Posted on 07/03/2020 7:17:51 AM PDT by Stravinsky
Twitter users are debating whether or not Beethoven was black after a blog post about the subject resurfaced online.
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In the post on The Concordian, the author said: "I am no Beethoven expert, but bringing up this topic is important. While getting to the bottom of the truth about Beethoven's race will change nothing about the supreme quality of his music, it will open up dialogue about the massive effects of European colonialism that promote racism still today.
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However, there is no evidence of Beethoven's race aside from portraits that suggest that he was white, and the blog post merely offers up speculation. The conspiracy theory that Beethoven was black "is not based on genealogical studies of Beethoven's past," according to the Beethoven Center at San Jose State University, but rather "is based on the assumption that one of Beethoven's ancestors had a child out of wedlock."
The Beethoven Center adds: "It is important to note that no one called Beethoven black or a moor during his lifetime, and the Viennese were keenly aware both of Moors and of mulattos, such as George Bridgetower, the famous violinist who collaborated with Beethoven."
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Despite this, many Twitter users began sharing The Concordian story on Thursday.
One Twitter user said: "White historians continue to prove how gross they are, they literally tried to paint one of the best-known musicians as a caucasian and made us believe for years that he was white when Beethoven was black... White people tryna whitewash history again."
A Twitter user shared a TikTok imagining what listening to new music in the 1800s would have been like and said: "This is funnier now that we know that Beethoven is black."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
They used Spanish females as sex slaves.
This is what happens when u have to make up comparative history and culture
I don’t care what race Beethoven was.....
Bach is all that matters....
If Beethoven was black I claim cultural appropriation because Beethoven performed and showed up to many events in white-face. Or was that just make-up?
I remember when this was first talked about—it must have been in the 1968 to 1970 period. I think I saw the “Peanuts” cartoon at the time.
Black Jesus?
Black Shroud of Turin?
Black Beethoven?
What is next? Black Abraham Lincoln?
White Martin Luther King?
I recall even then Paul took some heat for "Cultural Appropriation".
Ginger Baker did it way before Paul.
Up for debate.
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