African American Protest Slogans & Songs

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 24 Sep 07 - 07:46 PM

Here's some random thoughts about the Jena 6 slogans:

"Free [the] Jena 6" means "release them from jail {or prison}".

"Free ___" has been used many times by African American groups and other groups protesting what they consider to be the unjust incarceration of an individual or individuals. See the reference to "free the panthers" in my 23 Sep 07 - 10:00 PM post to this thread. Also see the African American political blog http://www.colorofchange.org/campaigns.html for other examples of "free ___" mobilizations efforts.

**

"No Justice. No Peace"
This slogan means "Until there is justice, people will agitate for changes and there will be no peace."

Or it means "Until there is justice, people will raise a rukus and there will be no peace."

Or it means if there is no justice [for all], there will be no peace [around here].

In any event, the succient alliterative pattern of the word "no" + a desired condition and then the second "no" + a desired condition is what makes this slogan so powerful.

I think that the people who chanted or who created the signage "no justice, no peace, no racist police" got the alliteration part of this slogan, but didn't get that the first two conditions are desired but the third one is definitely not desired.

**
"Blacks Protests N'Justice"   
I like how hip-hop spelling has worked its way into slogan writing.
"N'Justice" of course means "injustice". With what I call "hip hop languaging" it's not just how a word is pronounced, it's how it looks. Punctuation marks and clipped letters enhance the look of a word {and personal names} while retaining the pronunciation, and, in some cases, getting even closer to how a word is actually pronounced.
Since the first hip hop record came out in the late 1970s, slogans using hip hop stylin is another way that African American protest slogans have changed since the mid 1960s.

**
"They stood for us now we stand for them
Free Jena 6"

With the reminder that this thread is not meant to be a forum for the discussion of the Jena 6 case, the "stand up/stood up" phrasing of this slogan reminds me of the Christian song Stand Up, Stand Up, for Jesus. I'm particularly referring to both the title, the refrain, and this verse:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
The trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict,
In this His glorious day!
Ye that are men, now serve Him
Against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger
And strength to strength oppose.

-snip-

Again, some will debate whether the Jena 6 as a group or as individuals stood up in the face of unnumbered foes or whether their cause [of unequal treatment within the law] should be supported {that is that people should "stand up for them"]. However, again there's another Mudcat thread for that discussion.

**

"non-violence or non-existence"

This is another slogan that uses alliteration {or whatever this literary pattern is called}. Imo, it's not as effective or powerful as the "No Justice. No Peace" slogan, perhaps because of the circumstances of the Jena 6 case, or just because I'm not sure what is meant by the slogan. I suppose the people who held that sign or had that sign on their tee shirts meant something like "Give me liberty or give me death". Now there's an effective, powerful slogan...

**

"Equality"
I believe that "Equality" is a shorthand way of saying "equality under the law".

It's interesting to me that in the mid 1960s, "Freedom Now!" was probably the most widely used chant in the African American civil rights movement. The word "freedom" worked on many levels since that word harkened back to African Americans' emancipation from slavery and that word also expressed the desire, nay the demand for Black folks and other people of color to be free from racial oppression.

But it seems to me that "freedom" is too abstract a concept in the 21st century. I think that Equality [under the law] and "equal treatment of individuals and groups by those in authority" is what we should be striving for rather than Freedom.

Or maybe "Equality!" is just the modern way of saying "Freedom!"

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 24 Sep 07 - 06:29 PM

More observations about the Jena 6 march:

Both the red, white, and blue American flag and the red, black, and gree Pan-African flag flag can be seen in the photos of the Jena, Louisiana march. The African American flag is made up of three equal horizontal bands of red, black, and green.

Even though this flag was first adopted by an African American nationalist group in 1920, few Black Americans in the 1960s knew about this flag. Now the colors of red, black, and green are widely known as symbols of African American culture. Red, black, and green are also associated with the African American holiday Kwanzaa/

Of course, these colors work cn more than one level, since red and green are colors that are closely associated with Christmas, which most Christians in the USA celebrate the day before the 7 day Kwanzaa holiday begins. Thus, in some African American homes, the red & green Christmas ornaments can also serve as Kwanzaa ornaments, especially if those ornaments have kente cloth designs {as, since the 1970s, "kente cloth" and anything with kente cloth designs have become ubiquitous symbols of pride in African culture for African Americans and for other people of the African Diaspora.

