Music for the civil rights movement in the 20^th century was not only based on entertainment purposes, but also to convey specific themes, like the fight against racism. Minority groups in America were subjected to racism due to capitalism and the global American imperialism. Minority radicalization resulted, following the formation of agitation groups. The workers, who were mostly African Americans, used songs in their movements in efforts of pursuing true racial equality. The songwriters used different songs, all of which had a central theme of challenging racism. Some of the songs used urged workers to join unions in order to fight against their exploitative bosses while others emphasized on the need to change for better working conditions. The songwriters used different methods and strategies in order to air their views effectively. Cool music, characterized with both direct and dramatic irony was among the most effective strategies used by the artists. This essay looks at how music, related to politics, was used by different civil rights activists to challenge racism that was widely spread in the United States from the 1600’s to the 20^th century. For a comprehensive analysis, the essay has been divided into sections.

Theoretical background:

Cultural practices such as music were beneficial to civil right movements. According to Reed (2005, p. 32), music was used to transform and strengthen the identity for movement workers. In 1960, black and white people would gather at Highlander Folk School in Tennessee to discuss the emerging civil workers’ movements, where the police regularly raided and challenged the activists (Reed, 2005, p. 1). In a terrifying scene, a girl began to sing a song, which later became the movement’s anthem: “We Shall Overcome (Reed, 2005, p. 1)”. This asserts the freedom and justice that the people were anticipating to enjoy in their country. The Black Americans were denied justice and equality, translating to racial segregation. According to Leonardo (2013), a race could be viewed as a social construction which takes the form of a narrative. Narrating race can then become a political choice, like when families of color are taken to be a hindrance to school governance because they do not actively participate in official events (Leonardo, 2013, p. 20). In this case, it is clear that the cultural practices like the use of songs to express racism and cultural politics are related. According to Tator, Henry and Mattis (1998), as long as the power of capitalism remains, societies will continue to face change but not transformation. In consideration of such, one wonders whether post-modernist theories will lead to overcoming of the social inequalities that were rooted in the society. The cultural practices and politics are thus woven together by the use of songs to articulate the people’s wishes. Such was very evident in the songs of the civil activists.

Literature Review:

As cited in Reed (2005), the chapter; “Singing civil Rights: The Freedom Song Tradition,” the author discusses the numerous factors that surrounded the civil rights movements between 1600’s and 20^th century. African Americans pursued gaining true equality in the society because amendments and legalities in the constitution assured them their rights. According to Reed, there were several factors that led the Blacks to fight for equality. Some of them were the fact that the struggle was dominated by men, while it was very obvious that it was the women who initiated the success of the struggle. The general beliefs, for example, held that Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader of the movements, but he was only a follower and a good orator. Therefore, music was a very important tool in strengthening the characters of the Black Americans civil rights activists (Reed, 2005, p. 18).

The music genre was an expression of lamentations by the Black Americans and other minorities to the white Americans to give them their freedom as stated in the constitution. In contrast to Reed’s argument that the blacks used non-violent actions during their struggle against racism (Reed, 2005, p. 6), songs used in that time clearly showed that the fight had to be carried out. The Union song, “Which Side Are You On?” expresses the need for the blacks to fight against the widespread inequality by uniting and standing as one race. Some lyrics in the song: “Don’t scab for the bosses/ Don’t listen to their lies” show the need for active participation among the African Americans.

Pulido (2005, p. 763) views the ideological and racial form of key American minority groups of the late 1960s and 1970s in Los Angeles area faced. He also views the East side movement as a community service movement, its primary role being the eradication of social evils among the Japanese community, as a result of painful acceptance of defeat after the Second World War (Pulido, 2005, p. 769). Pulido’s arguments create a base for future generation of activists to consider the importance of race and culture in their quest for justice.

According to Kubrin and Nielson (2014), prosecutors are seeking to convince judges and juries that rap music is not an art, but an autobiographical way of confessing wrongdoing that the rapper has engaged in the past. At the initial stages, hip-hop music appeared to have the potential to serve as an avenue for social-political resistance (Kubrin& Nielson, 2014). As cited in their article, Kubrin & Nielson (2014) show the traditional antagonism between the legal system and the followers of hip-hop culture, creating a strong argument in the use of hip-hop to express criminal offenses.

