In 1971, soul singer Marvin Gaye released a plaintive, riveting song
called "What's Going On" on an album of the same
name.

Artist collaborations with social justice organizations propel change

[link removed]

Rhonda Sonnenberg  Read the full piece here

[link removed]

In 1971, soul singer Marvin Gaye released a plaintive, riveting song
called "What's Going On"
[link removed]

on an album of the same name.

The album was unlike any Gaye had ever recorded. The title song made a
plea for love and understanding as it rebuked the nation's
leaders for the deep problems still plaguing the U.S. nearly two
decades after the Civil Rights Movement began.

Institutional racism, disenfranchisement and police violence against
people of color remained entrenched, and tens of thousands of
Americans were dying in the Vietnam War, catalyzing widespread social
unrest. "What's Going On" captured progressive
Americans' frustration and weariness with the racial oppression
and brutality of the times.

By the time Gaye recorded the song, the Civil Rights Movement had
already energized artists across the creative spectrum and produced an
extraordinarily fertile collaboration between them and civil rights
organizations. Visual and musical artists, actors, filmmakers, poets
and writers - working both independently and in collaboration
- played a major role in advancing the Civil Rights Act of
1964,
[link removed]

the Civil Rights Act of 1968

[link removed] ).

and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
[link removed]

Langston Hughes
[link removed]

wrote in a foreword to the 1966 student poetry anthology
"Freedom School Poetry."
[link removed]

Established by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

[link removed] .

(SNCC) in Mississippi, Freedom Schools

[link removed]

were intended to empower the state's Black youth politically
through art and cultural education.

The anthology was dedicated to the memory of Emmett Till.

[link removed]

These books, songs, poems and other artistic expressions have
effectively advanced the cause of civil rights and racial justice.
That's why conservative efforts to ban such creative ventures
from schools and libraries are troubling, advocates for the free
expression of ideas say.

Read More

[link removed]

In solidarity,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center

The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond,
working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy,
strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of
all people.

Friend, will you make a gift to help the SPLC fight for
justice and equity in courts and combat white supremacy?

 

Donate

[link removed]



--
Unsubscribe [link removed] | Privacy Policy [link removed] | Contact Us [link removed]

Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
334.956.8200 // splcenter.org
[link removed]
Copyright 2023