Class Year
2014
Document Type
Student Research Paper
Date of Creation
Spring 2014
Department 1
Globalization Studies
Abstract
Black South Africans and African Americans not only share similar identities, but also share similar historical struggles. Apartheid and the Civil Rights Movement were two movements on two separate continents in which black South Africans and African Americans resisted against deep injustice and defied oppression. This paper sets out to demonstrate the key role that music played, through factors of globalization, in influencing mass resistance and raising global awareness. As an elemental form of creative expression, music enables many of the vital tools needed to overcome hatred and violence. Jazz and Freedom songs were two of the most influential genres, and each was integral especially to building solidarity, expressing struggles, and protesting injustice. Local and international musicians, through the use of media, also played a vital role, as they helped to raise awareness and educate the public about the inequalities faced by black South Africans and African Americans. Through the development of each aspect introduced above, it is clear that music was fundamental in the dismantling of Apartheid in South Africa and Jim Crow laws in the United States.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Power, Katherine D., "Musical Influence on Apartheid and the Civil Rights Movement" (2014). Student Publications. 229.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/229
Included in
African American Studies Commons, African History Commons, African Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Ethnomusicology Commons, Peace and Conflict Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, United States History Commons
Comments
Globalization Studies Thesis