**

As a sign of Black solidarity, on September 20, 2007 all Jena 6 marchers {and all Black Americans throughout the USA} were encouraged to wear either all black or black shirts {and pants or skirts of another color}. I think this is a change from the mid 1960s in how protest marches or protest rallies are being conceptualized and organized. As I mentioned before, I've never been active in protest marches-civil rights or otherwise. And while the clothes a person or groups of people wear do make a statement, it seems to me that what color clothes one wore probably wasn't high on the list of do's and don'ts for protestors during the mid 1960s.

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 24 Sep 07 - 08:14 AM

Correction:

The Jena 6 march {also called "rally"} was held on September 20, 2007.

**

Another sign that I noted in photos about the Jena, Louisiana march was "Equality".

**

See this excerpt from a September 21, 2007 Wshington Post article which mentions two other slogans that were used in this march:

"The buses began arriving in Jena hours before dawn, the travelers stepping out stiff, yawning and bleary-eyed. Most wore black T-shirts with the message "Stop the criminalization of our children" and "What is the color of justice?"".*

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/20/AR2007092000259.html?hpid=topnews


* [My italics]

-snip-

I'm not sure if marchers chanted those tee shirt slogans or the "equality" sign slogan.

I've read that putting slogans on tee shirts first happened in the early 1980s. Tee shirt/sweat shirt signage is an additional way of communicating one's position on issues that protestors in the 1960s, and 1970s didn't have.

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 24 Sep 07 - 12:17 AM

Let me reprhase that queation, is singing no longer a part of protest marches that are composed of mostly African American people?

I've made this change in phrasing since some non-African Americans took part in the Jena 6 march in Jena Louisiana and elsewhere.

However, reports I read and the photos/video confirm that the overwhelming majority of the people who participated in the Jena Louisiana march were Black people.

And, it seems to me, that the use of adapted spirituals during the 1960s civil rights movement was a result of Black cultural traditions. Therefore, my question is have those traditions changed with regard to protest marching?

Nowadays, is chanting still "in", but singing too old school?

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 11:34 PM

BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS/BLACK NATIONALIST CHANTS

2007 Jena Six marches {In Louisiana and elsewhere} on September 21, 2007

These are the slogans that reporters indicated the Jena 6 marchers chanted or that I noticed on photographs and videos were written on on signs carried by the marchers or were written on their tee shirts:


"Free Jena 6" or "Free The Jena 6" [These were by far the most widely used slogans]

**

"No Justice. No Peace" [This slogan was next in prominence to "Free Jena Six"]

**

"No justice no peace no racist police"

**

"Blacks Protests N'Justice"   

**

"They stood for us now we stand for them
Free Jena 6"

**

"non-violence or non-existence"


-snip-

In the more than 20 articles and slide show/videos that I've read about the Sept. 21, 2007 march in Jena, Louisiana and other marches throughout the USA in support of that main demonstration, there was no mention of protest songs or freedom songs/

Is singing no longer a part of African American protest marches?

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 11:11 PM

BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS/BLACK NATIONALIST CHANTS

1980s ??

I'm not sure what Black power or Black civil rights slogans were chanted during the 1980s.

The saying "Don't believe The hype" comes to mind. That saying comes from a late 1980s? recording by the rap group Public Enemy. Maybe this counts as a protest chant. I'm not sure.

1990s

"No justice, No peace"

1992-I'm not sure whether this slogan was used before the acauittal of the four policemen who were videotaped beating Rodney King. However, "no justice, no peace" certainly was popularized as a referent to that April 29, 1992 acquittal. See this wikipedia article about Rodney King and the Los Angeles riot {which is also known as the Los Angeles "rebellion"} which was triggered by that acquittal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King

**

"No justice, no peace" was further popularized as a protest slogan during the demonstrations against the acquital of the two Detroit, Michigan policemen who were acquitted in the Nove 5, 1992 Malice Green
case.

