Tag: Civil rights movement

05/2/11

The answer is Blowin’ in the Wind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t4g_1VoGw4

The first song Blowin’ in the Wind by Bob Dylan questions the issues about peace, war and freedom. During the time, it’s been described as an anthem of the 1960s civil rights movement. The second song Makeshift patriot by Sage Francis is about America’s response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The song talks about how people uses the media to exploit this tragedy for personal gain. In the song, Sage Francis states, “There is a new price on freedom, so buy into it while supplies last.”

In June 1962, Bob Dylans makes a comment saying, “Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won’t believe that. I still say it’s in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it’s got to come down some  …But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know …and then it flies away I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it’s wrong.” He believes that the answer is in the wind but no one is looking. The second song by Sage Francis reinforces this notion with his lyrics, “Some of them dug for answers in the mess but the rest were looking for trouble.”

05/2/11

American Skin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbO2_077ixs

 

In the first song, A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke, it was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It discusses the discrimination and racism in America and his hope for a change. One of the major events in his life that inspired him to write this song was when he was summarily arrested for registering at a “whites only” motel.

The second song is America Skin (41 Shots) by Bruce Springsteen, and it is inspired by a tragedy about Amadou Diallo, where he was shot to death 41 times by four NYPD cops in 1999. He was unarmed and the cops mistaken his wallet for a gun.

Although change have been very prominent and the Civil Rights Movement have come a long way, discrimination still unfortunately exists. The second song reinforces the notion why a change is needed.

05/1/11

Change is gonna come!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQU4torUz-Q

 

The first song depicted in this blog is Sam Cooke “A Change is gonna come.” This song expresses feelings about the Civil Rights Movement. The song was released shortly after is death in 1964. The second video depicted is Lil Wayne’s song called “Georgia Bush.” The song expresses his feelings about the causes and actions of the president during Hurricane Katrina. This song was released in 2008 during the devastating event of  Hurricane Katrina.

Both songs relate to one another by showing that the government is acting unfairly to African American people. They also show how these are normal people who deserve a change in their lives. The main way for change is through equality. Situations that arise in the 1960’s could have been handled differently as well as the situation in Georgia.  Both artists sing of hope for the African American people. Sam Cook expresses this by saying he knows that change is going to come after a long time. Lil Wayne expresses this by saying that he continues to have his people in his prayers. The artists exemplify that there should be a major change among African American people and soon in their decade.

04/30/11

“Don’t matter what color, all that matters we gathered together”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox0Q4YIdnGI&feature=fvwrel

 

The first video is a song originally written by Bob Dylan in the 60’s. It is a song questioning the way things are. For example, the line ‘Yes, how many years can some people exist before they’re allowed to be free ?’ is a question based on civil rights for blacks.The second video is Mosh by Eminem and it was released in 2004. Eminem in this song was trying to encourage people to go out and vote. He wanted to encourage people to try to change and challenge the politicians ( Example: Bush ) that were taking advantage of them. Mosh had more anger being shown than Blowing in the Wind. Mosh is more aggressive.

04/26/11

The Black Movement

Black riot in the 1960s

In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement concerning African Americans continued to grow. This is a battle that blacks in America had been fighting for years, and while there was some advancement through various legislation, there was still great unrest in the black community. Violent outbreaks began in black ghettos; these conflicts involved angry blacks and mostly white police. They first broke out in Harlem in 1964 and began happening in various ghettos such as Los Angeles and Detroit. This violence was so widespread that many citizens feared a racial civil war would come out of it. While government recognized the riots and outbreaks, there were no outright proposals for any kind of change.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The unrest that caused this violence spurred from the rampant legal segregation that had existed. During the 1950s, many began to fight it, no longer able to deny its injustice. However, it was in the 1960s that opposition began to turn so violent and recurrent.

04/18/11

The Women’s Movement for Equal Rights

During the 1960’s, the women’s rights movement became active again after being passive during 1940s to 1950s. During the 1950s many women were working, however they had yet to achieve many positions in the work force. One major obstacle that woman overcame was the passage of the 19th amendment in August 18, 1920 giving women the right to vote. The Civil Rights protest prompted women in the 1960’s to continue to push for equal rights in employment, educational fields, end to domestic violence, restriction of limitations on women in administrative jobs, and sharing housework and child nurturing responsibilities.

In the 1960s there were two different types of Women’s Rights groups, they were the Women’s Liberation group and the Women’s Rights groups. The Women’s Liberation group focused on equality between men and women in education, employment and in marriage. This feminist movement also focused on attaining sexual and reproductive freedom, feminists wanted birth control, affordable child care, abortion and women’s shelter. While the Women’s Rights group pushed for equal rights laws to be enforced. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, protecting the rights of minorities and women’s rights.

04/3/11

Civil Rights During the Truman Era

During Truman’s presidency, he focused much of his attention on the civil rights movement in America. While this seems like a good thing, the timing was wrong. Truman’s attempts at enacting civil rights legislation did not receive much popular positive public response. This was a time during the anti-communist movement during the Cold War. Some of Truman’s civil rights movements included something called “To Secure These Rights” which was a document that called on the federal government to assume the responsibility for abolishing segregation and ensuring equal treatment in housing, employment, education, and the criminal justice system.

I think that American society would have eventually come to enact some of this legislation because eventually people would come to realize that they are not being treated fairly and begin to fight for that right. Such legislation is definitely important to me because as an Asian-American in society, which some may consider a minority. Despite the efforts put in by Truman and other presidents to provide equal rights for all minorities there are still some setbacks today that many have to face. It seems that the civil rights movement is a fight that will never end.