These Revolutionary Songs Will Make You Want to Change the World
Throughout history, Black music has reflected and addressed the social and political climate of the day.
During slavery, Black people communicated with drums and sang spirituals to deliver messages of rebellion and resistance. The sound of drums often struck fear in plantation owners, leading them to ban the instrument all together.
Contemporary artists have carried on in this tradition by using their platforms to educate, enlighten, and encourage our community to be active and vocal about our struggle for humanity and justice.
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We have compiled a brief list of songs, old and new, that help get us one step closer to liberation. These might be exactly what you need before you take action. Check them out!
“They Don’t Really Care About Us” - Michael Jackson
A social and political statement on the transgressions of oppression, “They Don’t Really Care About Us, is a revealing tale that exposes the tensions between the spirit of protest and the spirit of revenge.
The aggressive energy of the track is tangible and could be felt globally. This anthem sparked questions about humanity and injustice while also negating the idea that the oppressed are the cause of their downfall and demise.
“Mississippi Goddam” - Nina Simone
The fear and anger in Simone’s voice are palpable as she performs “Mississippi Goddamn” which was written largely in response to the assassination of prominent Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers.
Outraged by the racial turmoil of the South, Simone delivered this iconic song to bring a taste of the era’s injustice to audiences across the country and let them know America was no longer a place she could call home.
“Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” - James Brown
Although his opposition labeled it militant and angry, Brown’s call-and-response style song was a bold declaration of our people’s pride in our Blackness.
By including children on the historic jazz and funk-inspired record, Brown decreed the unapologetic need to value who we are as a race across all generations and to awaken the movement within our own communities.
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“Ella’s Song” - Sweet Honey in the Rock
This anthem is an ode to the legendary Ella Baker- marked as one of the most influential women in the Civil Rights movement. “Ella’s Song” resounds the enduring reality and necessity of the fight to and for freedom.
The lyrics are powerful; they are intentional; they originate from a Black female lens, and they remain relevant to where we currently are as a nation.
“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” - Gil-Scott Heron
“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” is inarguably one of the most important political urgencies of its time. The radical song effortlessly blends spoken word poetry with infectious conga beats to produce a manifesto that has stood the test of time as a representation of the Black liberation movement.
Even if you have never heard the original, it is likely you will quickly recognize the tune as it is one of the most sampled songs by hip hop artists today.
“Strange Fruit” - Billie Holiday
“Strange Fruit” exposed the nation’s lynching epidemic and overwhelming disregard for the Black body. This gripping song written by public school teacher, Abel Meeropol, likened the dangling bodies of lynching victims to the fruit of a poplar tree to protest the inhumanity of racism.
With nooses still popping up around different parts of America today, this song serves as a revelation to our traumatic historical past.
“Black Rage” - Lauryn Hill
Immediately following the aftermath of the Ferguson shootings, Lauryn Hill used her platform to remark on what has bubbled up within the Black consciousness that could produce such frustration and violence.
The emotional song is a reworking of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music that takes the upbeat and flowery original and transforms it into something much darker, capturing the sentiments of a nation divided and providing fuel for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Freedom” - Beyonce ft. Kendrick Lamar
“Freedom” embodies the spirit of triumph, self-reliance, and a call to action that we needed given the tumultuous racial climate these last couple years. The song is the perfect combination of political and spiritual will with Beyonce clearly indicating she is willing to be at the helm of this movement.
Coming on the heels of her statement against police brutality in “Formation,” “Freedom” was undoubtedly made with African-American empowerment in mind.
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“Alright” - Kendrick Lamar
Lamar’s “Alright” offers a glimpse of hope in the midst of perpetual antipathy for Black lives in our world today. The catchy chorus promising that “We gonna be alright” underlines the intersectionality of faith and the ongoing brutality resonating throughout our neighborhoods.
If you like this thought-provoking track, it might be a good time to revisit Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly album in its entirety.
“Be Free” - J.Cole
This song ricocheted around the country when released on SoundCloud in response to the senseless murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Cole’s provocative performance of “Be Free” demonstrates the strain and fatigue in the community as it pertains to police brutality and the blatant disregard for Black lives. You can literally hear his pain and passion as his voice breaks over the somber instrumental.
When educator Brittany Harris noticed the low test scores in her school district, she knew she had to do something about it.
Harris identified that parent involvement was also low, and to achieve improvement, parents needed to make regular visits to the school - a hard thing to ask of parents in low-income Chattanooga, TN.
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But Harris found quite a unique solution.
The Passage is a portable school created by Harris and colleague Colleen Ryan.
It's a minibus transformed into a mobile classroom for the community, filled with tables, chairs, a whiteboard, iPads, and any other classroom item you’d find in school.
Harris and Ryan take The Passage to the homes of students, where they collaborate with both children and parents to create strategies that will help students build strong study habits.
Usually serving Kindergarten through 5th grade children, they offer a 30-minute session once a week for four weeks.
Because, as Ryan put it, “parents are the first teachers of their children.” The Passage is an opportunity for parents - and the community - to feel empowered to help their kids academically. When they do, children always come out on top!
While the tech industry isn’t known for being the most diverse, one tech recruiting firm proved just how racist hiring practices can be.
