During the time Alvin Ailey started the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (AAADT) (1958), he lived in a heavily racist America. Ailey grew up in Texas with his single mother. At this time (1930's) Texas and America as a whole were places where "white was right  and segregation was at large. He moved from here at 12 to LA and then later New York at 18, where he began his Broadway career. Ailey had many influences within dance, such as influences from his training (Lester Horton, Martha Graham, Kathryn Dunham and Jack Cole); styles from each choreographer are shown within his work. In America in the 1950's, racism towards black/African American people had progressed for the better, however it was still evident in everyday life especially in the south. Some schools wouldn't permit black children to study alongside white children and was a contributing factor alongside Ailey's own "blood memories" to start a dance company primarily for black people to celebrate them and their cultures. When the company first started in 1958, Alvin Ailey had specific requirements for whom to cast; athletically built, very talented but most importantly black dancers. Ailey wanted to represent black people in a positive way, raising awareness of their mistreatment and celebrating the faith of the church and God who carried them to become who they are today. Ailey's first piece for AAADT was "Blues Suite , (March 30th 1958) which was about his Texan Roots. This was a very important piece as this was not only the first piece, therefore representing the company but also was showing the influences both choreographically and narrative from Ailey's life. Moving onto the 1960's, this was a massive revolution for black African American people within American as Rob Kennedy stopped segregation on public transport, later followed by the civil movements involving Martin Luther King, the ever legendary "I have a dream  speech. This revolution continued into the later years of the 60's as black people were allowed the chance to v