As cited in Strobel (1995), Chicago’s Women Liberation Union used music, art and film at their various categories of education and service. Chicago Women’s Liberation Rock Band made a song and played for fundraising and other events (Strobel, 1995, p. 149). This shows the importance of music in expressing ideas, thus the reason for its wide use by the activists during the struggle against racism.

Methods:

In order to make a comprehensive analysis, the essay has analyzed ten songs, which are:

• “I hate the company bosses” by Sarah Gunning.
• “Down the Picket Line” by Sarah Gunning.
• “There is Power in the Union” by Joe Hill.
• “The Preacher and the Slave” by Joe Hill.
• “Outasite” by Apani B. Fly Emcee.
• “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free) by Lupe Fiasco.
• “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” by James Brown.
• “Yo Soy Chicana” by Rumel Fuentes.
• “Free Bobby Now” by The Lumpen.
• “Wandering Chinaman” by Chris Kando.

While analyzing the songs, several aspects of methodology and analysis were employed. The songs’ lyrical patterns, thematic patterns and similarities/differences, rhythmic aspects and structure were used. Lastly, the findings derived from the analysis of the songs were analyzed in order to draw conclusions.

Findings:

The findings from the ten songs that were analyzed were as follows:

• “I hate the company bosses” by Sarah Gunning. The song is divided into twelve sections. The main theme of this song is how bad the working conditions are, and the extent of exploitation of the workers. The songwriter uses repetition of words to emphasize her point, like in the lyric: “I am goin’ to fight, fight, fight.”
• “Down the Picket Line” by Sarah Gunning. The main theme of this song is about gathering together for a strike. The character singer is a union member, and is urging the fellow worker to rise up for the strike, in order to seek for justice. The song is divided into six stanzas. The songwriter uses repetition of some last lyrics to achieve rhythm and harmony in the song. In section 2, 5, and 6, the last lyric says: “Come on an’ we’ll show you the way.” This is meant to urge on the fellow workers to take action.
• “There is Power in the Union” by Joe Hill. The main idea in this song is for people to join the union, depicted as the industrial band. The song has five sections, and a chorus. The songwriter uses repetition of the last lyrics of section 1 and 3; “Then come! Do your share, like a man.” to emphasize his idea. The chorus, which seems to be louder, is                                                                     meant to be repeated, creating rhythm and putting more weight on the theme.
• “The Preacher and the Slave” by Joe Hill. The song focuses on the promises made by religion of Heaven, compared to the daily problems that individuals face, and the need to unite as workers for strength. The song is divided into four sections and two choruses. This is a devastating take-off in the hymn “bye and bye” (Fowke & Glazer, 1913).
• The song, “Yo Soy Chicano,” expresses the theme that the working class was exploited and aimed for a strong working class rather than the elimination of class. The lyrics mention fight for the poor and talks of standing for them. Like in the lyric; “I am going to fight against the poor,” in section six. The song is divided into seven sections, and a refrain to insist on the theme.
• The song “Free Bobby Now” explores the theme of a call for resistance. The lyrics” the oppressor has no rights we are bound to respect” shows the determination of the people to resist the discrimination.
• The song “Outsite” by Apani B. captures the story on the justice system in relation to the society. The lyrics in the song tell the sufferings of prisoners and the conditions they are subjected to, and the inefficiency of the justice system. It talks about the suffering minority group, especially the men and women of color under the oppressive justice system. The song is divided into three sections with three choruses that are repeated, to emphasize on the theme of the writer.
• The song “Around my Way (Freedom Ain’t Free) ridicules certain aspects in the society, especially the good and bad people. The lyrics indicate that there is something wrong in the society, despite the many things that may seem positive on the surface. The artist exposes the rot in the society, whether caused by the poor or the rich. The songwriter emphasizes to the society that despite the freedom they have, they still need to work to pay their bills and live. The song is divided into three verses, with a hook after every verse. The repetition of the hook is meant to bring harmony in the song, as well as emphasize on the theme that the song writer intended to put across.
• The song “Wandering Chinaman” expresses the need for simulation in action against the oppression.
• The song, “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” by James Brown, has the theme of reminding the black people of their historical background, encouraging them to stand up to the oppressor with pride and self-dignity. The lyrics, “say it loud,” emphasizes that they are proud of their identity as blacks. The song has seven verses with many choruses.

