Protest Music

Protest music was known to be very popular. A lot of artists were against segregation, war, laws, and the government. Protest music from back then, African American artists wrote the song "When Will We Be Paid [For The Work We've Done]". It was about wanting peace between all races and that they should be given a better life for all that they have done for everyone. The song shows the lives of "low-class" African Americans, including slavery and the horrors they went through. Protest music is still being made until this day. A band named System of A Down made a song named "BYOB". It was basically about the government staying back, and "partying", enjoying their life while they send "the poor" to fight in the wars they start. The song blamed the government for doing nothing. 

Protest music could bring many agreeing people together and could even convince them to argue for what they desire. 

Power After the Children's March

   Power is usually a very hard thing to posses. Fear is basically in everyone. In school, students listen to their teachers, and people follow the laws. People even want laws to be changed. When people want power to change a law, they can come together and, like the negro kids in the Children's March, they can show no fear, but instead, fight along side each other without violence. Power can be gained in numbers. If you want to work to stop something or change something, you can work with a lot of people that agree with you, and will be willing to show no fear in arguing and fighting, non-violently, for what they really want. I think that power is a huge thing. Even children can create it. If i could have the amount of power that the negro children had the day of the Children's March, i would work to change a lot of things.

What is "Un-American"?

   The term, "Un-American", can be very hard to define. Some say that Un-American means to do horrible crimes, while others can say that it means to do something that is not done in america. 

   A lot of things that people do can be "Un-American". People also seem to think that, only, bad things that others do, is Un-American. But there are many reasons something can be considered un-american. A lot of religions were not started in America. Christianity was started way back in the past, before America was founded. It just so happens that the Pledge of Allegiance has "God" in it. In some religions, there are arranged marriages. In America, anyone is free to marry who ever they want.  Also, cannibalism can be un-american. No one in America, unless they are beyond crazy, eats people for the heck of it. Lastly, it can be un-american just to mind your own business. In other words, no one minds their own business in America. 

   Ultimately, "Un-American" is a difficult topic. Anyone in America has the right to speak freely, and because of this, anyone can say anything is un-american. 

Lap 7 Project Blog

   The project was finished fast and was very easy. We had good process in order to get the project done as fast as we did. We used the checklist attached to the "super important" email and split the sections up for each person. I was given one or two slides and everyone else had the same amount of slides. Because two slides does not take a long time to do, four people getting six to eight slides done, made the project much easier. My group handled their work well.
   The government's interaction with business was to help get them out of debt. The Stimulus Package was meant to stimulate the economy and get more jobs for the unemployed. The government hoped for businesses to not fail. The failures of the Plan were financial issues, social issues, and economic issues. The plan did get more jobs for people, but unfortunately not enough.
 

Differences in Life. Today vs. The Past

   Life was completely different in various ways back then, compared to today. People back then, danced differently. The Charleston was the most popular dance and would be considered as weird and funny today. In these times there is a popular dance known as the "Dougie." Genres of music was also different. Jazz and the Blues was the most popular music that people listened to in the 30s. Today, people listen to R&B and Rock. A popular song from the past was "Summertime" by George Gershwin. People today, now listen to music completely different. Such as the song "Only Girl" by Rihanna. Slang was also different. Back then, some African Americans used the word "Black Dog" when they were talking to their mothers. People also used refer to African Americans "Negro". People now ask what's up by saying "Sup?". They also say that they like someones' shirt by saying "That's swag".  People in the 30s used to dress up in actual dresses, shiny shoes, and slacks. People now wear, Jeans, Hoodies, Sneakers, and T-shirts. The costs for candy and technology was also cheaper back then. A radio could cost 5 dollars back then but it can cost 40 dollars today. A candy bar used to be 5 cents, but now it's over a dollar. In conclusion, life today was very different then it was in the past.

Photos and the Great Depression

   There were many things that happen during the time near the Great Depression and also during it. In one of the photos, a picture that says "Votes for Women" is shown. Women wanted the rights. Back in the past, they had to protest in order to get what they desired. They protested for what they desired the most, which was the right to vote. In the second photo, there are men from the civil war being shown. They hold instruments in their hands and these men marched into war with the rest of the soldiers to hopefully boost the morale of their comrads. In the last picture, there is a before and after picture. One half of the picture shows the depression. It shows how people were living and how sad their lives were during that time. In the other half, a woman is shown painting what looks like a star on an airplane wing. This half was to get people motivated to win the World War II.
   The Great Depression was an economic failure in North America. It started from 1929 and lasted up long up to 1939. Causes of the Great Depression were war, buying on credit, unequal distribution of wealth, bank failures, and, the main reason, the stock market crash of 1929. It was the most devastating depression ever in the Western world.

1920s-1940s music compared to Today

Today, music can really only be compared and contrasted to the music made during the 1920s through the 1940s. Back in the 20s-40s, race problems existed even more often than today. People, especially African Americans had to deal with hate and segregation. They knew white people only considered them to be separate and not equal. During the 20s to the 40s, jazz and blues were very popular. African Americans expressed their feelings towards their life and the lives of others. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, an African American jazz trumpeter and singer, made the song "Black and Blue." The song was about white people calling him different, as if he was not like them, because of the color of his skin. His lyric, for example, says "My only sin, is in my skin."
Music from the present can still express feelings about life, but not as much about racial issues. The music i listen to, can usually either be about succeeding when people said they would not, or even about how their life was in the past.