Strange Fruit, Extraordinary People.
A retrospective on modern racism signposted through four songs that may yet change the world.
Our Shared Beginning
The earliest hominids evolved from apes about five million years ago, but modern humans (Homo sapien sapiens) didn't emerge until about 150,000 to 200,000 years ago in eastern Africa. Our species first left Africa only around 70,000 years ago and quickly spread across the entire world. All of us are descended from these African ancestors.
Homo sapiens are remarkably alike. In fact, we have less genetic diversity than many species of our closest living relatives - chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans – even though each of these are considered endangered. The evolutionary future of human kind is predicated on greater biodiversity. New gene mutations lead to new versions of proteins that help organisms adapt to changes in their environment and are an essential element of human evolution, reproduction, and survival. In other words, mixed heritage is good for human kind.
(/* Now, explain the argument for hate and discrimination on the grounds of difference in origin, appearance, ... - Ed. */)
To misquote Henry Ford: if human kind is to prosper, acknowledging our common beginning and shared genetics is a start; embracing our marvellous nomadic journey is progress; and learning from the lessons of our recent history is essential for success.
Strange Fruit
Jewish-American writer, teacher and songwriter Abel Meeropol set his poem Bitter Fruit to music in the hope of widening the lens of public scutiny onto the horrific brutality and violence of lynching under Jim Crow rule in the southern US states.
Southern trees bear strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Billie Holliday was pursuaded to record Strange Fruit in 1939. Her vocal mastery projected the lyrics' harrowing imagery with a force that shattered even the most complacent and obstinate of audiences. The cost and risk to Holliday was immense. Fearing public retaliation in the South against its label and (co-owned) radio network CBS, Columbia Executives severed their six-year association (albeit temporarily) with Holliday and refused to produce the record. Undeterred, Holliday reached out to Commodore Records, which agreed to produce and distribute under its label.
Columbia justifed their decision to court political and consumer favour on economic grounds --- ironically, the record would ultimately achieve double platinum sales. Few in business would have criticised Columbia's decision. After all, it takes courageous, even reckless, leadership to take an ethical swim against the unrelenting waves of systemic racism... the kind (of courage) exhibited by Billie Holliday: a black female solo artist persecuted for her race and even her unique voice, cast off by her record label, performing the song every night at the Cafe Society in NY's Greenwich Village to a predominantly white audience, knowing it jeopardised her career, welfare and even liberty.
The song's controversy stoked the flames of the American Civil Rights Movement. Strange Fruit's message endures today as a reminder of the pain and suffering and the ongoing fight against racism, discrimination, and social inequality.
Blowin' In The Wind
Through the most powerful medium of the age, Holliday's courage inspired future generations of Artists - most notably Bob Dylan (Blowin' in the Wind), Sam Cooke (A change is gonna come) and Gil Scott-Heron (The revolution will not be televised) - to vocalise the plight of victims of racial hatred and discrimination. Their spellbinding music has been a constant backbeat for three successive generations - sadly the muse and meaning of these iconic works have remained ever-present too.
Bob Dylan released Blowin' In The Wind in 1962, later acknowledging that its genesis had been the traditional folk song "No Auction Block/We Shall Overcome" which originated in Canada and was sung by former slaves who fled there after Britain abolished slavery in 1833.
How many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free? How many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn't see?
Although Dylan denied writing it as a protest song, Blowing In The Wind was soon established as a liturgy staple of the civil rights and war protest rallies of the time. Peter, Paul & Mary performed the number on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial a few hours before Martin Luther King delivered his `I have a dream' speech (their cover became the fastest selling title in Time Warner's history) and it was also sung along the march from Selma to Montgomery.
A Change is Gonna Come
In 1963, Sam Cooke was already an established chart-topper. Cooke was chief amongst a number of black artists to be moved that a white performer should have been the first to pen a civil rights song and would routinely perform his own rendition of Dylan's folk ballad in his set list in the early 60s. A year after the release of Blowin in the wind, Cooke would carry the mantle with the poignant A Change is Gonna Come. Regarded by many as Cooke's greatest creation (amongst a glittering musical trove), it has been associated with the fight for black rights and social justice ever since.
There have been times that I thought I couldn't last for long. But now I think I'm able to carry on. It's been a long, a long time coming. But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will.
Revolution Isn't a Spectator Sport
As the final sands of the 60s tumbled, Gil Scott-Heron was making a name for himself as a gifted scholar, writer, social poet, rap progenitor and musician having overcome many personal tragedies and socio-economic barriers along the way. His first published novel, The Vulture, was accomplished during a gap year from Lincoln University in Pennsylvannia. Around the same time he penned a poetic rallying cry that was to be immortalised in the sonic anthem The Revolution will not be televised (1971).
You will not be able to stay home, brother You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out because The revolution will not be televised
Five decades on the song's contemporary cultural references have clearly dated yet its message is as relevant today as it was then: passive advocacy will not bring about the revolution - nothing less than a determined change in mindset and action will do. In contrast to the scientific and technological changes in the past fifty years, progress to eradicate inequality and discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, culture, or religion has shifted at a slothful pace.
In an interview in 1990, Scott-Heron explained "The first change that takes place is in your mind. You have to change your mind before you change the way you live and the way you move. The thing that's going to change people is something that nobody will ever be able to capture on film".
Time to Change the Record
Holliday took a stand and opened the eyes of white America to its civil injustices. Dylan lyricised US tinderbox politics in the early 60s, amplifying the dischord of his generation, priming the canvas for activists to paint a picture for the onlooking world. Cooke was one of those stirred by Dylan's poetic verse to craft his own psalm-like retrospective, lamenting the past and present, seeding hope for change and redemption. But it was the lesser heralded of the quartet, Scott-Heron, who jostled people to consider the so what? and now what? questions. Are we any closer to answering these questions? Is it finally time to open our ears to the music of the future? Recent events would suggest not.
