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Primary Source Sets

Jitterbugs, Swing Kids, and Lindy Hoppers

A 1938 photograph of a performance depicting the origins of modern jitterbug dancing and its relationship with African tribal dances.

A 1938 photograph of a performance depicting the origins of modern jitterbug dancing and its relationship with African tribal dances.

Citation Information: “History of jitterbug dancing,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/f0e8cf2a06c93a9cc1e9d62205a0ea8a.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library via California Digital Library.

Tips for Students

For this source, consider:

the author's point of view
the author's purpose
historical context
audience

Item 3 of 10 in the Primary Source Set Jitterbugs, Swing Kids, and Lindy Hoppers

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A 1938 photograph of a performance depicting the origins of modern jitterbug dancing and its relationship with African tribal dances.

A 1942 photograph of a napping swing dancer.

A 1942 photograph of a “swing shift” dance.

A 1939 photograph depicting an African American couple dancing the jitterbug in a juke joint in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

A photograph of the Big Apple Night Club, an African American juke joint housed in an old Jewish synagogue in the 1930s in South Carolina.

A photograph of an African American couple dancing the Lindy in the 1930s at an unidentified club.

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