so this morning i saw someone VERY ancillary to me on fb mention on a post, "well Beethoven was black" & I can't tell you how much it ruined my shower because a) it's WRONG and b) because the motivation behind that statement is SO dangerous (A THREAD) 1/6

first, if you want to read more about this, i would suggest @MusHistCliches' great post on compositions & whiteness (featuring a nod to yours truly) here …https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2018/09/who-wrote-symphonies-and-why-should-it.html?m=1 2/6

but here's the reason why i find this incorrect claim so dangerous: people who mention it use it as a way to decenter whiteness from concepts of "genius"…"well if Beethoven were black that proves that genius is everywhere." 3/6

while on its face, that's a nice sentiment, it requires a black Beethoven rather than forcing us to do the work of making clear that whiteness & genius are NOT synonymous 4/6

INSTEAD, we should be reminding people that the construct of "genius" (let's remain in the realm of Western art music) is part & parcel of a larger structure of supremacy & power that obliterates & sublimates the work of women & POC 5/6

so let's stop with this. but if you *do* encounter this, think about why this myth is persistent & what this says about how we understand the narratives around genius, creation, & power 6/6