Skip to main content

tv   Soundtracks  CNN  April 22, 2017 8:00pm-9:01pm PDT

8:00 pm
>> it was the sound track to african-american resistance. >> music is the vehicle for revolution. >> that kind of courage changed how i viewed human beings. >> we were free but not equal. >> been a long time coming but tonight, change has come to america.
8:01 pm
♪ >> it's the music that carries our history. it's the music that carries our emotion. >> no way to tell how many people have died in new orleans. >> it's the music that transports us back. >> tear down this wall. >> this is how we remember history. thiss how we put it i >> liftoff on apollo 11. >> to look at history through the lens of music is another way to see the world.
8:02 pm
'. i've been hit smeo many tim i'm immune to it. >> history has made more leaders than leaders have made history. and in this great and very intense need by the black community, a young man emerged by the name of martin luther king. almost as if it was a mandate. >> we want king! we want king! >> i think it's one of the most tragic pictures of man's inhumanity to man that i have ever seen. >> i'm convinced as i stand before you tonight that the system of segregation is on its death bed and the only thing uncertain about it is how costly the segregationists will make the funeral. >> good evening.
8:03 pm
dr. martin luther king, the apostle of non-violence -- >> was shot to death late today in memphis, tennessee. >> king was shot as he stood on the balcony in front of room 306. >> we were getting ready to go to dinner at reverend kyle's house and we were waiting for dr. king to get ready. >> he went upstairs, put on his shirt and tie. when he came out, i suggested that he put on a coat because it was april and it was chilly at night, and he just sort of lifted his head as if to say do i really need a coat? and a shot rang out that clipped the tip of his chin and severed his spinal cord. so i don't think he even heard it, much less felt it. when i got to him, even though his pulse was still beating, it
8:04 pm
was very clear that it was all over. >> dr. king was rushed to st. joseph's hospital emergency room. he died at 7:00 central standard time from a gunshot wound in the neck. >> it came across the screen that dr. martin luther king has been shot in memphis. my mother started crying like a member of our family died, because dr. king in her mind, in the mind of her generation, was the bridge that brought them across the isolation and humiliation of segregation. >> we're going to leave you with a tune -- >> we were on our way back to america at the time when we heard about mart lin luther kin. >> tribute to dr. martin luther king. >> it was as though mack truck hadrove a hole right through our hearts.
8:05 pm
all 18 wheels of it. out of that was born why the king of love is dead. ♪ >> we thank god for giving us a leader who was willing to die but not willing to kill. >> she expressed the pain that the african-american community felt. >> she was devastated, angry. >> that's yours, isn't it? >> yes, it's my song. i composed it out of pure anger. >> you don't look like you can be angry at all. >> all the time. >> nina simone was a jazz
8:06 pm
musician born in the segregated south. her song is one of, if not the most racially trenchant critiques in the songbook. ♪ alabama's got me so upset tennessee made me lose my rest ♪ ♪ everybody knows about mississippi -- >> to some extent, dr. king has been a buffer the last two years between the black and white community. thehite people not do know it but the white people's best friend is dead. ♪ can't you see it i know you can feel it it's all in the air ♪ ♪ i can't stand this pressure much longer somebody say -- >> the song has a very powerful impact. she couldn't come up with a better word. got her in trouble. it was banned.
8:07 pm
♪ lord have mercy on this land of mine we're all going to get it in due time i don't belong here i don't belong there i even stopped believing in prayer ♪ >> i choose to reflect the times and the situations in which i find myself. that to me is my beauty. at this crucial time in our lives, when everything is so desperate, when every day is a matter of survival, i don't think you can help but be involved. ♪ >> race relations had gone to the depths. the country was beginning to explode. i don't know of any other verb to use. >> in the wake of dr. king's
8:08 pm
american cities go up in flames and the national guard and the police are under siege because of that armed militant black rage is leiterally going to war. ♪ i don't trust nobody anymore they keep on saying go slow ♪ >> revolution is frightening. revolution starts when somebody says i've had enough. >> the entire country should have been burning. not just the black ghetto. he wasn't just a hero for black people. he was a hero for all of us. >> standing on the people who fought for our rights and we know that liberation is not something that is going to be really quick and easy. it's going to be something that's going to take years and years.
