foreign service officers or employees of the State Department. Cultural diplomats are artists, athletes, or celebrities chosen specifically for the way that their art, talent, or sometimes just their personality reflects a positive interpretation of American ideals. Another characteristic feature of cultural diplomacy is that the aim is to create a positive impression among the citizens of the host country, rather than government or political figures.  

The Cold War program of Jazz Ambassadors offers a case study of the practice of cultural diplomacy. The seeds of this program were planted in the wake of WWII, in the early days of the Cold War. When the State Department officially began sponsoring jazz tours in 1956, it was in response Soviet propaganda. The USSR was able to use the reality of American race relations and anti-Black violence to highlight the hypocrisy of a country that claimed to represent freedom yet failed to protect that freedom for all Americans. Jazz ensembles presented a positive image of integration and trumpeted the contributions of Black artists.  

NCSS.D1.1.6-8. Explain how a question represents key ideas in the field. 

NCSS.D2.Civ.13.6-8. Analyze the purposes, implementation, and consequences of public policies in multiple settings. 

NCSS.D2.His.1.6-8. Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts. 

NCSS.D4.1.6-8. Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging the strengths and limitations of the arguments. 

This lesson introduces cultural diplomacy as an alternative to traditional diplomatic activities. Students will benefit from having a working knowledge of traditional diplomacy before beginning. You might begin with The Crisis of American Diplomacy, 1793-1808 or Bring Your Classroom to Life Through Diplomatic Oral Histories from EDSITEment. The National Museum of American Diplomacy also provides learning activities you may find useful.  

Consider The Cultural Diplomacy Dictionary provided by the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy for related vocabulary and a global approach to understanding this practice.  

Activity 1. Defining cultural diplomacy 

Cultural diplomacy can be difficult to define. Even the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy acknowledges that there is no agreed upon definition. Offer students the opportunity to construct their own definition for cultural diplomacy using the congressional record for the law that formalized the Jazz Ambassadors program or another related primary source. You may choose to provide students with a definition for culture and for diplomacy as a starting point.  

• Public Law 860: The International Cultural Exchange and Trade Fair Participation Act of 1956 

Activity 2. Jazz Ambassadors as a model for cultural diplomacy 

Introduce your students to the practice of cultural diplomacy using selected clips from the NEH-funded PBS documentary The Jazz Ambassadors.  A preview is provided below. 

• How do these scenes compare to their constructed definitions for cultural diplomacy? Did the Jazz Ambassadors succeed in their mission? What details help to draw this conclusion? 

Activity 3. Monitoring reception at home  

The Jazz Ambassadors program received a great deal of news coverage, particularly in the Black press. Use historic newspapers found at Chronicling America or another database to explore differing viewpoints and prompt inquiry questions for individual research. Encourage students to choose articles from different years to track how reporting changed over the course of the Jazz Ambassadors program.  

• Who is the audience for this article? Is the tone of the piece favorable or unfavorable? How might international coverage differ? 

Depending on your students’ familiarity with Chronicling America, you may choose to provide a few articles for this analysis. The following articles offer a sample of the coverage in African American newspapers: 

• “Jazz Greats to Act as Goodwill Ambassadors.” The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.), 26 Nov. 1955. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. 
• “Jazz Fans the World Over Get a Chance To Dig That Cool American Propaganda.” Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.), 15 April 1956. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. 
• “Senators Wary of $84,381 For Gillespie Band Tour.” Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.), 09 May 1957. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  
• “Negro Artists Music Boycotted in South.” Arizona sun. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.), 10 Oct. 1957. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  

Invite students to demonstrate their understanding of cultural diplomacy by creating a proposal for a new program similar to the Jazz Ambassadors.  

• What artists will be chosen as ambassadors? How do these artists represent American identity and culture? What countries should they visit? What is the desired reception from international audiences? From Americans?