In the beginning (the late 1920s), there was a man named Frankie Manning. Frankie said unto his friends: dance. Jazz music had swung through the United States. The Lindy Hop was the buzz of the towns. People were happy, except for one thing...

At the large dance halls, such as the Savoy Ballroom, there were ropes that divided the black dancers from the white dancers. The trouble with dancers is that they are often young and rebellious. The white women wanted to dance with everyone. Studs. The black men wanted to dance with everyone. Sluts. The white men couldn’t dance. The black women stood around looking hot. The trouble was that these people didn’t see ethnicity. They heard only the music; in their hearts they only wanted to swing-out with another person. Skin color didn’t matter; so why the ropes?

Quite quickly, the ropes were jumped. Black and white people danced with one another: the walls of segregation started to splinter. Since then, Lindy Hop has enlivened social scenes, introduced prospective lovers, financially supported musicians, given people a fun reason to exercise, formed compassionate communities, taught humility, put smiles on faces around the world, and held fundraisers for worthy causes. Lindy Hoppers also rebelled against Nazis.