Jazz as a Means of Protest

This article will explore three jazz pieces that explore social issues by analyzing the lyrics, social context, and musicality.

“Mississippi Goddam” is an upbeat piece written by Nina Simone in response to two prominent acts of violence against Black people: the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham Alabama, which killed four little black girls, and the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers in Mississippi. First performed live in Carnegie Hall, Simone’s lyrics paint an increasingly harrowing picture. Contrasting the upbeat nature of the song, the phrases “too slow” and “go slow” are repeated as Simone sings about picking cotton, school boycotts, waiting on desegregation and how white people and systems of power in America have continually promised changed, but told Black people to just go slow and be patient. The refrain highlights Simone’s feelings on this as she lists all the issues that are moving “too slow” such as desegregation, mass participation, and reunification.

“Strange Fruit” is a devastating piece that speaks to the systemic racism in America and the lynching of Black men. Though it was actually written by Lewis Allan, a Russian Jewish immigrant, Holiday received many requests to perform it and it soon became something she regularly closed with. Her record label, Columbia, refused to allow her to record such a political song but she moved onto to record with a much smaller, underground label. The cutting edge of the trumpet is the opening of the song and immediately sets the mood of the song. Holiday paints a disturbing comparison of rotting fruit hanging from trees with lynched Black bodies hanging from trees, singing “Southern trees bear a 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” Her performance ends on a note filled with emotion signifying the weight of the lyrics and their meaning to Holiday. 

A jazz piece that is reminiscent of the blues with its raw, emotional depth and storytelling, “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue” begins with piano before the rest of the band, including clarinet, trumpet, drums, and trombone join in. Armstrong doesn’t begin singing until nearly 3 minutes into the piece, and his raspy voice encourages the audience to really listen intently. Though the lyrics are short and to the point, Armstrong laments a desperate question “What did I do to be so black and blue?” Though Armstrong performed this song many times, this question speaks to both time the song was written in the 1920s, when segregation was still an issue and later in the 1960s, during major events in the civil rights movement. Perhaps the most revealing line in the piece, “my only sin is my skin,” reminds audiences that the violence and hatred towards Black Americans is based solely on their complexion.

What is aggressive about Jazz’s Message? 

How does it differ from other American Music?

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