In a job ad posted by Cynet Systems recently, they shared exactly the KIND of candidate they desired to hire for a mid-senior level position that will make your skin crawl.
“Preferably Caucasian.” That was the top qualification listed for a candidate to even be CONSIDERED for this position.
Sadly, this honest and racist post might be better than the more subtle, systemic racism we often confront as Black people when applying for jobs.
In a 2017 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it was found that, in the past 25 years, hiring discrimination against Black people has NOT changed one bit.
Which means no matter how competent and qualified a Black candidate may be, the likelihood of racist hiring practices across multiple work sectors is still as high as ever.
The economic inequality Black people experience is directly linked to anti-diversity hiring biases held by companies like Cynet Systems, that put whiteness on a pedestal while intentionally putting Black folks at a disadvantage.
Institutionalized discrimination is clearly here to say. It’s definitely time to start erecting our own institutions.
Harmonia Rosales is a self-taught Afro-Cuban, Chicago-based artist finding success - and controversy - by flipping the script on fine art and “classical” religious images.
Studies have long shown the power of art to affect people’s self-image. Her most famous pieces recreate iconic religious paintings - such as The Birth of Venus and The Creation of Adam - but with Black women as the central figures.
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“When you consider that all human life came out of Africa, the Garden of Eden and all, then it only makes sense to paint God as a black woman,” she told BuzzFeed.
“When all we see in art history is a male-dominated white heaven, we become the inferior,” she continued. Christianity teaches that human beings are made in the image of God. So shouldn’t our images of God reflect the beauty of Blackness as well?
Her incredible work has, of course, got white people - who are used to being the only ones seen as beautiful, angelic beings - incredibly upset. Rosales suffered a barrage of racist attacks when her paintings first went viral on Instagram.
But she’s not stopping. With customers such as Erykah Badu and Samuel L. Jackson, and fans around the world, Rosales is continuing her important work and has big dreams. When asked where she’d most love to see her work hung, she answered simply: “The White House.”
The Wright family’s home theater sat 7 of their guests comfortably. The casual intimacy of the experience was what Robert loved most.
After coming up short with ideas to scale up his dream to a full-blown operation, his wife, Melinda, suggested he give their good friend and real estate development expert Anthony Fykes a call to help.
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If anyone knew what to do to realize Robert’s vision of creating a boutique-style moviegoing experience, it’d be Anthony.
By March 2019, after months of planning and plotting, the friends joined forces to renovate and then open NextAct Cinema, the first and only Black-owned theatre in Baltimore, Maryland!
NextAct offers a luxurious environment for dining and entertainment.
Enjoy drinks and pre-show conversation at the bar, or delicious specialty meals served hot in their dining area or in-theater. From there, recline in your reserved leather seat to enjoy the latest releases.
The Wrights and their business partner are an example of how impactful it is when Black professionals pool their expertise and resources to develop their own communities something special.
Teaching conditions were far from ideal at Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in Kenya’s rural Pwani Village, a place where famine and poverty are everyday realities.
With only one computer, poor internet, and barely enough resources to educate anyone, math and science teacher Peter Tabichi had to make the best of a grim situation.
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And, boy, did he.
Tabichi, a Franciscan friar, always went above and beyond for his students, 95 percent of whom are orphaned and/or impoverished.
Whether that meant sacrificing off-days to provide one-on-one tutoring in students’ homes, or visiting internet cafés to retrieve learning materials the school couldn’t provide, Tabichi always gave his all to benefit those around him.
In just three years, his efforts have doubled enrollment at Keriko. The school’s science club and mathematical science club now compete internationally against high-ranking schools with top-notch resources.
And now, for his selfless giving, Tabichi is being honored.
Out of 10,000 candidates from 176 other countries, The Varkey Foundation awarded its Global Teacher Prize - and $1 million - to Peter Tabichi for his “exceptional” influence on his students’ lives!
“Every day in Africa we turn a new page and a new chapter,” Tabichi said. “This prize does not recognize me but recognizes this great continent’s young people… This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything."
Going to prison or jail can be dangerous for a bunch of reasons, and one reason many often don’t consider is healthcare.
It’s a HUGE cost for the facilities where many Black people are locked up, so they often try to cut corners - leading to scary health risks for those imprisoned.
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Big companies make a profit off of prison healthcare but care nothing about the inmates.
The New Yorker reports that two of the biggest prison healthcare companies, Corizon and Wellpath, have been “sued about fifteen hundred times” in the last five years “over matters including alleged neglect, malpractice, and, in dozens of cases, wrongful injury or death.”
Stories like Sandra Bland’s are common. Black people often go to jail or prison and die under unknown circumstances or from preventable illnesses of all types. Healthcare neglect in prisons is DEADLY.
Black people experience the short end of healthcare outside of prisons and jails, so we can only imagine what goes wrong inside. The many health risks and illnesses we suffer from disproportionately on the outside may be even more dangerous inside.
Even worse, some prisons CHARGE inmates for the health services they receive inside. Why would they do this, you ask? To reduce costs, of course. But it exposes something more: just how little people care about the rights - and lives - of inmates.