Sam
Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” protests the ongoing racism across the United
States during the 1960’s and campaigns for an egalitarian society for the
future. This period is long known for its Civil Rights Movement, one geared to overcoming
white supremacy and racial segregation. The Jim Crow laws of this time urged
that blacks were inferior to whites in all aspects of life; morally, socially,
and economically. Therefore, blacks were subject to unfair, inexcusable behavior
that included lack of career opportunities, exclusion from stores, restaurants,
and other “public” entities, as well as constant, demeaning verbal and physical
abuse. In hopes of bringing attention to these harsh living standards, blacks engaged
in nonviolent marches, student sit-ins, and boycotts, some traveling hundreds
of miles to participate. As the song highlights, though long and strenuous, it
was a matter of time before legislation was passed to condemn the heinous acts
towards blacks. Change is inevitable.
This is a great song that really invokes emotion into the listener. It conveys the struggle that blacks went through in this era, and how desperately they were awaiting change. I like how you described how poorly they were treated so the readers are able to envision the segregation as they are listening to the song.
ReplyDeleteGreat start! Since you brought in these great secondary texts, I wonder if you could point to some concrete examples of the discrimination that backgrounds the time?
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good take on encompassing the rhetorical situation! This song and your explanation really sheds light on what was happening during the time period and the efforts that were made by the people. Within a single paragraph you were really able to capture the most important concepts of the era.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great song and rhetorical situation I can't wait to see where you go with this in later blog posts
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