The headline-grabbing, needless and inhumane killing of George Floyd has stirred the World's conscience once more. The disproportionately higher risks of Covid-19 for people in BAME groups has also raised pointed questions of Governments and Society at large. The publicity surrounding these events has been extraordinary - but the events themselves are common place.
People from all backgrounds have unified in demonstrations for change - under the Black Lives Matter slogan. Thousands around the world have attended regional BLM events and experienced the magnetic qualities of humanity, polarised with different beliefs and worldviews, to attract and repel in equal measure. The endearment of human bonding through impassioned prayer and orchestrated responses of a multi-generational audience - uplifitng. Wide-eyed young adults carrying personalised placards, intolerant of injustice, bewildered by the residual societal problems forged in a bygone era and bequeathed to their generation to resolve - motivating. Parents yearning for a better future for their children, toddlers raised on shoulders, primary schoolers in-hand, gritty education on the streets - heartening. And older socially-conscious objectors, nostalgically reflective and wearied by perennial experiences, eeking out some last optimism for a better outcome this time round. Reflecting on issues that have existed for hundreds of years - dispiriting.
Causes for Optimism
Asked to choose between optimism and pessimism, I opt for realism - an answer that reveals some truth of my character. Yet, on the prospects for human equality, I have genuine cause for optimism.
Digital technology is a powerful tool
BLM protagonists have crimped a finger-hold in the steep ascent towards equality and an end to discrimination. Their grip securer for finding the impressions carved by their predecessors decades before. In contrast to the extreme methods and suffering of those times, the tactics of today's activists feel sedate - but are no less impactful. More than ever before, the psychological battles for hearts and minds will be fought in short intervals across digital communication highways connecting information, influencers and people. This time, information isn't the sole purvey of media conglomerates - rich media content can be created and shared by just about anyone on social media platforms in (near) real time. The plight of George Floyd was brought to the world's attention by a teenage girl who captured the atrocity on her mobile phone and instantly shared within her social network. The disturbing video and audio content was pushed first through social media and content sharing platforms before the media corporations amplified and broadcasted the news through their networked subscribers around the world.
Social politics is awakening
Human rights has quickly become a central debating point in the US Presidential Elections in November (2020). President Trump has seen his approval ratings flounder since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the prospect of a second term, that seemed a near certainty in January, is rapidly diminishing as the pendulum of public opinion swings firmly to the Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
The public sector response to Covid-19 in the UK, and around the world, has raised awareness of the great (often unheralded) work of public service organisations, the professionalism and dedication of their staff, and the criticality of their work to society at large. Citizens of industrialised countries are taking stock of their lives, reassessing their needs and priorities, with an acuter sense of societal value.
The Human Equality Index is rising
The seminal Universal Declaration of Human Rights was enshrined by the United Nations in December 1948. It consists of thirty articles that establish the equal dignity and worth of every person. These fundamental principles were considered radical at the time of their inception, and remain as relevant now as they were then - yet, for too many people in our global community, elusive in practice.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Global human equality is a long-term project - and it has a long way to go. But it would be remiss not to acknowledge the progress made through the relentless efforts of humanitarian organisations, officials and everyday people who have improved the plight and lives of so many individuals. The human rights movement has made great strides in the past seven decades, but we must recognise abuses still occur with saddening regularity and many countries still fail to accept the Declaration.
Scientific research is opening up new solutions
Spend a few moments to contemplate human endeavour and scientific and technological achievements of the past fifty years. It’s hard not to marvel at the scale of progress and upward trend in prospersity of the world's nations. During this period, people have shown themselves capable of adapting to seismic changes in all aspects of everyday life. Contrast the progress of human rights over the same period: something seemingly as simple as recognising and embracing our differences (and overwhelming similarities) is a major obstacle for a significant minority of people. The dominance of their primitive mind is hindering the higher order brain's function to see the bigger picture - in short, they have a mental block.
When we want to change minds at scale, we tend to look to education and government interventions. The rationale being if people aren’t born racists, then it must be cultivated through educational frameworks, family and society, communities and culture. Whilst education and access to unbiased information are clearly important, they aren't a silver bullet.
Research in the fields of sociobiology and neuroscience continues to explore the origins of racism (Roots of Racism by Elizabeth Culotta, The Neuroscience of Race by Jennifer Kubota et al). This work poses interesting questions: What if racism is an expression of human evolutionary capacity to survive in groups by forming alliances? What if racism, as a form of xenophobia, were to be neurologically treated as one might the underlying causes of drug abuse or depression?
Learning to Hear the Music of Tomorrow
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
This is a famous quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead. It speaks of the power of individuals to initiate change and mobilise support through their actions. It also means that the power of real change is within each and every one of us (the power of one).
To use an example closer to my field of expertise, organisational change very often starts from the bottom. I have worked in organisations employing over 200,000 people - if a group of that size were to rely upon great ideas and change initiatives emanating from the top, it would likely face extinction within a single five-year strategic planning cycle.
In any group - large or otherwise - change starts small usually ignited by disruptors, mavericks, activists and spreads through increasing networks of influencers and followers. This doesn't often happen by chance - change needs to be incubated to take hold and a platform to support and sustain its growth. Tackling social inequality is no different. Social change campaigns spawned from a few energised evangelists won't succeed without a network of supporters and resources to drive the change through.
The revolution won't be televised, it won't be streamed either, it will only happen through the will and actions of individuals like you and me.