Essay Example on Nina Simone's Impact on the Civil Rights Movement

Thesis: Overall, this essay will discuss Nina Simone's involvement during the Civil Rights Movement and how she was actively involved under the risks of ruining her career. This essay will explore her contributions by analyzing the political message contained in her songs, her actual political actions, and empowerment for women and children.

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Introduction

In 2018, sampling from Nina Simone's 'Four Women,' Jay-Z's track "The Story of O.J" was nominated for a Grammy. Other rappers who have been inspired by Nina Simone's music, including Kanye and Lil Wayne were also incorporating her pieces into theirs (Browne 2018). They were utilizing her music to deliver the message of anti-racial discrimination. Even though Simone has passed away for over a decade, her works were influencing the musicians and movie producers nowadays. Back in the 1950s, when she was a little famous, the racial tension inside the U.S. was reaching its peak. African Americans were paying the price of lives to ask for their equal rights. People were boycotting and marching in order to achieve their goals. This movement was known to be the Civil Rights Movement. At that period of time, Black artists who were influential during that time were showing their effort in their own way. Among which, Nina Simone was one of the most active musicians. Being political is a double-edged sword to an artist. One could gain enormous support and extreme hatred at the same time. Knowing that Simone has never hesitated to sing or speak out loud during sit-ins or boycotts. Instead, she believed that simply hiding in the backstage and singing was not enough to show her support. What was admirable about Simone was not simply her musical achievement, but her dedication and determination in striving for an equal nation. Overall, this essay will discuss Nina Simone's involvement during the Civil Rights Movement and how she was actively involved under the risks of ruining her career. This essay will explore her contributions by analyzing the political message contained in her songs, especially 'Mississippi Goddam,' her actual political actions, and empowerment for women and children.

Political Message

The song begins with a lamenting tone and that of anger. Simone tells the audience that Alabama and Tennessee have worn her out. She further states that discrimination in Mississippi is well known to everyone. Simone also describes the bias in the air by relating to high pressure in the air. AS she says, she can't stand the pressure anymore. She poses a question to the audience, asking if they can see the inequalities. In her lamentation, Simone asks for prayer. She tells of a hound dog on her trail, school children in jail, and a black cat crossing her path as a sign of bad luck. Simone states that she lives each day like it is her last. As the song ends, she says the frustrations are too much that she foregoes prayer. Declaring that America is no longer her home and asking for God's mercy, she is on the verge of surrender. Therefore, the political message relayed in the lyrics is the call for change by putting an end to racial bias.

Political Action

Simone did not just sing backstage and wait for the results. She was actively involved in boycotts initiated by members of the Civil Rights Movement. She joined the movement and used her career success and fame to advertise the campaign. Other artists like James Brown were forced into the change, unlike Simone, who willingly attended the campaigns and rallies. She did not focus on how her actions would make her audience react. Most of Nina's audience was white. For instance, her second stage performance of Mississippi Goddamn left mixed feelings on her audience, yet this did not stop her (Simone, 1964). Simone's lamentation tone arises from the first time her parents were removed from the front seats in a church to create a way for the white parents when she was twelve. Her performance on Goddamn Mississippi created a way to speak of the racial discrimination she had harbored for a long time, even though some radio stations banned it. The message was in response to the murder of Medgar Evans and the bombing that had occurred at Birmingham Church. Unlike other revolutionists who used peaceful campaigns like Martin Luther King Jr., Simone's approach was violent. She even recorded a song on the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., among other revolution songs.

Addressing African American women & children

Simone addresses the rights of black women as minorities in her song "Four Women." In the song, the first woman is black with long arms, wooly hair, and a healthy back. She is presented as one that has been inflicted with pain over and over again due to her skin color, and her name is Aunt Sarah (Simone, 1966). The second woman has yellow skin and long hair revealing that she is born of two races, a rich white father and a black mother. As Simone portrays Safronia, she was born after rape by a white father, one of the agonies black women go through.

The third woman is referred to as Sweet Thing, with tanned skin, beautiful hair, and sweet lips and inviting hips, she is worthless. She is available for sale to anyone that has money. The last woman is Peaches, who has brown skin and strict manners. Her life has been rough since her black parents were slaves. The four women represent the agonies of black women, which include harsh labor, beatings, rape, and slavery. A black woman has no worth as Simone voices out.

Another of Simone's song addressed in this paper is, "To Be Young, Black, and Gifted." She portrays a young black and gifted girl or boy as naive to the truths of American society. A gifted black child lives an active life of lies, not knowing what the future holds. As she states, "...There are times when I look back, and I am haunted by my youth" (Dorm & Ayers, 2016). Yet again, the joy of being a young, black, and gifted American comes with the realization that this is where the racial discrimination starts hence the need to address it from the onset. Nina Simone's incident when she was 12 might have inspired the lyrics of this song. She is reminded of a time when she was to perform at a church concert, yet her parents were moved backstage to pave the way for a white parent.

Conclusion

Conclusively, Nina Simone is among the few spontaneous artists of her time who were bold enough to address the racial challenges of the African American people. Simone's life was rough, and her career was interfered with due to her black origin. She had to pave in the industry by adopting a white actress's name, Nina Simone. Her struggles did not stop her from voicing out her worries. Releasing Mississippi was a bold step that saw several albums of the song banned from radio stations. However, the incident only steered her to releasing more revolution songs such as "Four Women" and "To Be Young, black, and gifted."

References

Dohrn, B., & Ayers, W. (2016). Young, gifted, and Black: Black lives matter. Contemporary youth activism. Advancing social justice in the United States, 79-92.

Simone, N. (1966). Four women. Wild is the Wind, 600-207. https://www.arenastage.org/globalassets/tickets/201718-season/nina-simone/fy18-05-nina-simone-program-book-web.pdf

Simone, N. (1964). Mississippi goddam. Polygram.