Final answer:
Jelly Roll Morton was influential in the development of jazz, which set the stage for rock and roll, a movement that contributed to the social blending of races. Rock and roll's popularity among both black and white audiences encouraged the mixing of communities and played a role in the eventual weakening of racial segregation in the United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jelly Roll Morton was a crucial figure in the jazz world during his era. Often credited as one of the first serious composers of jazz, Morton's contributions helped lay the foundation for the music genre's growth and transformation. In the 1920s, jazz bands like the King and Carter Jazzing Orchestra became incredibly popular among young, hip urbanites, including white audiences who flocked to see black musicians perform.
Rock and roll music, which followed jazz's evolutionary path, played a significant role in culturally and socially blurring racial lines in the 1950s. Artists like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Louis Armstrong, and Jackie Branson, alongside white rockers such as Elvis Presley, provided a common ground that spelled social change. Significantly, the rock and roll movement coincided with landmark legal decisions like Brown v. Board of Education and facilitated a mix of black and white artists that was eventually mirrored in society's step toward the end of segregation.
By fostering a space where black and white individuals shared common interests, rock, and roll contributed to the shift in attitudes towards race and helped pave the way for a new generation less bound by segregation and prejudice.