Nina Simone , born as Eunice Kathleen Waymon , in a small town in North Carolina called Tryon. From a young age, she was a gifted child and in her youth she mostly focused on playing classical music and gospel music for her mother’s church services. As Nina rose to fame , she self categorized as a folk singer and used her voice to speak out against social injustices , uplift and encourage the Black community as a whole.
Nina Simone curated songs like “Young, Gifted and Black”, “Four Women”, “Mississippi Goddamn” and others because of her passions to address oppressions and racism that not only she had experienced but the how many African Americans experienced these social injustices. Not only did she display activism in her songs , she was an active participant in protests, civil rights meetings, and marches.
People of the African diaspora have used folk music to tell stories of their trials , tribulations and personal achievements for years. When they were enslaved , they used folk music to bring light to such a dark situation, tell the stories of their pain, and as a way to communicate information in discretion in order to survive. In this same way, Nina used her music to pass the music that Black people are resilient , show that she was choosing to be resistant to the misogyny and prejudice ideas and to call attention to the systemic racism.
