Redefining Activism

Over the past century, we as a society have formed a very distinct definition of what constitutes an “American Hero.” These are men and women who have made profound sacrifices for fellow countrymen, selflessly risking their reputation, and sometimes their lives, in the pursuit to do what is right and just. For this reason, names like Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin and Philip Randolph stand out as notable American heroes within the civil rights movement for they made the difficult decisions; they took a stand against an oppressive system of racial inequality despite knowing that their choices could come with bold consequences. Without question, all three men played integral parts in fights against segregation and the push for African-American rights, but unfortunately their achievements tend to overshadow some of the other individuals who sacrificed in other ways, people like the renowned black artist, Sam Cooke. Cooke, known by many as the King of Soul, blew up the Billboard music charts, filling radios with light-hearted melodies that made the singer a musical icon. Although many credit him with helping to bridge the cultural divide between white and blacks, others fail to recognize just how risky some of Cooke’s songs actually were, for when you take a closer look at the single A Change Is Gonna Come one will see that Cooke was more than a musician, he was a voice of change.     

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of that song, seeing that it was released on March 1, 1964, but to this day the song’s melody is just as sweet as it was when Cooke laid down the first tracks. But, as biographer Peter Guralnick noted in an interview with NPR’s Arun Rath, A Change Is Gonna Come marked a real stepping stone in Cooke’s career:   “‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ was a real departure for him in the sense that it was undoubtedly the first time that he addressed social problems in a direct and explicit way.” As Guralnick notes, this step fell right in line with Cooke’s moral attitude. Despite being one of America’s most popular pop singers with both white and black audiences, Cooke still found himself turned away from hotels and establishments that were for whites only. Incidents like these are what inspired Cooke to write A Change Is Gonna Come and to perform other pro-civil rights songs like Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind. Risking the loss of his white listeners who didn’t want to be reminded of what was seen as America’s Negro problem, Cooke released the song with the Album “Ain’t That Good News.” Commenting on Cooke’s life, Rath notes, “the last thing Sam Cooke wanted was to alienate his [white] audience. But …he could not ignore moral outrage right in front of him.” When looking at the people responsible for the civil rights in America we cannot ignore people like Cooke, artists who cared more about their race than their fame.

 

To listen to the story form NPR and Cooke’s music visit:

http://www.npr.org/2014/02/01/268995033/sam-cooke-and-the-song-that-almost-scared-him