The above songs had the same idea of the fight against racism and explored almost similar themes. Like the songs: I Hate the Company Bosses by Sara Gunning, The Preacher and the Slave By Joe Hill, Down the Picket Line by Sarah Gunning, and There is Power in the Union by Joe Hill. The four songs have a central theme of joining a union to fight against the oppressors, and focus on the strength of a group other than the strength of individuals. The songs: Free Bobby Now by The Lumpen, Wandering Chinaman By Chris Kando, Yo Soy Chicana by Rumel Fuentes, emphasize the importance of standing up together in order to achieve the goals against racism. The songs Around My Way by Lupe and Say it Loud (I’m Black and Proud) by James sensitizes people on the need to stand up and show their oppressors their value.On the other hand, the song “Outasite” by Apani addresses a system that is oppressive, hoping it would change, but not directly calling people to take action.

Analysis:                     

From the findings, the songs by the civil rights activists had a central theme of urging the minority groups to rise up and defeat racial segregation. In agreement with Reed (2005) and Kubrin and Nielson (2014), thematic similarities, and consistent lyrical patterns found in the songs depict a major idea of emancipation. Although the songs used different wordings, styles and rhythms, the main agenda was to sensitize the minority groups to rise up and defend their constitutional rights. The civil right activists succeeded greatly in using songs to fight for emancipation.

Civil rights activists have used music in different ways to challenge racism. Some have used ridicule to express their theme; others have used irony in their writing to express their ideas indirectly. Some of the activists used boycotts where they sang these songs around. Others initiated the use of the freedom songs, especially in meetings, where people could sing aloud (Kubrin, 2014). Others used different styles like hip -hop and rap music in their songs (Kubrin, 2014). Some writers like Sarah Gunning, in her song “I Hate the Company Bosses,” have used cool music that indirectly urged the workers to fight against the company bosses, or exploiters who were exploitative and inhuman. They led to the death of her husband and her mother, because what they paid was not even enough to end the hunger that the family faced.

The civil rights activists have utilized repetition in their songs in order to drive their point home, like in the song “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud” by James Brown. The repetition of the hook plays the role of emphasis on the theme, to ensure the people addressed gets it.

The use of irony in the music, as used by Sarah Gunning in the song “I Hate the Company Bosses” seem to be the most appropriate strategy in expressing the theme of the song. Sarah Gunning seems to express her theme of uniting workers to fight against the oppressive bosses without difficulty, in a clear, simple language.

Conclusion:

To sum it up, the civil rights activists used songs to express the sufferings that the society faced, especially the poor and the minority, during the racism era. They presented political issues that needed change in the government systems in an attempt to solve the issues faced by the minority people in the American society. The poor were oppressed during this era and their children suffered for lack of enough food and better education. The songwriters initiated the civil rights movements because the people recognized their plight when the songs were sung. Therefore, use of songs was more effective than any

References

Fowke, E. & Glazer, J. (1973).Songs of work and protest: 100 favorite songs of American workers complete with music and historicalnotes (Dover songs collections). New York, NY: Dover.

Kubrin, E. & Nielson, E. (2014). Rap on Trial. New York, NY: Sage Publications.

Leonardo, Z. (2011). Race Frameworks: A MultidimensionalTheory of Racismand Education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Pulido, L. (2005). Race, Class, and Political Activism: Black, Chicano, and Japanese American Leftists in Southern California, 1968-1978. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Strobel, M. (1995). “Organisational learning in the Chicago women’s liberation union.” In Ferre, M. M., & Yanc“Organizational y, M. P. (1995). Feminist organizations: harvest of new women’s movement. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Reed, T. V. (2005). The art of protest: culture and activism from the civil rights movement in the streets of Seattle. Minneapolis, MN: The University of Minnesota Press.

Tator, C., Henry, F., & Mattis, W. (1998). Challenging racism in the arts: case studies of controversy and conflict. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

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