Tag Archives: 1960s

05/20/11

Protest Songs

We all know that “every action has an equal or greater reaction”, and as we take a look back at the past we see that anything significant enough to be spoken about 20, 30, 50, or even over 100 years later was more than likely a reaction that clearly stems either directly from a particular act or event.

The 1960s and 1970s are widely considered to be some of the most turbulent and radical times in history, so it should come as no surprise that the arts (music in particular) would reflect that. Wikipedia labels some particular eras of protest music under the following categories:

  1. 1940s- 1950s; The labor movement vs McCarthyism; Anti-Nuclear songs
  2. The 1960s: The Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and Peace and Revolution
  3. 1970s: The Vietnam War, Soul Music
  4. In the Twenty-First Century: The Iraq War and the Revival of the Protest Song

I think that  we should consider those basic differences but more importantly the fact that, like we spoke about in class, today it seems like the message needs to be much more blunt to be noticed as ‘radical’ in any way. I’m posting here a song from 2001 called “In All Rwanda’s Glory” by Rx Bandits – if you listen to the lyrics, its very clear that the author is frustrated with the government’s response to human rights issues and is referencing the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

To contrast that song’s clear message, I’m also linking Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in The USA”. The song was released in 1984, but I think it takes on more of a 1970′s message in that it was written in response to the Vietnam war, but contrary to popular belief it isn’t the patriotic song that people think it is, it’s actually  a song depicting the horrors that were faced by returning vets.

-C. Salama

 

 

05/3/11

Ask not what your country can do for you

This post is delayed. I tried putting it up last week but the internet was down on campus or mega slow or something and then it got deleted so anyway, here it is, somewhat revised.

In 1961, John F. Kennedy took office as the 35th President of the Unites States. In Kennedy’s inaugural address, Kennedy stated “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This has become a very well known, repeated line in American history. Kennedy’s biggest contribution in the few years he was President was setting up organizations in the US. He took office during the Cold War, and he wanted to do all in his power to fight it. He was responsible for creating the Peace Corps, among many other organizations. During the 1950′s many Americans were getting caught up in the new technology and social culture that was taking over America. People were into the cars, and technical advances like the television but Kennedy wanted to focus on people stepping forward and helping America as a whole, not just have the social change contribute to their individual lives. That’s why he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you”…meaning, how they can make your lives better, and easier and more fun, rather “ask what you can do for your country”….how will you help us fight the Cold War? What are you doing to help this country? I apologize for the delay, seeing how JFK put the “trainers” in Vietnam, I guess this is still somewhat relevant to what we are discussing right now, but definitely relevant to our class, and our history.

05/2/11

War protest songs

The song “Feel-like-I’m-Fixin-To-Die” was written by Joe McDonald and originally performed by Country Joe & The Fish in 1967. It was a specfic anti-war protest song about the Vietnam war. McDonald used “What are we fighting for?” to indicate the Vietnam war was totally unnecessary and he also used the word” we’re all gonna die” to show the war was a disappointment and hopelessness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duTKDlPXCQg

The second song is “21 Guns” by Green Day. It was released in 2009. The song shares the same idea which is anti war. It does not mention what specfic war is and I think it fights for general peace. Some of examples like ” Do you know what’s worth fighting for?”, “Lay down your arms, give up the fight” and ” Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I”, are showing the idea of the song.

War is always exist in the history, even today. I think the protest songs in the past are mainly focused on a specfic issue, like the first song about Vietnam war; but today war protest songs are more general.

04/28/11

Jimi Hendrix & Green Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duTKDlPXCQg

 

The two songs I posted are songs in response to war. The first video is the audio of Jimi Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner on electric guitar at Woodstock in 1969. Aprox 50 seconds in, he strays away from the normal melody of the anthem and goes on a crazy distortion of the song. He was using the electric guitar sliding down the shaft making a lot of loud and off color noise. Many people believe that was Hendrix’s way of protesting the American invasion of Vietnam. He took the National Anthem, the song that represents America, and turned it into a wild and loud and painful to the ears, kind of song. He was expressing his opinion of the war via his Guitar. Because he didn’t mention the war or anything during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner, it isn’t 100% proven to be anti-war, which we can’t say the same about Green Day’s 21 Guns.

Green Day released a song called 21 Guns, released in 2009. The name was adapted from the well known 21 gun salute that is included in military funerals for soliders who die in the line of duty. The song right away starts with the chilling lyrics “Do you know whats worth fighting for? When its not worth dying for” Green Day stated multiple times that they are opposed to the war in Iraq and it is very obvious that this song is an anti-war protest song. The chorus says it all; “Lay down your arms, give up the fight”

 

04/27/11

Student’s Against Vietnam

During the 1960′s there was an increasing rise of students in America going to college. With that, students became more focused in other areas of society such as politics. They created the “New Left” which they wanted to make America a true democracy. They questioned and compared the drastic differences between American ideals and America’s reality. As a result, they became actively involved and protested against the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam War started in the 1950′s in which America feared Vietnam would fall into the domino effect and fall into communism. Vietnam was separated between the communistic North and  democratic South. Although America slowly regretted entering into this war, Johnson and Kennedy feared they would not be forgiven for “losing” Vietnam. This led to students strongly protesting against the war and demanding a recall of U.S. involvement on the war.  Ultimately, U.S. lost the war in Vietnam.

