The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

A newspaper article about what William Edward Burghard, a civil rights activist, thinks about the current state that black people are in. It entails ways of how art should be used to raise the status of black people in America. W.E.B. Du Bois helped others understand the thinking of people, especially African intellectuals, during the Harlem Renaissance.

Many fantasize about invoking change in this world and to touch the hearts of it’s civilians, but few revolutionaries materialize these ambitions. Martin Luther King Jr. is a prolific figure of the civil rights movement whose non-violent words and protests became long-lasting staples of academia and elicited necessary conversations of the institutionalized racism that African Americans suffered through that conservative, white America feigned ignorance for a false sense of comfortability. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King illustrates a rich vision for audiences detailing the mistreatment of African Americans in America’s segregation and the importance of non-violent protest to invoke change in a system that cared very little for the sentiments of the

Many of the most influential people, organizations, and events were created or occurred during the Civil Rights Movement, which is still known as one of the most pivotal time periods historically. The main reason this movement is so profoundly known and praised, is because of it’s passion and reasoning behind it all. In the 1950s and 1960s, grassroots organizations were able to create social change through Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy demonstrated in his profound written piece, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”.

He mentions the fight in the House of Representatives that broke out, in relation with the civil rights bill. He also about the equality between black and white people in the 1960’s. At this point this is being read the words “all is calm, all is bright” this completely contrast from the subject about racism but the song is representing a sense of tranquillity as if everything is okay when it is not.

During the 1950’s, black artists and entertainers chose either to directly or indirectly supported. Everyone in spite of where they came from and regardless of their identity, race, and gender all came together to fight the injustice. Black women entertainers bridged the entertainment world and popular culture to the civil rights politics. They were able to highlight the inequality between black and white people and men and women. Their activism allowed for global perspective on race relations and was continually reinforced through the interactions between entertainers, diplomats and other intellectuals. After World War II, black people in New York were rallying support for the movement by using creative strategies to represent blackness politically.

Throughout his entire book, Du Bois displays how individualism and freedom can be achieved in a multicultural society through the ability to generate media as he said, “ I know that these songs are the articulate message of the slave to the world. They tell us in these eager days that life was joyous to the black salve, careless and happy….They are the music of an unhappy people, of the children of disappointment; they tell of death and suffering and unvoiced longing toward a truer world, of misty wanderings and hidden ways” (Du Bois 1994:157). Therefore, Du Bois contends that if individuals recognize oppression and the oppressed are able to use their new platforms to express themselves, then freedom and individualism are actualized in society. In the modern context, Omi and Winant write that, “ The necessity to define characters in the briefest and most condensed manner has led to the perpetuation of racial caricatures, as racial stereotypes serve as shorthand for scriptwriters, directors and actors, in commercials, etc… Races do not emerge full-blown. They are the results of diverse historical practices and are continually subject to challenge over their

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks are, perhaps, the most notable figures of the Civil Rights Movement. However, long before these activists took the stage, “black men and women, acting mostly as individuals but numbering in the thousands, waged guerilla warfare on the infrastructure of Jim Crow” (Litwack, 2009). Since then, numerous civil rights activists emerged to fight against the unjust infrastructure of racism and segregation in the

The context and setting of this rap is American in the 1970’s. Historically, this period came after the Civil Rights Movement, during the start of the Nixon era. The Vietnam War was dividing the nation’s population into anti-war protestors and those that supported the war effort. It was an era of recession and continued change for minorities. One of the issues was enforced racial integration after the Civil Rights Movement, which many institutions had still not complied with. The struggle to find equality even after the movement was something African Americans at the time had to deal with. The support for the black power movement was one of many results of this struggle. The media and press largely did not report on the alienation that was still present. This was an inspiration for Scott-Heron and this song in particular.

In her speech “Political Activism and Protest from the 1960s through the Age of Obama,” Angela Davis argues that Black history involves a constant struggle for freedom. This struggle is meant to expand the liberties of not only Black people, but of all marginalized people, and it has occurred throughout history in all parts of the world. As a result, Davis asserts that Black history and activism are universally relatable. She continues to discuss activism in her speech, at one point declaring, “we have to learn how to imagine the future in terms that are not restricted to our own lifetimes” (Davis 117). Her declaration means that social change does not come about if people passively accept the world’s current state. Instead, social change occurs when people “imagine the future” (117) that they wish to live in and work at shaping all aspects of society so that it will progress towards the future they envisioned.

During the 1970s many groups were dealing with the fact of fighting for equality such as African-Americans, Native Americans, and other marginalized people. This era had inspired some artists to produce songs on the revolution. One artist being Gil Scott-Heron who wrote the song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” which is about how what is televised on television is not the revolution but they are only the symptoms and how society needs to have their own mind. In addition, not be followers to those who are being ignorant and turning to violence. He explains, how for you to change the way you live you have to possess the right mind. It will only be something people see, but eventually they will begin to realize that they are on the wrong

The symbolism in this song is that life is hard for other members of the society. This song regards a man trying/ resolving to alter his ways before starting to change the world. This

Although a change in the equality and rights of the Black Community were meant to be created in the hopes and actions of people like Sam Cooke, years later Black men and women were still being poorly treated by the white man based on his or her color. This is important because we still see injustices being made towards the Black community today that is still not being given a full life of freedom and that is still waiting for an actual change to come. Between the two literary pieces “Conspiracy: A Suite” by Angel Nafis and “A Change is Gonna Come” released on December 22, 1964 by Sam Cooke from the album Ain’t That Good News, the discrimination and injustices of the past and present are recognized and a call to action is perceived.

“To claim the sky” is such a grand gesture, but government does in fact control all air traffic and all the land in this country. Even private property can quickly become imminent domain. Not only are these verses relevant in terms of the physical world, but also in terms of social order. In 1969 when this piece was written, many people of color were considered second class citizens. The discrimination, police violence, and governmental distaste for those that weren’t successful white people created feelings of disconnection and oppression. This being said, the poem can not only be interpreted as speaking of white/black racial conflict, but also an oppressed/oppressor relationship rooted in classicism, that anyone that has been a societal underdog, or even a part of the prison system can relate

In his essay “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolutions,” Martin Luther King references the Negro hymn “We Shall Overcome” (277). The effect of alluding to this particular song has great baring given the topic of King’s sermon. Here, he is reminding the congregation that the fight to overcome poverty, racism, and wars that aren’t of their creation of the fact that their troubles will eventually come

Once slaves were free and blacks were progressing in America, the mid 20th century demonstrated an era of racial injustice, launching a series of events known as the Civil Rights Movement, and expansion of debates that successfully rendered any form of racial segregation as illegal. The 50s and 60s proved to be a crucial changing moment for African Americans that involved racial injustice and inequality. Of the many events, Brown v. Board of Education overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson case that deemed unconstitutional the “separate but equal” ruling by the Supreme Court. This court case was one of many notable instances in American history that reflected the idea of social equality. The tracing back of the Civil Rights Movement was rooted in local and smaller activism, such as Ella Baker, who began organizing and empowering local communities by raising the concerns of civil rights injustice in the South. Ella Baker wrote in Developing Community Leadership, “I have always felt it was handicap for oppressed peoples to depend so largely upon a leader, because… the charismatic leader usually becomes a leader... in the public limelight”, which expresses the concern that those who endure inequality may always face inequality, injustice, and prejudicism if they don’t take the situation into their own hands (304). However, many activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. who spent his entire career dedicated to racial justice will go to extremes for the cause. As expressed by Martin