This lesson focuses on African American dance music styles following the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Many of these music styles had signature dances as well. These styles include but are not limited to funk, go-go, and disco, while popular dances were the funky chicken, mashed potato, camel walk, hustle, James Brown, and others. We will look at all of them in this lesson. On the social front, during the 1970s, more tangible steps towards proper racial integration and gender equality were happening than before. Besides the style of music itself, because of these steps toward equality, this lesson categorizes this music as contemporary. However, we will also see that the music industry often coopted popular Black dance music and dances to varying degrees of economic success during this era.

• Discuss the significance of rhythm and terms such as riff, groove, syncopation, and four-on-the-floor.
• Identify dances that occurred during the late 1960s through the 1970s and venues that aided in disseminating them to the general American population.
• Identify instruments such as synthesizer, slap bass, and scratch guitar and their use within funk, go-go, and disco.
• Explain the role of music in raising people's level of social consciousness.
• Discuss how the demographics among Black Washingtonians influenced the development of go-go.
• Articulate the role of the DJ in the development and dissemination of disco music.