“Songs for Social Change”

When I think of music, I think about rhythm, positive vibes, and dancing. Then I remember it is an instrument of expression, a method of healing, and a way to bring awareness. I reflect on a topic from my African-American Lit class: Songs of Social Change and ponder the correlation between music, being black, and survival. Black people have used music long before they were enslaved. Music was a means of communication as well as celebration. Once enslaved, Blacks began to hum in the fields which would become songs later known as Negro Spirituals. Black people have been using music to cope since slavery. I really enjoyed examining the process of how Negro Spirituals led to many genres of music. Afterward we discussed songs that have had an impact on social change, such as Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” and Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five “The Message”.

With the recent numerous killings of unarmed black people at the hands of police, many artist have recognized them in their music which has played a key part in the movement. By continually speaking their names, America has not been able to sweep their unnecessary deaths under the rug. However some artist are holding the black community accountable as well. In Kendrick Lamar’s “The Blacker the Berry” he raps “So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street when gang banging make me kill a nigga blacker than me? Hypocrite!” Lamar wanted to convey a message to the black community, that we should “have respect for ourselves”. Although it goes much deeper than just respecting ourselves, Lamar’s song was still a song for social change disapproving gang violence. Music in the Black community has not only been a method of survival for the listeners, but for the artist as well. Once an artist “makes it” in the music industry, they are finally able to escape a major hindrance in the black community: poverty. Many feel our children have been convinced that success only comes from being a rapper or a ball player when you’re Black. Nevertheless songs of social change have made us reevaluate ourselves, given us hope, and have allowed us to forever leave the evidence of our struggle on the world.