Just saw this message as i was trying to find the Alice Ripley thread - yeah, ragtime and jungle are coded dog-whistles, and the townsfolk will know exactly what Hill is referring to. Laugh all we want about it now, but the racism is real, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about that when the show opens.
I agree that "ragtime" and "jungle" are coded dog whistles, but in '57 Willson was probably referring to white trash teenagers who hung around race tracks and pool halls. There were probably poorer sections of River City that were populated by wild kids like Tommy Djilas. I don't believe any serious journalist back in '57 interpreted those words as being a reference to African Americans.
However, I imagine that hearing those words today with racial sensitivity at an all-time high (and justifiably so), some people will suggest they are referring to black teenagers.
