Helicopters whirr over our neighborhood. Protestors’ chants come at us like the dull roar of distant waves. COVID keeps me in the house away from the protests, away from physically reporting about them, or participating, which I want to do.
This morning I picked Nina Simone as the soundtrack for my COVID times birthday. The Essential Nina Simone, compiled and released by SONY Legacy in 2011, seemed to have all the right songs.
The music blew us back to the ’60s when we protested and marched for change. The songs made me furious all over again The lyrics sounded a call to action that felt as fresh and as right as they did when they were written and performed during the great civil rights era.
Backlash Blues, written by Langston Hughes, tells a story that still hits hard today. Here’s a sample of what I’m talking about.
Mr. Backlash, Mr. Backlash,
Just who do think I am?
You raise my taxes, freeze my wages,
And send my son to Vietnam.
You give me second class houses
And second class schools.
Do you think that all the colored folks
Are just second class fools?
It goes on.
You probably know about Mississippi Goddam, the song Nina Simone recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1964. Simone called it her “first civil rights” song. The lyrics highlight the frustration she and other black and brown people felt then, and there’s a loud echo in today’s Black Lives Matter movement. Here’s the refrain and a little more:
‘Do it slow’
Desegregation
‘Do it slow’
Mass participation
‘Do it slow’
Reunification
‘Do it slow’
Do things gradually
‘Do it slow’
But bring more tragedy
‘Do it slow’
Why don’t you see it?
Why don’t you feel it?
I don’t know.
I don’t know.
You don’t have to live next to me,
Just give me my equality.
Much has changed since I first listened to these songs over and over again and marched in the ’60s. Optimism and expectation fueled us then. We felt certain that what we did, what we said and the support we gave would make a difference. Being out there mattered.
March on Washington 1963. Library of Congress Photo. Public Domain.
The Civil Rights Act changed things. The Voting Rights Act changed things. Federal and local anti-discrimination laws improved opportunity. But when you honestly look around you see that people of color still get treated like second class citizens. That’s wrong.
Why should a young black or brown man or woman fear for their life when they see a police officer? It’s wrong. But it’s real.
The actions and the indignities heaped on us by the Trump administration compound the historical problem. They make optimists like me fear for the future. Trump’s war against the people is a preview. His efforts to roll back voting rights, women’s rights, environmental protection, the right to healthcare, immigration reform and more touch every area we fought for. They undermine progress on broad fronts we have made over many decades.
It is infuriating all over again. I am glad that young people, the Portland Moms, and others are back in the streets even if I can’t be out there with them making “good trouble,” as the great John Lewis put it. They are a gift for my COVID times birthday.
