Black
folk have used many strategies to resist segregation and discrimination in the
Jim Crow South. However, music has been a way for African Americans to access
resistance in an artistic and mainstream way, influencing both black and white
people. Incorporating discourse from Marcus Anthony Hunter and Dr. Zandria
Robinson’s Chocolate Cities, black
people used music as a form of not only resistance but of place making. Place
making is a form of resistance to the everyday struggle of living under Jim
Crow. Memphis is a chocolate city that has produced an abundance of music, such
as jazz, blues, and soul music that speak to black resistance. Otis Redding, a
notable artist signed to Memphis’ Stax Records, supplied black people with
support and pride for the black race. Otis Redding wrote the influential song Respect, that became a hit among black
and white people by Memphis-born Aretha Franklin. Redding’s lyrics song through
Franklin reinforces black resistance. Robinson and Hunter interpret Respect,
stating “’Respect’ as also being about demanding respect from White people who
are ‘running outta’ fooling’ and might walk in and find Black people have left”
(99). Demanding of respect was a
explicit and meaningful to the black resistance struggle. Not only was this a
song directed toward white people, but it was also a song of empowerment for
black women. With white women growing increasingly more autonomous, black women
needed a call that demanded respected for their bodies and existence. Not only
amongst white people, black women need respect from their own African American community.
Music was a liberating strategy for black women to resist racist institutions
and sexism.
Music
continues to fuel the resistance struggle among black folk today. Memphis is
still producing extraordinary music that liberates black bodies from the confines
of racism. Hip-hop artist and social activist, Marco Pavè has created music
that speaks to the black struggle and pride in Memphis. In the song Black Tux, Pavè raps “Ignorance that was
said. Trying to get in my head. Murders of the dream, leaving inspirations dead.
That go deeper than my rap dog. I’m from a city where they killed Dr. King to
make us all fall.” His lyrics speak to the continuous black struggle in Memphis,
leaving the mark of racism after the death of Dr. King. However, Pavè raps in
the chorus “Seem to keep us down, but this crown. No, we racing.” Although, racist
institutions persist in Memphis, black people are still creating and being empowered.
The use of music in black resistance was and still is a recurring theme in the
motivation for black folk. From the blues to hip hop, black people are making
music that speaks to the black experience and their resilience.
Source: Hunter, Marcus, and Zandria Robinson. Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life. University of California Press, 2018.
This post is very informative; the modern everyday resistance should have more light shed upon it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think that it’s important to note that racism is still present in the Memphis music system today, despite all the progress that artists have made. I would argue that when many people think of the Memphis music scene, their immediate thought is of Elvis. Graceland has had well over 20 million visitors in its time open to the public; I personally have never been but it doesn’t seem like there is much homage paid to the influence of the Blues. Couple this with Elvis’ ‘complex’ relationship with black culture, and history continues to be whitewashed.
This post got me thinking about racial appropriation. I'd like to learn more about the history of black music, its subsequent appropriation by whites (because that's pretty much always what happens, right?), and the ways in which black music styles evolved to once again reclaim independence from white pop culture.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of appropriation, we generally assume that integration is always a net positive. But would white people integrating into black spaces be a good thing? I'm pretty sure that the end result of white bodies moving into black spaces is almost always gentrification. Maybe there's some way of regulating the movement of white bodies within black cultural spaces?
Music has often been used as a form of subversion, as it is subtler and harder to control than other forms of expression. I think these attributes are part of what made music so popular as a medium for black artists
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