Also, see this excerpt which was largely written in support of the two policemen:

http://www.larrynevers.com/nojustice.htm

"The demonstrations in Detroit [Michigan] after the [Malice] Green incident, and the chants of "No Justice No Peace," rang out on every T.V. network in the nation. * Anytime any human being dies, it is indeed a sad event. When that death occurs under circumstances such as was the case here, then of course it should be investigated to the fullest extent. That investigation should not be influenced by or for political considerations. Impartiality must by present, to protect all involved. The officers, the victim and indeed, the community.

It has a chilling effect on every community in this country, because it adds to a significant number of other politically correct and racially charged cases that involve law enforcement officers all over the country. It causes police officers to hesitate to do their jobs and as we all know hesitation kills. When police officers no longer feel they can do their jobs without the fear of becoming political scapegoats, the ultimate victims will be the communities they serve. No justice for Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers ultimately means no justice for anyone at all.

The next time you hear those demonstration chants, listen closely because they may sound different. You may hear "NO JUSTICE, NO POLICE."

-snip-
*my italics

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 10:42 PM

kat, you wrote:

There were people of all races who worked very hard in the civil rights movement.

Very true. I acknowledge this and respect & honor all people regardless of their race and ethnicity who were {and are} active in and supportive of the African American civil rights movement.

I choose to use the term "Black Civil Rights Movement". You may use whichever term you want to for this movement. My use of this term does not mean that only Black Americans were {are}involved in or benefited {benefit} by this movement.


Fwiw, there's a wikipedia article which gives this movement the name "African American Civil RIghts Movement":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Rights_Movement_(1955-1968)

Here is an excerpt from that article:

"The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination of African Americans; this article covers the phase of the movement between 1954 and 1968, particularly in the South. By 1966, the emergence of the Black Power Movement, which lasted roughly from 1966 to 1975, enlarged and gradually eclipsed the aims of the Civil Rights Movement to include racial dignity, economic and political self-sufficiency, and freedom from White authority."...

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 10:27 PM

The clenched fist [Black power salute] was very evident in the Sept. 20, 2007 Jena, Louisiana march.

But since you mentioned it, here's a link to information and a photo about the 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_Salute

Here's an excerpt of that article:

"The Black Power Salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico is a noted civil rights protest.

Certainly one of the most overtly political statements in the 110 year history of the modern Olympic Games, Black American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos performed a Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics.

After completing their 200 metre race on the evening of October 17, 1968, American athlete Smith, who won the race in a then world record time of 19.83 seconds, with Australia's Peter Norman second with a time of 20.06 seconds and American Carlos in third place with a time of 20.10 seconds, went to collect their medals at the podium. The two American athletes received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty. [1] Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride [2] and Carlos wore a string of beads, to commemorate black people who had been lynched.[3] All three athletes wore OPHR (Olympic Project for Human Rights) badges, after Norman expressed sympathy with their ideals. Sociologist Harry Edwards, the founder of the OPHR, had urged black athletes to boycott the games; reportedly, the actions of Smith and Carlos on October 17, 1968, were inspired by Edwards' arguments.[4]

Carlos had forgotten his black gloves, but Norman suggested that they share Smith's pair, with Smith wearing the right glove and Carlos the left. When the Star Spangled Banner played, Smith and Carlos delivered the salute with heads bowed, a gesture which became front page news around the world. As they left the podium they were booed by the crowd.[5] Smith later said "If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight."

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Peace
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 10:19 PM

Recall too that the Black Panthers (?) used the clenched fist--something I understand originated in the Spanish Civil War--to make a statement without speaking. (1968 Olympics seems to be where it was 'popularized'.)

