Process
For my historical project, I chose to extend my knowledge on the correlation between music and resistance. My historical question was "Did music play a significant role in helping the African American community resist oppression?" I decided to research this question because I realized that musical resistance has played an essential role in the progress of civil rights and equality within the United States. Since I have a deep interest in the realm of music, I decide to tackle this topic because it would provide me with the motivation and inspiration to create a higher quality piece of literature. During the process, my reasons and evidence in support of my thesis changed frequently, but my essential question was maintained throughout the duration of my essay completion.
One of the challenges that I came across when finding evidence was searching for reliable articles that had minimal bias. Most information on musical resistance was in support of the claim and usually rooted from the artists and producers themselves and neutral sources were scarce. When finding information, I foraged for interviews, primary sources, and direct songs that supported my main idea. Some examples of primary sources are the songs "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye and "Changes" by 2Pac. I also used an interview with Public Enemy and other articles that informed the audience on musical resistance.
One of the challenges that I came across when finding evidence was searching for reliable articles that had minimal bias. Most information on musical resistance was in support of the claim and usually rooted from the artists and producers themselves and neutral sources were scarce. When finding information, I foraged for interviews, primary sources, and direct songs that supported my main idea. Some examples of primary sources are the songs "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye and "Changes" by 2Pac. I also used an interview with Public Enemy and other articles that informed the audience on musical resistance.
Context
Throughout my research essay I covered how the African American community used music to move society and provide themselves with a voice. Since music can be related too and is such a relevant form of art, songs were able to move the lives of millions and create a strong resisting backbone against the oppression being faced. Underdeveloped communities and certain ethnic/racial groups were being discriminated, manipulated, and concealed from society, so music was a main method towards shining a spotlight on the issue.
Artists such as 2Pac, Public Enemy, and Kendrick Lamar have resorted to using their platforms to spread the movement. Black Lives Matter protests use songs as resisting anthems to fight against injustice. The black community has been shadowed and ridiculed for hundreds of years, and hip-hop is vocalizing this concern. Beginning in the mid to late 1900s, hip-hop was developed by Black Americans in New York. Artists would deejay, emcee, dance, and perform graffiti to inspire others to join the movement at hand, the movement that fought for freedom.
Thesis Statement: Music has played an essential role in helping the black community resist oppression in the United States. This is evident by looking at the hip-hop artists who have expressed these injustices publicly, the songs and anthems used as a form of protest, and the strong community built through the genre. Music has provided African Americans with inclusion and diversification in today's society, awarding them with a podium to vocalize against discrimination.
I connected my thesis to my body paragraphs by correlating each point to its own personal section. First, I dove into hip-hop artists using music as a way to protest injustice and move groups of people. My second body paragraph analyzed the relation between music and expression and how it created an identity for countless lives. Lastly, I detailed the community built through hip-hop and the enriched culture that music has created in the United States.