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Classroom · Grades 6–12

Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington used the jazz orchestra, from Harlem nightclubs to Carnegie Hall, to argue that Black music and Black history belonged at the center of American art.

Lesson at a Glance

Grades
Grades 6–12
Time
One class period (20–40 minutes)
Standards
NCSS Themes 1 (Culture) and 2 (Time, Continuity, and Change); C3 D2.His.1.6-8, D2.His.10.9-12
Reading
Duke Ellington (profile)

Big Idea

Duke Ellington used the jazz orchestra, from Harlem nightclubs to Carnegie Hall, to argue that Black music and Black history belonged at the center of American art.

Before Class

Students read the profile of Duke Ellington, including the Key Dates and Sources.

Discussion Questions

  1. The Cotton Club made Ellington nationally famous, yet it barred Black patrons and staged stereotyped revues. How should we weigh the opportunities and the costs of that engagement?
  2. Ellington wrote music for the particular sounds of individual players. What does that practice suggest about who should get credit for a band’s music, including Billy Strayhorn’s share?
  3. Why might Ellington have chosen to tell Black history through a long concert work like Black, Brown and Beige rather than through words?
  4. The Pulitzer board refused a special award in 1965 but granted one in 1999. What does that change reveal about how American institutions judged jazz over the twentieth century?

Activity

Students read the profile’s account of Black, Brown and Beige and the 1965 and 1999 Pulitzer decisions, then browse the finding aid for the Smithsonian’s Duke Ellington Collection, noting the kinds of records it holds (scores, band parts, itineraries, business papers, photographs). In small groups (20–30 minutes), each group picks one record type and writes a short paragraph explaining what a historian could learn from it about how a touring Black orchestra worked under segregation. Groups share and discuss why an archive of business records matters as much as the recordings.

Primary Sources

Cite this page
MLA
“Classroom lesson: Duke Ellington.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/classroom/duke-ellington/.
APA
Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Classroom lesson: Duke Ellington. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/classroom/duke-ellington/
Chicago
Black-History.com Editors. “Classroom lesson: Duke Ellington.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/classroom/duke-ellington/.
Editorial Note

By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.

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