Civil Rights Movement
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd near the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. On the 50th anniversary of this historic civil rights event, we take a look back through rarely-seen color photographs from the day. Francis Miller/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Context
The Civil Rights Movement began in 1954 once the Supreme Court ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board of Education case. However, some states countered this ruling by responding with defiance and legal challenges. The defiance of these states prolonged desegregation in the US, and many protests rose from the continued oppression of African Americans. President John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960 and pushed for various bills regarding civil rights and the equality that many Americans were fighting for. In February of 1960, a sit-in protest at Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina inspired protests in 65 cities across 12 US states. May 1961 included Freedom Rides led by the Congress of Racial Equality and defied segregation in interstate transportation. In spring of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth began protests in Birmingham, Alabama known as the most segregated city in America. MLK was arrested during these protests and wrote his famous ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail” that would inspire even more protests. In August of the same year, 200,000 Americans joined the March on Washington as a celebration of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. This march is known for MLK’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. President JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963 and was unable to pass a civil rights bill before his death. Nevertheless, JFK’s vice president Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act soon after he became President. The legislation included: (1) protecting African Americans against discrimination in voter qualification; (2) outlawing discrimination in all public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce; (3) authorizing the US Attorney General’s Office to file legal suits to enforce desegregation in public schools, etc.
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“Civil Rights Movement,” accessed on October 25th, 2020 https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/civil-rights-movement
Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" (1964)
[Verse 1]
I was born by the river
In a little tent
Oh, and just like the river, I've been runnin'
Ever since
[Chorus]
It's been a long
A long time comin', but I know
A change gon' come
Oh, yes it will
[Verse 2]
It's been too hard livin'
But I'm afraid to die
'Cause I don't know what's up there
Beyond the sky
[Chorus]
It's been a long
A long time comin', but I know
A change gon' come
Oh, yes it will
[Verse 3]
I go to the movie
And I go downtown
Somebody keep tellin' me "don't hang around"
[Chorus]
It's been a long
A long time comin', but I know
A change gon' come
Oh, yes it will
[Verse 4]
Then I go to my brother
And I say, "Brother, help me please"
But he winds up
Knockin' me
Back down on my knees
Lor', there been time that I thought
I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to
Carry on
[Chorus]
It's been a long
Along time comin', but I know
A change gon' come
Oh, yes it will
Sam Cooke was born January 22, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi that forged the link between soul and pop. One of Sam Cooke's most famous pieces is "A Change is Gonna Come" from 1964. The song is optimistic though from a beaten down perspective, which is the mood a lot of African American protestors felt during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The chorus captures the general atmosphere that "it's been a long/a long time comin' but I know/a change gon' come". The difficulties of being a minority at this time are also emphasized when Sam Cook mentions "it's been too hard livin'" because of the oppression African Americans have faced throughout the history of America. In verse 3, the "don't hang around" is a reference to the segregated 'white only' areas many cities had in the nicer areas. Some of the issues protestors faced, however, were not from white America. Many older generation African Americans were worried about serious backlash from the protests, which is why many of them told younger African Americans to just accept how life was. This idea is highlighted in verse 4 with "and I say, 'Brother, help me please'/but he winds up/knockin' me". Overall, this song exemplifies the struggles African Americans had faced thus far, but includes an optimistic future about how "a change gon' come".
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"A Change is Gonna Come: Sam Cooke," Genius, https://genius.com/Sam-cooke-a-change-is-gonna-come-lyrics
Biography.com Editors, "Sam Cooke Biography," https://www.biography.com/musician/sam-cooke
Gil Scott Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (1971)
You will not be able to stay home, brother
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip out for beer during commercials, because
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox in four parts without commercial interruptions
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon blowing a bugle
And leading a charge by John Mitchell, General Abrams, and Spiro Agnew
To eat hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will not be brought to you by the Schaefer Award Theatre
And will not star Natalie Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs
The revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner, because
The revolution will not be televised, brother
There will be no pictures of you and Willie Mae pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run
Or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32 on report from 29 districts
The revolution will not be televised
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process
There will be no slow motion or still lifes of Roy Wilkins
Strolling through Watts in a red, black, and green liberation jumpsuit that he has been saving for just the proper occasion
Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction will no longer be so damn relevant
And women will not care if Dick finally got down with
Jane on Search for Tomorrow
Because Black people will be in the street looking for a brighter day
The revolution will not be televised
There will be no highlights on the eleven o'clock news and no pictures of hairy armed women liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb or Francis Scott Keys
Nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Engelbert Humperdinck, or The Rare Earth
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will not be right back after a message about a white tornado, white lightning, or white people
You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom, the tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl
The revolution will not go better with Coke
The revolution will not fight germs that may cause bad breath
The revolution will put you in the driver's seat
The revolution will not be televised
Will not be televised
Will not be televised
Will not be televised
The revolution will be no re-run, brothers
The revolution will be live
Gil Scott Heron was born on April 1, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois. He used both soul and jazz elements in his music, and included politically driven lyrics that resembled rap. In "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", Gil Scott Heron emphasizes that a revolution will not be gained unless people who are strong, educated, and courageous lead the way. Large corporations like "Xerox" would not promote the revolution, and President Nixon would not be "blowing a bugle" before leading the revolutionary efforts. Famous actors and actresses from the "Schaefer Award Theatre" would not bring the revolution either. Gil Scott Heron highlights that a revolution was not an idyllic thing, it would not "get rid of the nubs" nor would it "make you look five pounds/thinner". He also looks into other African Americans that were influential in the Civil Rights Movement for both positive and negative reasons. Police brutality is touched upon in the fifth stanza with "there will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on instant replay". Throughout the remainder of the song, Gil Scott Heron mentioned both African American names alongside white ones like "Glen Campbell, Tom Jones" and drove home the point that the "revolution will be live". The revolution would not be supported by the media or publicized in a positive manner, or even at all. Gil Scott Heron is letting the people know that they need to act in the moment, swiftly, and bravely in order to make any changes because no one in a position of power will help or be of much use.
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"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," Genius, https://genius.com/Gil-scott-heron-the-revolution-will-not-be-televised-lyrics
Greg Kot, "Turn It Up: Gil Scott-Heron, soul poet, dead at 62," Chicago Tribune, May 26, 2011.