Recently, I gave the definition of music in my Music In Civilization class as a type movement throughout time. I claimed that music does not have to have rhythm or a beat, but instead have message, impact, or feeling. This also is true for the opposite. Music can be rhythm without words. This can relate to how messages are portrayed in many different genres that are played since the beginning of the 1400s B.C.E. 

There have been many songs that have addressed the oppression of african americans. This can be shown by Billie Holiday’s song “Strange Fruit” which portrays the blood shed in the south. Other examples include “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by John and James Johnson, “Neighbors” by J.Cole, and Jay-Z’s hit “99 Problems”. They all tell a story that still continues to this day. Discrimination still exists and many people of color experience racial profiling every day. Through music artists have been able to express the history of african americans as well as the present. Sometimes that is the only way to be heard. To tell a story, you must be able to grasp the attention of the audience. Just as Rene Marie did during Denver’s State of the City address, when singing the “black national anthem”, instead of the national anthem “Star Spangled Banner”. The “Star Spangled Banner” talks about “the land of the free”, however did not actually portray that message to many immigrants and minorities. The “black national anthem” also known as “Lift Every Voice and Sing” represents african americans that were oppressed in the south. It is a “song full of the faith that the dark past has taught [them]”. Many officials did not appreciate what Rene did. Some said it was “distracting” and even Obama stated “we only have one national anthem”. Even though “Lift Every Voice and Sing” talks about the past, many artists like Jay-Z talk about racial profiling. This is shown by how Jay-Z talks about getting pulled over for “doing fifty-five in a fifty-four”. He tells the story of the policeman asking to look in his car and asks “Are you carrying a weapon on you, I know a lot of you are”.  This is just one example of an experience artists can talk about through music. This song was released in 2003, many years after segregation in the south, yet african americans are still being discriminated against. We have made many changes over the last 100 years, but will it take another 100 years for the prejudice to stop completely? Will it ever stop completely? These are questions that must be asked. We have no right to call America “land of the free” if we don’t portray those words.