04/27/11

The Urge For Civil Rights Continues

High pressure hose used against protesters in Birmingham, AlabamaDuring the 1960′s, there was a firm desire for  gaining equal rights for African Americans. This desire was sparked by the movements made in the 1950′s where many civil rights activist were able to abolish many forms of segregation such as in public schools in the case of Brown V. The Board of Education and public transportationin the case of the The Montgomery bus boycott. Although progress was made on equal rights during the 1950s, not much has changed in society seeing as segregation still existed in bussiness and there were still only a handfull of Colored students enrolled in previously all-white schools.

 The forms of protest performed by activists were mainly passive. Even while facing the harsh riots of Birmingham, Alabama, Colored students marched in the streets while being assulted by the local athorities. The atrosities commited in the Birmingham incident were broadcasted and raised awareness of the brutal actions taken towards protesters. After the Birmingham incident became publicaly known, actions were taken to quell the riots and established desegregation in the local bussiness.

04/27/11

Freedom and Equality for the Least-Advantaged

Soon after assuming office in 1963, Johnson resurrected the phrase “freedom from want”, all but forgotten during the 1950s. Recognizing that black poverty was fundamentally different from the white one, since its roots lay in “past injustice and present prejudice”, he wanted to redefine the relationship between freedom and equality. He insisted that “we seek not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result”. The powers of the national government were mobilized to address the needs of the least-advantaged Americans, especially those, like blacks, largely excluded from the New Deal entitlements, such as Social Security. Coupled with the decade’s high rate of economic growth, the War on Poverty succeeded in reducing the incidence of poverty from 22% to 13% of American families during the 1960s.

04/27/11

Practice What You Preach !

Martin Luther King wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail April 1963 while serving a nine day prison term. This letter is very famous. Martin Luther King is originally from Atlanta but in the letter he explained “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and thats why he was in Birmingham conducting many non violent protests. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the south. I title this post “Practice What you Preach” because in his letter Martin Luther King critized many clergymen for being afraid to support him and help fight for equality. A lot of white moderates and clergymen criticized what Martin was doing and they thought that he was being too extreme. They thought  that the blacks just needed to be patient and eventually there will be equality. Martin disagreed with them in his letter he stated “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro.” Blacks were tired of waiting; they were ready to fight and the younger generation also more aggressive than before.

During the 1960′s we see a lot more school aged kids fighting for equality. It can be assumed that the rise of protesting by students has roots in the 195o’s era change. I think that many were inspired by the Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954. According to Foner, in May of 1963 when King made a bold decision to send young black school children to protest was a huge triumph for the Civil Rights Movement. Schoolchildren were beaten up by nightsticks and dogs, and sprayed by high pressure fire hoses and this caused a revulsion not only throughout Birmingham or the United States but around the world !

 

 

 

04/26/11

The Black Movement

Black riot in the 1960s

In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement concerning African Americans continued to grow. This is a battle that blacks in America had been fighting for years, and while there was some advancement through various legislation, there was still great unrest in the black community. Violent outbreaks began in black ghettos; these conflicts involved angry blacks and mostly white police. They first broke out in Harlem in 1964 and began happening in various ghettos such as Los Angeles and Detroit. This violence was so widespread that many citizens feared a racial civil war would come out of it. While government recognized the riots and outbreaks, there were no outright proposals for any kind of change.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The unrest that caused this violence spurred from the rampant legal segregation that had existed. During the 1950s, many began to fight it, no longer able to deny its injustice. However, it was in the 1960s that opposition began to turn so violent and recurrent.

04/26/11

The Anti-war movement

The War in Vietnam and the Cold War foreign policy eventually brought the Anti-war movement in the U.S. in 1960s. More than half a million American troops were sent to Vietnam and about 60,000 were dead when U.S. exited the war. Since more and more Americans, specially the young, against to be sent to fight in a foreign country, the anti-war movement was getting strong.  The leader of SDS(Students for a Democartic Society) openly chanlleged the idea of  Cold War thinking and linked Vietnam to a critique of American interventions in Guatemala and Iran. “Martin Luther King Jr. condemned the administration’s Vietnam policy as an unconscionable  use of violence” declared Foner.

Below is the speech of Martin Luther King Jr. “Why I am opposed to the war in Vietnam”

04/19/11

On a Mission to Save the World!

In the 1950s, the Beat movement was led by a group of poets and writers who deviated from the behaviors and values of mainstream culture. In the 1960s, many movements were also started for the pursuit of a common cause. For instance, the environmental movement began as more and more people became aware of the growing dangers of water contamination, air pollution, and the threat of extinction of certain animal species. The movement received bipartisan support. During Nixon’s presidency, Congress enacted many legislations including the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts and the Endangered Species Act to ensure the quality of air and water and safety  of animals. In addition, on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was launched, which attracted many youths to come to the rallies, concerts, and teach-ins.

The Environmental movement had roots in the 1950s because the previous decade was a symbol of consumerism. People were obsessed with their individual desires and ignored the impact of their actions on the enviornment. People pursued the American dream vigorously by purchasing more cars just becaues they could. In the 1960s, people began to realize that there is a consequence for their actions. Therefore, the environmental movement was to undo the spoils of the 1950s.