RACE + CULTURE

Miles Davis Didn’t Hate All White People. He Despised Prejudice

Black racial attitudes should be considered in context

Photo of Miles Davis plugging his ears, expressing discomfort | via self-named website honring the Jazz legend

American society seems to expect that Black people only express positive attitudes about White people. When this unspoken contract is broken, they’re dismissed as hateful. Consider, for instance, the backlash to a USA Today interview snippet of jazz musician Miles Davis, known for courting controversy. “If somebody told me I had one hour to live, I’d spend it choking a white man. I’d do it nice and slow,” he stated. Afterward, he added, “The only white people I don’t like are the prejudiced white people. Those the shoe don’t fit well, they don’t wear it.” Despite this caveat, the line that stuck for many was his confession of a violent fantasy. Jared Taylor, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, has used the quote to suggest that Black people, in general, want to harm White people. Walk a mile in the shoes of a Black person living through Jim Crow, or consider the rebellious nature of the artist in question, and these negative attitudes about White people may seem less threatening. When removed from context, the quote inflames racial animosity.

Throughout his career, Miles Davis earned a reputation as the greatest trumpet player of the 20th century. He helped “to define…