American Songs Persuasive Speech

Just as it was a crucial time for America in terms of politics and social issues, it was just as big for the music industry. People expressed their social opinions and political beliefs in a way that was the most true to them. Music was, and still is, a worldwide phenomenon for it has been able to take the shape of justice and to mold the minds of it’s listeners. Artists at the time had extreme social and political influence and used their defined stances on cultural issues to influence their music as well as their

Music, and particularly cultural, social, and political songs, has remained an essential facet of the longstanding tradition of uprisings and struggle for change in American culture. It is difficult to fathom the passions and purposefulness of pop culture music in the civil rights movement of the 1960s; thanks to the freedom songs, whose endeavor was to mobilize and reinforce collective participation in the civil rights campaigns, demonstrations, and protests (Stefani, 2015). The three songs from this period that exemplify popular music’s role in calling for positive change regarding civil rights included “We Shall Overcome” by Southern African American tobacco workers, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round” by Freedom Singers, and “People Get Ready” by Curtis Mayfield.

Millions of people in the world listen to music for all different reasons. Most people all over the world listen to different genres of music in order to relax, but not too many people pay attention to the actual lyrics of a song. If you listen to the lyrics of a song you will realize that many songs have important messages or themes to them. An example of this is the lyrics of the song “Changes” by Tupac Shakur. If you listen to this song, you will realize that Tupac raps about not only the problems that African Americans face from society, but also the struggles that poor people in society have to endure and overcome. Many

All the pop, hip-hop, country, and most other genres are focused on making money from entertainment. They don’t try to convey an important message. The artists just try to make the songs catchy and fun to listen to, but the songs have now lessons to teach and they don’t try to tell the people what is going on and how they feel about it. Whereas back then they used music like Fortunate Sons by Creedence Clearwater Revival that talked about how their band didn’t like the Vietnam War and that it wasn’t the rich or the politicians’ sons going to war, but the common people going to war instead. Alabama by Coltrane was a Civil Rights movement protest song that talked about the oppression, violence, and injustice done to African Americans and was song while they were protesting.

Through songs many people express their feelings of the world threw the words they have wrote. Many songs talk about civil rights of the people and how change should be an option. In the world we live in today we have social issues that people have to face such as: police brutality, racial profiling, discrimination etc. Through Kendrick Lamar, Public Enemy, The Game, Bebe Winans, and N.W.A they will use their voice as a weapon for change among all people. Music with a message thrives in a live setting, for obvious reasons, and many politically conscious musicians aim to channel the heightened emotions

The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular

Protest music has been frequently used by “social justice” movements to promote their ideologies and to protest policies and actions they see as unjust. The most focused-on era in terms of protest music is likely the 1960s, for obvious reasons. During this time, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and other musicians used folk music to protest the Vietnam War (“Fortunate Son”), segregation and Jim Crow laws (“Only a Pawn in Their Game”), and the Cold War (“Masters of War”). However, the progenitors of the activist-musicians of the 1960s were musicians affiliated with the pacifist, pro-union, and early civil rights movements from about 1910 to about 1940, who were amongst the first to utilize their music to galvanize support for political and

Sixteen year old America Singer lives in the caste-divided nation of Illéa, which form after WWIII. While it is many girls dream to be Selected, it a nightmare for America Singer. When America Singer gets the invitation to register for the Selection, a contest to see which can win the heart of Illéaś future Prince, she dismisses it entirely. Even when her name is called, she thinks she will just be dismissed, since other women will surely have a greater desire and greater talents to become the new princess, than her. But she agreed to join the Selection for the sake of her family and a way to escaped from her boyfriend who ended the relationship. America now lives her new life in the castle and will she prepared to fight along thirty-five other

The songs and lyrics were inspiring and had a huge impact on the movement. Artists such as The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix had songs mainly composed of lyrics that promoted peace. Hippies used their iconic music as a way to get their message out to the people. For instance, the song “Blackbird” by The Beatles discussed the controversial matters of the civil rights movement. The music spoke the truth, impacted listeners, and encouraged listeners to connect and think about the underlying meanings of the songs.

In the early sixties the union of the civil rights movements and folk music on campuses lead to the rise of folk songs called “message songs” (Szatmary 1996). Songs like “Blowin in the wind” by Bob Dylan began opening up the minds of the youth to the social problems facing America such as the civil rights movement. The Rascals “People Everywhere Just want to be Free”, Joan Baez’s “We shall overcome”, and Dylan’s “The times they are a changin’” were message songs that helped start the firestorm of politically charged music that fueled a revolution and a generation (Baggelar, Milton 1976).

     The power of song helped slaves through their dehumanized lives. They created unity in songs of religion and denounced the power their masters held over them. They were going to rebel in all facets of life. Slaves knew “that a happy slave is an extinct man” (p.33). The meanings of these songs can not be overstated. One who knew the importance of song was Frederick Douglass. “They told a tale of woe...they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the

America’s History was A huge string of events and I can tell that our land of freedom has been through tough times in all of the earth’s history. I see it now that things still aren’t as safe from hardships of then, The shooting at Las Vegas, The most recent fires, and most crimes that are still being committed. People say that they lost hope in this country, but I still have hope for the best of our country to be at its best. Though most don’t realize it, but we have a huge amount of technology that is used all the time to solve problems but is never used.

I watched the video “Strange Fruit” which is about a song named “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday that was banned from the radio. This song was about lynching and wasn’t payed as much attention as it should have. How can a song promote social awareness and social change? A song can promote social awareness and change because the song can be heard by anyone, anywhere. Also, the good part of music is that as soon as a person becomes aware of a song they most likely go and share it with more people. Furthermore, the text mentions alternative social movements and how “They are usually issue oriented, focusing on a singular concern and seeking to change individuals behaviors in relation to that issue” (Conley, 707). This is what songs have the

“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” by Pete Seeger became a popular anti-war protest song during the 1960s. This song did not only protest against the Vietnam War but also made their generation more aware about the global problems. Songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” by Dixie chicks about freedom of speech was written after they received death threats for singing against the Iraq war, protests against the violation of human rights. But music is not only used to protest, it is also used to give hope and optimism. “We Shall Overcome”, a song sung by Guy Carawan together with the Montgomery Gospel Trio and the Nashville Quartet, is perhaps the best known example of civil rights song. Instead of blaming the government, this song registered a feeling of hope and faith among African-Americans during the civil rights movement.

Social Justice is a huge topic in our society. Its touches on important subjects such as labor laws, environmental rights (racism), poverty, etc. These topics are things that many people have views on whether they agree or disagree. Many artist took note of this and made songs about this and voiced what they thought was right or how they saw the act.