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 10:16 PM

I just thought of another Black cultural nationalist chant that I remember saying when I was a member of Committee For Unified Newark {CFUN}. This organization was largely under the leadership of Amiri Baraka [also known as poet, playwright, author LeRoi Jones}

This chant is from the late 1960s:

Caller- "What time is it?"
Group response- ["It's] "Nation Time"


While there were some cultural nationalist groups who were interested in setting up a Black nation within the USA or elsewhere, the Committee for Unified Newark was interested Black people recognizing and developing our nation where we were {are} by building economic institutions,achieving political power, and honoring and developing cultural traditions that help to reinforce group esteem and self-esteem. This was definitely not a hate whitey organization. As a matter of fact one of the group's sayings was that "You can be pro-Black without being anti-White."

I left Northern New Jersey in 1969, and haven't maintained contact with that group or people who had been members of that group. I'm not sure what has happened to that group, it's leaders, or it's former members. But I definitely credit that group for motivating me to learn more about African cultures. I thank them for that.

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Peace
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 10:15 PM

Azizi, do you see a tie-in with the start of Motown Records in 1960? (I know they never recorded some of the standards from the Civil Rights Movement, but the 'legitimization' of Black music/groups was important in terms of helping have 'colour' accepted as a part of mainstream life.)

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 10:09 PM

I know of white people from my hometown who lost their lives, victims of murder because they protested/marched down South. I do not care for the chosen term,"Black American civil rights movement." There were people of all races who worked very hard in the civil rights movement.

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 10:00 PM

BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS/BLACK NATIONALIST CHANTS

1970s

"Power To The People!"

from http://www.scribd.com/doc/92443/The-Black-Panthers

"In 1965, with the death of Malcolm X, emerged a Civil Rights group known as the Black Panther Party. The Black Panthers initially rejected the notion of peaceful protest like that of the SNCC, and instead advocated a more aggressive approach. The founders, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, were African American residents of Oakland, California. They both rooted the Panther's ideals in Socialism During it's founding, the group laid out what is known as the 10 Point Program. This program was a form of mission statement on the behalf of the Black Panthers. It called for decent housing, equal employment opportunities, decent education, free health care, an end to police brutality, fair trial by jury, and last but not least a general sense of justice….

Although the Panther's were originally rooted in the belief of black nationalism and only accepted blacks into their organization, they encouraged other oppressed nationalities to stand up for themselves by forming their own organizations. In time, the Panthers would change their attitude towards "black nationalism", deeming it racist, and would eventually form alliances with other oppressed peoples. By 1970, a shift had taken place in the Black Panthers. The previously exclusive group of black nationalists now strived for international harmony of all ethnic groups, for the most part at least….

In the beginning, the Black Panthers had adopted "Black Power"(coined by Stokely Carmichael) as their slogan. After the 1970's however, Newton and Seale worked to replace this slogan with "Power To The People", which they believed was more internationalist.

[My italics]

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 09:55 PM

BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS/BLACK NATIONALIST CHANTS

Oops!


Say It Loud {I'm Black And I'm Proud} should have been listed under the late 1960s

**

Also late 1960s


"Free The Panthers!

http://www.lib.neu.edu/archives/africanamericanactivism/blackpanther.htm


"In 1969, due to two end-of-decade events, the nation's spotlight was aimed on the New Haven, Connecticut, singeing a hole in the Black Panther Party headquarters.

On April 2, 1969, 21 Panther members were arrested and charged with conspiracy to blow up the New York Botanical Gardens and several department stores, and to assassinate police officers. The following month on May 21, the slain body of Alex Rackley, Black Panther Party member, was discovered in a swamp in Middlefield, Connecticut. FBI agents and New Haven Police officials wasted no time and raided the Panther's headquarters, searching for evidence. That same day, eight of the local chapter's members and the party's notorious national chairman, Bobby Seale, were arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy.

A group of Northeastern University students sympathized with the plight of the Black Panthers and wanted to demonstrate their support to the Boston community. In April 1970, the Black Panther Support Group formed on Northeastern's campus. The organization's mission was to educate students, increasing their understanding of the trials of Bobby Seale, the New York 21, and the Black Panther Party. One of their first actions was to name April 14th Bobby Seale Day. The group also strived to tie Northeastern to its surrounding community by initiating a campaign to provide funds and supplies for a medical center in Roxbury and by proposing to Northeastern's Student Council to start a hot breakfast program for children in Roxbury and Cambridge.

