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A change is gonna come: a critical analysis of the benefits of musical activism in the civil rights movement
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Neal, Erin. A change is gonna come: a critical analysis of the benefits of musical activism in the civil rights movement. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-ycpe-gc29

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TitleA change is gonna come: a critical analysis of the benefits of musical activism in the civil rights movement
NameNeal, Erin (author); Charme, Stuart (chair); Rutgers University; Camden Graduate School
Date Created2021
Other Date2021-01 (degree)
SubjectLiberal Studies
Extent1 online resource (iii, 41 pages)
DescriptionThe goal of this Capstone project is to understand what made protest music useful for political activists of the Civil Rights Movement. I will answer this question by analyzing music’s effect on activists through an examination of the songs associated with the movement, regarding lyrical content as well as its musical components. By examining the lyrical content, I will be evaluating how the lyrics of protest songs were useful for the activists, as well as address criticisms of the concrete impact of song lyrics of popular songs. Furthermore, examining musical components such as genre will assist in determining if familiarity in regards to the genre were significant.

Ultimately, I found that music was psychologically valuable to political activists because music became an outlet for emotions they held within, instilled within listeners new emotions, became a beacon for psychological restoration and encouragement, and motivated listeners to carry out their activism. Furthermore, from a political perspective, the lyrics brought attention to the current socio-political problems and challenged social standards, furthered activists’ political agendas, persuaded the audience to take action, and emphasized blame on political figures by demonstrating that socio-political problems citizens grappled with were due to governmental actions as well as their inactions.

First, I will present what makes protest music valuable and how activists appreciated its utility, this is based on the research and evaluations of several scholars’ assessment of protest music. I will then address the considered limitations of protest songs based on analysis conducted by several scholars. I will then provide succinct insight into what psychologically and politically were the issues the Civil Rights activists grappled with and how these paralleled with music becoming a beneficial tool of utilization. Finally, I will offer an assessment of the content of the songs selected for this capstone in how those songs carried valuable psychological and political dimensions that were successfully utilized by activists, for the benefit of the activists in this movement.
NoteM.A.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses, ETD graduate
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-ycpe-gc29
LanguageEnglish
CollectionCamden Graduate School Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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