Black Nationalism and the Revolution in Music

The black population has fought hard to get where they are in today’s society in terms of their courage, beliefs and faith to accomplish what they have done in the fields of politics and music. They have been affective in the field of politics by having leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther king Jr., Malcolm x and Nelson Mandela lead them to a civil right society where everyone was treated equally. And they have also been part of the revolution of music in terms of how many categories they have invented and taken over. In the field of politics, their leaders led their community in different ways that at the end; their work paid off. They won each and every battle they had to fight. But the most important battle they had to face was to influence their people to do right things and help them achieve goals in life. They made them believe in themselves in every way, that they could do whatever they were capable of doing.

These leaders have inspired blacks in many ways such as being positive, having faith in what they believed in, being strong, fight for their families and for what was right. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: he inspired blacks because he was one of the fewest civil rights leaders in the history to shape America. The fact that he helped change the terrible situations that the black community and other races were going through, and to win equal treatment of citizens of all races, made him a true hero and role model for his community (the black community). On the other side, we have a man called Malcolm X. Similar King, he was also a leader who fought for justice and equality in America for all the races. Although he fought differently from Martin, X’s legacy influenced blacks and coloured people to believe in their dreams. And then we have a man called Nelson Mandela. He is the hero in the African history who fought hard for his country to be where it is today. He believed that for a community to be successful, everyone had to work together as one. And although, at that time, whites were controlling the country (South Africa), he didn’t stop his mission there. No, he went to the extreme, to see his people prosper. He stayed in prison for 27 years, just to see his nation free and every race equal in his country. And to top it all, he finally ruled his beloved country as the President. And by becoming the President, he achieved what no black people would ever dream of. And that influenced the black nation throughout the world.

The involvement of blacks in revolution of music is huge in terms of how many categories they have taken over. Music has always been one of the many passions of the Black community. As in Africa, black slaves used to sing while working to get a relief about their pains and suffering. It has been their refuge whenever they had problems. They have carried the same habit with them when they moved in Europe and in America. From there, blacks have made their ways to studios, to reviews and to stages around the world. They have created a lot of different categories in music such as: gospel then later into Blues. In the 40’s, they came up with a mix of Rhythms and Blues. And finally, they came up with the most unusual kind of music ever heard around the world, Rap. Making their ways to the top, it wasn’t easy for them but they made it anyway. They had to face racism (whites disagreeing with their kinds of music), arresting black artists all the time with false accusations, just to turn them down associating their music with violence in America and other stuff. Despite all those situations, the black community kept their heads up despite there was no place for their kind of music. They believed in their dreams and had faith in what they were doing. Just like anyone else, they did whatever they had to do to keep their dreams alive. After all these achievements in the industry, blacks have made an identify for themselves around the world and have pushed many others to do the same thing as them, which is to follow their dreams and not let anyone take that away from them.

In 1939, there was a man named Hal Jackson. Hal was the first African American to ever be inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall Fame. He was the first coloured Radio Announcer in Network Radio. It was the beginning of the first in a series of racial breakthroughs in America that would impact growth and development of minorities in communications in the 20th century. Among his achievements, he was also the first African American host of a Jazz show on the ABC Network. One of the first African artists to ever perform on National radio was B.B King. In the 40’s, B.B was the first black artist to have two number ones in the billboard charts. And from there, many African musicians made their ways in the industry such as Charley Pride. He’s one of music's premiere artists; Pride is country's first African-American star. For the past quarter century, Pride has been one of the Top 15 best-selling artists of all time. His body of work includes a legacy of 36 No.1 hit singles, over 25 million albums sold worldwide, 31 gold and 4 platinum albums -- including one quadruple-platinum. Charlie Pride was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. Again, it shows you were the black nation has come form to be here after great achievements.

The black population has fought hard to get where they are in today’s society in terms of their courage, beliefs and faith to accomplish what they have done in the fields of politics and music. Their leaders have influenced them in many ways have influenced this nation. Through their leaders, they have had the courage to stand up for their rights and beliefs. And through all the speeches and acts that they did, it has given the black nation courage to be people in a society and do things the right way.