On the afternoon of April 7, the Black Panther Support Group's agenda became evident. Carrying "Free the Panthers" signs and chanting revolutionary slogans, 70 Northeastern students marched from Krentzman Quad through downtown Boston to Post Office Square, the city-wide protest's first meeting point. There, the students were joined by 1,930 other protesters who also wished to demonstrate support for the Black Panthers during the New Haven murder trials.

-snip-

**

"Black Power!

See this excerpt from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Power

"Black Power was a political movement among persons of African descent throughout the world, though it is often associated primarily with African Americans in the United States. Most prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the movement emphasized racial pride and the creation of black political and cultural institutions to nurture and promote black collective interests, advance black values, and secure black autonomy.

The first person to use the term "Black Power" in a political context was Robert F. Williams, an NAACP chapter president, writer, and publisher of the 1950s and 1960s.[citation needed] However the first usage of "Black Power" as a slogan is generally credited to Mukasa Dada (then known as Willie Ricks) and Stokely Carmichael, both organizers and spokespersons for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)."


**

Caller-"Ungawa" *
Response- "Black Powa"

* "Ungawa" or "Umgawa" or some such word was meant to be an imitation of what we {Black Americans} thought was how African language. However, I don't think it was meant to be insulting...I think we considered it a creative, light hearted exercise in rhyming. "Powa" rhymed with the "gah-wah" ending of the made up word "Ungawa".

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 09:40 PM

Hey, Peace!

Are you reading my mind? :o)

I really want to talk about the "No Justice No Peace" slogan which appears to have been used a lot on Jena 6 protest signage. But I believe that that slogan dates from the early 1990s and so...

But yes, it seems to me that it would make sense to go chronologically-earliest to latest.

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 09:34 PM

In discussing the slogans that are associated with Black American demonstrators, I'd like to start back in the mid 1960s and then go forward to 2007. This list is absolutely not meant to be meant to be definitive. I'm writing it from my memories and from the unscientific research I'be done on the internet and from books I have looked through.

BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS/BLACK NATIONALIST CHANTS

Mid 1960s

"Freedom Now!"

**

Caller- "What do we want?"
Group Response- "Freedom!"
Caller- "When do we want it?"
Group Response- "Now!"

**

Caller-"Say it loud!"
Group Response- "I'm Black And I'm Proud"

excerpts from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Say_It_Loud_-_I'm_Black_and_I'm_Proud


"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" is a 1968 recording by James Brown. It is notable both as one of Brown's signature songs and as one of the most popular "black power" anthems of the 1960s. The song was released as a two-part single which held the number-one spot on the R&B singles chart for six weeks, and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Both parts of the single were later included on a 1969 album of the same name…

Lyrics
In the song, Brown addresses the prejudice towards blacks in America, and the need for black empowerment. He proclaims that "we done made us a chance to do for ourself/we're tired of beating our head against the wall/workin' for someone else". The song's call-and-response chorus is performed by a group of young children, who respond to Brown's command of "Say it loud" with "I'm black and I'm proud!" Ironically, as the song was recorded in a Los Angeles area suburb, most of the children that Brown was able to recruit for the recording session were actually white and Asian children, with only a few black children included in the ensemble.[1]

The lyrics "We've been 'buked and we've been scorned/We've been treated bad, talked about as sure as you're born" in the first verse of the song paraphrase the spiritual "I've Been 'Buked".

Several other Brown singles from the same era as "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud", most notably "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)", explored similar themes of black empowerment and self-reliance.

The song's opening exhortation, "With your bad self", is an example of linguistic reappropriation, and added a new entry to Brown's long list of sobriquets: "His Bad Self.",,,

"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" was an immediate and massive hit for Brown. It became a highlight of his concerts, where audiences would shout out the "I'm black and I'm proud" response section. However, within a year of the release of the studio recording the song disappeared almost completely from his concert repertoire, as Brown was concerned with how its message was being interpreted.

