He helped shaped the sound of Motown Records in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. In many of Gaye’s songs he would sing about love, anti-war and the good and bad of being black in America. Years after Marvin Gaye music was out, and still being listened to there came another great lyrical artist, Tupac Shakur. Tupac was an American rapper and actor. In the early 1990’s there was many issues going on that Tupac focused on and even though he expressed them differently than Marvin, they were similar in many ways.
Bibliography Clay, Andreana. “The Hip-hop Generation Fights Back: Youth, Activism, and Post-civil Rights Politics.” New York, NY: New York University Press, 2012. Andrea Clay provides detailed information through fieldwork on, how the hip hop generation in Oakland and California fights back. Clay mentions that the hip hop generation (blacks or U.S born African Americans) use spoken word (rap) to tell stories and experiences to their youths and peers. Hip hop is a way for the blacks in those communities to express themselves.
However, the bureau was only temporary and didn’t live to it’s full potential. Du Bois describes that even though the government said slaves were free, they didn’t take enough action to actually ensure that it stayed that way. As the bureau ceased to exist, segregation overtook the nation leaving the black population without a voice. The government did little to nothing to help, and so the newly “freed” African Americans were left with the burden of a problem that was meant for the nation to solve. As Du Bois points out, all of these elements are what led to color line that devastated the African American population for many years.
Black Panthers: Black Power! “Black Power” is a phrase that will forever be symbolic in our American society, a phrase made popular by the Black Panther Party during the height of the American Civil Rights Movement. Black power has had its history deeply rooted into civil rights for black people going as far back as slavery in the 1800s. The politics behind the Black Panther Party comes from years of oppression and responding to it not with the same oppression, but with self-determination. The Black Panthers have had much influence in black culture today and will forever be remembered as one of the greatest American black political organizations in the course of our American history.
Alain Locke said in his foreword to the New Negro (1925) America seeking a new spiritual expansion and artistic maturity, trying to find an American literature, a natural art, and natural music implies a Negro-American culture seeking the same satisfactions and objectives. African Americans found art as a new way to express themselves, what they wanted and needed in life. It was considered an “unusual outburst of creative expression” (Ferguson, 88) Some New Negroes such as A. Philip Randolph and chandler Owen believed the New Negro should have a working-class unity amongst the racial lines. They wanted collective ownership of factories and black socialism. Their plans never really succeeded as a whole; however, Marcus Garvey had a big impact during this time.
Often political, some of rap's most famous stars have come from street gangs. Its combination of gritty urban storytelling and beat-driven, technologically sophisticated music has gained popularity worldwide. Famous rappers include Run D.M.C, Rick Ross and Jay-z. African American music has influenced many modern musical styles. For example Chuck Berry (1926-) and Little Richard (1932-) transformed urban blues into what we know as rock ‘n' roll; rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) began his career in a rhythm and blues band; and Stevie Wonder (1951-) and Marvin Gaye (1940-1984), transformed the sound of Motown into soul music.
The expression 'black power' first joined the lexicon of the civil rights movement during the Meredith March Against Fear in 1966, popularized by Stokely Charmichael, chairman of the Student Non violent Coordinating Committee who uttered a simple statement "What we need is Black Power". Crowds chanted the phrase as a slogan and movement began to form. However, in order to approach the question "was black power a natural outgrowth of the civil rights movement" we need to define what Black power truly is, and its connection with the Movement. Today, the term 'black power' almost seems quaint. Despite efforts to define it both then and today, "black power" rests in the American imagination through a series of iconic yet fleeting images covering the whole spectrum - from gun evoking black panthers to black-gloved sprinters at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Hurston and Williams are both important writers of their times, and although the works I have you chosen to examine in this paper are 6 decades apart, one thing that they share in common is their turning of folklore and black vernacular, a language that was largely rejected by white mainstream society, into a powerful weapon and discourse in communicating rejections, desires, and change in the African American women's world. So in a way, what Sherley Anne Williams did with language in Dessa Rose is very much a continuation of what Hurston did in Sweat during the height of the Harlem Renaissance that celebrated black art and literature, and Hurston was indeed among the first black women writers who wrote in black vernacular and gained attention in the literary community. Born on January 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama, Hurston moved with her family to Eatonville, Florida, when she was still a toddler. Established in 1887, the rural community north of Orlando was the nation’s first incorporated black township. Her father, a three-term mayor, helped formulate the laws of the all-black community.
Harlem became home to black people, many of whom had dreams and aspirations of expressing their individual artistic talents. This was the gateway through which artist like impressive novelist Zora Neale Hurston impacted society with her courageous literary writing. Similarly, the exploding soulful voice of Bessie Smith popularized the blues genre for radio music. As well as Augusta Savages’ creative sculptures dispelling the common stereotypes. Their portrayals of poverty and the black experience through art were beautiful creations birthed from something once viewed as ugly.
Civil Rights movement began officially 1955-1968 , the movement began as African Americans were being discriminated against. Martin Luther king jr and Malcolm X rose to influence the fight for African Americans. Martin Luther king jr and Malcolm X who although wanted to fight against discrimination had different ways of approaching the cause .For example , Malcolm wanted to fight back through violence and Martin Luther King jr he believed that violence was not that answer . This was known as the Civil rights movement. The Civil Rights movement was a political movement was the moment rising between the whites and the African Americans.