Progressional Playlist
Many people in the United States have in the past and most definitely currently have used many forms of protests to fight injustices that are taking place right now. A prime example is the protests involving the horrible and ruthless death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. This is one of many examples of the injustice of police brutality towards African Americans. We’ve fought for voting rights, the end of segregation, and we’ve been a trailblazer in many things people told us we could not be. Now what could’ve been the source of fuel for our protests, the desire to achieve the “unthinkable”, and inspire us to use our voices like poets Imani Cezanne and Clint Smith, inspire us to lead a movement like Martin Luther King Jr? I’m talking about Hope. Hope, Progress, and Protest is the theme I will be using from the past 6 weeks to do my project. I have made a playlist out of 5 songs from both the past and present that expresses this theme.
The first song I chose is “ A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. This song was released in February, 1964 which was a year segregation was for sure taking place. I chose this song not just for its memorable lyrics such as “I was born by the river…” , but the story behind this song inspired him to write it and voice his opinion. Sam called a Holiday Inn in Shreveport, Louisiana to check in with his wife and entourage. When he got there and approached the desk, the clerk nervously said there were no vacancies. Sam was extremely mad, but his wife tried to calm him down by saying “They’ll kill you”. Sam eventually left, but was arrested for “disturbing the peace”. That’s how our justice system should work right? He made reservations for his room just to have it taken from him in a whites only hotel. The police just went with the clerks claims. This song shows Sam’s passion for wanting a change to come.
The second song I chose is “ Say It Loud- I’m Black and I’m Proud (Pts. 1 & 2)” by James Brown. This song came out in the year of 1968 so segregation was still common at the time. I just liked the repetition of “Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud” throughout the entire song. It clearly stated the message James was trying to explain. He was telling the whites who were against his race that he didn’t care and he’s proud.
Fasting forward to the year 2003, The third song I chose is “Where Is The Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas. I chose this song because besides the racism, this song talked about many other problems that were going on in the world at the time such as terrorism, death of young kids due to violence, and many more.I also like how they address that protests have many different color faces. The overall message is just asking America, “Where’s the Love”?
The fourth song I chose is “Glory” by Common and John Legend. This song was made for the movie Selma in 2014. Selma gave us a deeper look into the march from Selma to Montgomery led by none other than himself Martin Luther King Jr. They were fighting for the right to vote with this march. The song is saying even after one victory we still have to win the war. We deserve Glory. I chose this song because I love the movie, but the message behind the song is just beautiful and defines a lot of the black lives matter movement to me.
Coming back to 1970, The final song I chose is “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” by Donny Hathaway. I chose this song mainly because it’s one of my mom’s favorite songs of all time, but it’s message is trying to tell younger African-American boys and girls that you can in fact still be talented and gifted even if people tell you that you can’t. Don’t give up on a dream if someone of the opposite race is telling you you can’t do it. This song is actually a cover of the song sung by Nina Simone which was in memory of Lorraine Hansberry who wrote the play “A Raisin in the Sun”.
Now all of these songs were not written at the same time, but they all express a belief of hope or just trying to use their voice to express their opinions. There couldn’t be a more obvious way to do that than in music, knowing everyone will hear. Which is why I made a playlist to show my knowledge on what I’ve learned the past 6 weeks through this theme of Hope, Progress, and Protest. I’ve seen many texts such as Dr. Kendi’s message to all of us about Ahmad Arbery, poems beautifully recited by Imani Cezanne and Clint Smith, and have watched interviews of people discussing how they want this world to change for the better. Listening to these songs will for sure make you feel like you can change the world or at least use your voice to influence it.
https://youtu.be/x5Fr87C8E-k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Fr87C8E-k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FotCW5OIFZc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6BuXRTk5D4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxjfbo6yr7o
Many people in the United States have in the past and most definitely currently have used many forms of protests to fight injustices that are taking place right now. A prime example is the protests involving the horrible and ruthless death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. This is one of many examples of the injustice of police brutality towards African Americans. We’ve fought for voting rights, the end of segregation, and we’ve been a trailblazer in many things people told us we could not be. Now what could’ve been the source of fuel for our protests, the desire to achieve the “unthinkable”, and inspire us to use our voices like poets Imani Cezanne and Clint Smith, inspire us to lead a movement like Martin Luther King Jr? I’m talking about Hope. Hope, Progress, and Protest is the theme I will be using from the past 6 weeks to do my project. I have made a playlist out of 5 songs from both the past and present that expresses this theme.
The first song I chose is “ A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. This song was released in February, 1964 which was a year segregation was for sure taking place. I chose this song not just for its memorable lyrics such as “I was born by the river…” , but the story behind this song inspired him to write it and voice his opinion. Sam called a Holiday Inn in Shreveport, Louisiana to check in with his wife and entourage. When he got there and approached the desk, the clerk nervously said there were no vacancies. Sam was extremely mad, but his wife tried to calm him down by saying “They’ll kill you”. Sam eventually left, but was arrested for “disturbing the peace”. That’s how our justice system should work right? He made reservations for his room just to have it taken from him in a whites only hotel. The police just went with the clerks claims. This song shows Sam’s passion for wanting a change to come.
The second song I chose is “ Say It Loud- I’m Black and I’m Proud (Pts. 1 & 2)” by James Brown. This song came out in the year of 1968 so segregation was still common at the time. I just liked the repetition of “Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud” throughout the entire song. It clearly stated the message James was trying to explain. He was telling the whites who were against his race that he didn’t care and he’s proud.
Fasting forward to the year 2003, The third song I chose is “Where Is The Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas. I chose this song because besides the racism, this song talked about many other problems that were going on in the world at the time such as terrorism, death of young kids due to violence, and many more.I also like how they address that protests have many different color faces. The overall message is just asking America, “Where’s the Love”?
The fourth song I chose is “Glory” by Common and John Legend. This song was made for the movie Selma in 2014. Selma gave us a deeper look into the march from Selma to Montgomery led by none other than himself Martin Luther King Jr. They were fighting for the right to vote with this march. The song is saying even after one victory we still have to win the war. We deserve Glory. I chose this song because I love the movie, but the message behind the song is just beautiful and defines a lot of the black lives matter movement to me.
Coming back to 1970, The final song I chose is “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” by Donny Hathaway. I chose this song mainly because it’s one of my mom’s favorite songs of all time, but it’s message is trying to tell younger African-American boys and girls that you can in fact still be talented and gifted even if people tell you that you can’t. Don’t give up on a dream if someone of the opposite race is telling you you can’t do it. This song is actually a cover of the song sung by Nina Simone which was in memory of Lorraine Hansberry who wrote the play “A Raisin in the Sun”.
Now all of these songs were not written at the same time, but they all express a belief of hope or just trying to use their voice to express their opinions. There couldn’t be a more obvious way to do that than in music, knowing everyone will hear. Which is why I made a playlist to show my knowledge on what I’ve learned the past 6 weeks through this theme of Hope, Progress, and Protest. I’ve seen many texts such as Dr. Kendi’s message to all of us about Ahmad Arbery, poems beautifully recited by Imani Cezanne and Clint Smith, and have watched interviews of people discussing how they want this world to change for the better. Listening to these songs will for sure make you feel like you can change the world or at least use your voice to influence it.
https://youtu.be/x5Fr87C8E-k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Fr87C8E-k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FotCW5OIFZc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6BuXRTk5D4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxjfbo6yr7o