Live recordings of "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" are included on the albums Motherlode (1988) and Say It Live & Loud: Live in Dallas, 1968 (1998)."

Here is a YouTube video of that song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VRSAVDlpDI

****

There are 105 viewer comments to date for the James Brown's "Say It Loud I'm black and I'm proud" video clip which was added to YouTube on January 12, 2007 by crabby68. Some of those comments are contentious, and some of them are crude, and sexually explicit. But others praise the singer, discuss the context in which he composed and performed this song, and thank James Brown for his positive influence on American music as well as his positive influence on the self-esteem of countless Black people.

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Peace
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 09:30 PM

Would it make sense to go chronologically? Earliest to latest?

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 09:05 PM

Here are two Mudcat threads on Civil Rights songs that I have found through the Mudcat search engine:

thread.cfm?threadid=26673#322287
Lyr Req: American Freedom Songs

and

thread.cfm?threadid=26401#325318
Need Help With 60's Protest Songs

**

I had considered posting my comments about the protest slogans to one of these threads, but I decided that the subject that I was interested in exploring and {hopefully} other folks discussing didn't really completely fit either of these topics.

That said, I hope that there will be a listing provided for this thread of related Mudcat threads.

Thanks for that suggestion, Susan.

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 08:57 PM

I was not active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, though I was a member of my hometown's {Atlantic City, New Jersey} junior {high school} NAACP organization. NAACP=National Association For The Advancement of Colored People.

As a member of that organization, I learned some "freedom songs" and participated in several what I now call "mini-marches". During these marches, members of our group walked in a processional on sidewalks in a "Black" section of that town singing songs like "Aint Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round" and "Oh, Freedom". I also have memories of standing in a circle at community events and joining hands with the person on either side, and swaying back & forth while singing
"We Shall Overcome." In addition, I have a vague memory of going to a NAACP convention in Newark, New Jersey in 1961 or 1962 and participating in a march in that city in which I joined other teens and adults chanting something or the other-I can't remember what.

The only real civil rights march that I was a part of was the 1963 March on Washington. However, I can't really remember what slogans I chanted or which songs I sang along with the thousands of other people who were there. And I certainly didn't see or hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. give his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. What I remember most about the March On Washington was that there were sooo many people there and that the event seemed more festive than anything else, and that a friend of mine and I got lost along trying to find a bathroom. Luckily-I'm not sure how-except by divine intervention-we found our way back to our group.

I'm aware that there are some Mudcat members who were active in the Black American civil rights movement. I'd love it if you would post your memories of the slogans and songs that were used during those times.

Subject: RE: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 08:53 PM

Note to site admins:

Given that there is a lengthy discussion on Civil Rights songs in another thread, I hope that thread will be linked with (or combined with) this one.

~S~

Subject: African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Sep 07 - 08:34 PM

The purpose of this thread is to explore the continuity & changes in protest slogans and songs that are associated with the Black American civil rights movement from the mid 1960s to date.

As part of my contribution to this thread, I plan to include information from online articles, and online photos, photo captions, and videos about the Jena 6 case and other specific cases/events.

However, I am not starting this thread to discuss the facts, allegations, and issues to the Jena Six case or those other cases.

For those interested in discussing the Jena 6 case, here's a link to a Mudcat thread:

BS: The Jena 6 Controversy
thread.cfm?threadid=104934&messages=109

**

For those interested in information about Jena 6, there are also numerous online articles, including these two:

Frequently Asked Questions About The Jena Six
{The Town Talk Alexandria-Pineville, Louisiana}
http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/70915030

**
Wikipedia-Jena Six
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six

-snip-

I'll be providing links to articles about the Jena Six case only as citations for those articles, photos, etc that I will be sharing
that address the question of continuity & change in demonstrators' chanting and other practices.

It's my hope that other persons will post to this thread and that those posts will focus on the how protest chants & songs and other customs that may have changed or may have stayed the same.   

Thanks in advance for your posts to this thread!