Black people have contributed to, and perhaps even defined American music throughout history, from the days of slavery up to the present.  In the 1890s, plantation melodies had developed into spirituals, which some African Americans, most notably W.E.B. DuBois, believed to be the only authentic American music (61).  Black people were also developing ragtime (in St. Louis) and the blues (in the Mississippi Delta) in the 1890s.  These genres would soon come together with jazz, the most significant American music of the early 20th century.  Blues and ragtime were looked down upon by many black elites, who viewed it as lower class music (62).  They preferred classical music, and there were some notable African Americans of this time period who composed and performed within the European classical tradition. R. Nathaniel Dett and Harry Burleigh, for example, were classically trained composers who also drew inspiration from ragtime and African American spirituals.  Black elite’s preference for classical music was another aspect of genteel performance, and again indicative of double consciousness.