Four words to describe the 1920's-1930's black american experience..

[1on1]

Heyhey- Any word smiths up 'n here ?
Your collective heads-up cheerfully accepted..
i'm trying to create a 4 letter patch to go on my antique sweater...i am searching high and low for a 4 letter word that best describes the 1920's-30s black american experience...there are plenty of long words ofcourse (cotton club, boogie woogie, tuskegee etc. etc.) i want to avoid too-cheesy-a-word ofcourse but being confined to 4 letters makes it a real challenge - yet i want it to be something iconic that speaks to that time/people..you get my drift.
stumped
1on1

 

[Guppy]

I'm not sure what you're going for, exactly, but a lot of the words that would come to mind back then might not be considered in good taste these days, given America's terrible history with race relations. So I guess I'd tread carefully.

 

[jacketjunkie]

For the early 20th century, the founding of political movements such as the NAACP or the Harlem Renaissance come to mind as defining events, culturally I'm thinking blues, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong. As a student of law, I guess I also have to mention the NBA which was founded in 1925.

 

[handymike]

JAZZ

 

[breezer]

 

[1on1]

thanks guys- 4 letters is the objective..i thought of jazz but hopefully diggin a little deeper might yield that one word i'm searchin for.
Guppy- i'm well aware of the past history and obviously i am not seeking out an offensive word..there's plenty of positive words still swirling around so not to worry..

Btw the sweater can only take 4 letters (in the size that i want it in)that is why i am rather specific with the number of words. I'm brainstorming slang words but nothings grabbed me thus far..as i said i would have loved to use "cotton club" or "savoy" or "radium" etc but are all longer words and naturally i dont want to wear a billboard..if all else fails i guess i will use a four letter year but i have many "year" sweaters i made..trying to avoid that.

 

[Graemsay]

Zoot, as in Zoot suit?

I don't know if it'd really make sense, though.

 

[oneterrifichog]

"Jelly" (Harlem slang 1930's means SEX)

 

[TheMarriedHermit]

Soul. Long before the “soul music” of the 60s and 70s there was a distinctly African-American concept of “soul”—a secular yet at the same time deeply spiritual (here and now rather than in the afterlife promised by religion) way of feeling and expressing one’s individuality and aliveness, rooted in the collective experience of black folk.

 

[GHT]

thanks guys- 4 letters is the objective..i thought of jazz but hopefully diggin a little deeper might yield that one word i'm searchin for.
Guppy- i'm well aware of the past history and obviously i am not seeking out an offensive word..there's plenty of positive words still swirling around so not to worry..

You'll be lucky to top Jazz, just four letters ain't easy. You might squeeze five if one of the letters is an 'I.' Like JUICE meaning liquor.
JOOK is a house of pleasure, (define that as you will) There's VandX or V & X, meaning five & ten cents store. But I still think JAZZ tops it.

 

[1on1]

thanks guys..
Jelly - unfortunatley 5 words..
Soul - appreciate the point but too contemporary (or atleast 60's) sounding..
Jazz- again too contemporary sounding
Jook- i'm chewin on that word..would also look good aesthetically on a sweater..will update.

 

[1on1]

update: apparently jook is also a rice brand/type but early meaning noted..

 

[1on1]

crow as in reefer ? since my last update i thought of J'BUG or J-BUG (jitterbug) but i think it'll get lost in the abbreviation plus googling reveals so many j-bug outfits like car parts supplier etc. s-i-g-h!

 

[GHT]

RAZZ, to deride, make fun of. Comes from blowing a raspberry.
BEEF, Tough Guy.
DARB, An excellent person, (one who can be relied on to pay the check.)
JAVA, Coffee, might be a brand. But if you have ever heard The Inkspots song:
I love coffee, I love tea
I love the java jive and it loves me
Coffee and tea and the jiving and me
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup!
I love java, sweet and hot
Whoops! Mr. Moto, I'm a coffee pot
Shoot me the pot and I'll pour me a shot
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup!
Oh, slip me a slug from the wonderful mug
And I cut a rug till I'm snug in a jug
A slice of onion and a raw one, draw one.
Waiter, waiter, percolator!

 

[breezer]

best describes the 1920's-30s black american experience

not sure what the question is but I'm pretty sure a reference to reefer does not fulfil the brief. Not sure why JAZZ, to you ear, sounds too contemporary.....seems perfect to me

 

[1on1]

uhhmm..know that song, thanks GHT but i'll have to keep tuggin at it..that word's gotto be out there somewhere.

 

[1on1]

breezer- what i'm saying is i want to avoid words that are overused in the here and now..i'm hoping to run into a word that is "discontinued" or seldom used..a vintage word for a vintage jumper iow.

 

[1on1]

for example, here's a word you wont hear on your teli or sunday paper - "Shindig" but again, too long for my needs..and wrong decade in addition..ok well i may overlook a slight gap in decades if the word is compelling enough i suppose.

 

[Peacoat]

I like the suggestion of @handymike of Juke, as in juke joint. Juke joints were so popular through the mid half of the 20th century that Little Walter Jacobs immortalized the word in his harmonica instrumental from 1952:

 

[1on1]

hmmm..