8:09 pm
>> that's it! ♪ ♪got what you want... ♪...i got what you need. ♪i'll be your i'll, i'll... sarah? cleaning up. ♪ don't let dust and allergens and life's beautiful moments. flonase allergy relief delivers more complete relief.
8:10 pm
flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances that cause all your symptoms, including nasal congestion and itchy, watery eyes. flonase is an allergy nasal spray that works even beyond the nose. so you can enjoy every beautiful moment to the fullest. flonase. 6>1 changes everything. la quinta presents, how to win at business. step one: ask the presenter to "go back a slide." well played. you just tossed a mind grenade into into your colleagues' dulled senses. look at them, "what did i miss?" he one-upped me once again. step two: choose la quinta. and your la quinta reward points can be redeemed
8:11 pm
for everyday purchases on the go so you can win at business. learn more at lq.com today. (jeschealthy weight because the first ingredient is chicken. (riley) man, this chicken is spectacular! (jessica) i feel like when he eats beneful, he turns into a puppy again. you love it, don't you? you love it so much! (vo) and now try new beneful grain free, simply made with wholesome ingredients, and no grain.
8:12 pm
whtopher: ? it's my son. ♪ this is rosenberg. i'm topher brophy. we get easily confused, because there's a resemblance people say. he loves taking pictures. and the camera on the galaxy s8... it's amazing. and with sprint's unlimited plan, we can post whenever we want. ...which works for me. does the plan work for you? he says it works for him! lease two samsung galaxy s8s for the price of one. and with galaxy forever, you can upgrade to the latest galaxy every year. plus get unlimited $30 per month per line for four lines. for people with hearing ss, visit sprintrelay.com. i was in memphis, tennessee, the year after martin luther king was shot.
8:13 pm
and we had a march. and all of a sudden a bomb went off. it was a smoke bomb. and you would expect people would lie down on the ground. i mean, there were thousands of us. nobody moved. we crossed arms, and we started singing. you know, we started singing -- ♪ we shall overcome ♪ we shall overcome and just stood there. and that was our shield. that moment was the first awakening in the united states that ordinary human beings could stand together and change the course of history. you cannot imagine what it was like before the civil rights movement. you know, there were times when there was a lynching virtually
8:14 pm
once every three days in this country, with no repercussions legally. >> it's very hard to imagine it. but, you know, it takes guts, it takes tremendous courage to say, i will walk in a peaceful demonstration, although i may be shot. i know they may club me. they may turn the dogs on me. may turn the fire hoses on. it takes tremendous courage. a kind of valor, if you will, which is uncommon. what helped the people who were doing that were singing these songs. ♪ we shall overcome >> singing "we shall overcome" was different from just marching itas a feeling that this was actually going to happen, that there was something in the harmony of the song that made sense musically. it was only a matter of time before it made sense socially.
8:15 pm
>> "we shall overcome" is an old negro spiritual. it's called "i'll overcome. it was used in the labor movement. it became the theme song. people just accepted it. four of us came together. they called us the freedom singers. we sang everywhere. we sang at house parties. we sang at carnegie hall. to take the message of this movement to the north, that dr. king would sing with us sometimes. dr. king was a heck of a preacher, but he wasn't that much of a singer. on picket lines you sang, and in jails you sang. music was the glue that held everything together. >> in the civil rights movement, it was an integrated movement.
8:16 pm
african-americans from the south who were influenced in a religious way, and whites from the rest of the country who were supportive of the ideas of the civil rights movement. ♪ >> we were steeped in an understanding that music was part and parcel of the grass roots effort to create a better world. and that platform for music was a platform for advocacy. >> you can't go in.
8:17 pm
nobody but students and parents. >> joan baez was important because she showed up in the most difficult places. >> i'd like to try. >> you can't go. >> joan baez was an international star at that point. she was very concerned about civil rights. >> i have a picture of her in renata, mississippi, walking right along behind dr. king and me and a couple others. and we were there because a mob took kindergarten children and threw them through plate glass windows to keep them from getting close to the school. >> if they have to kill me, i'm going. >> i had one reporter actually
8:18 pm
tell me, look, i know you don't like the press getting in your way. but i got to keep a camera on martin luther king. because if he gets killed, and i don't get a picture of it, i'll lose my job. >> he knew there were rifles in the bushes. there were. there were people out there looking to kill hem. >> we will build a brotherhood overarched by love! >> that kind of courage changed how i viewed human beings. they can do acts of exemplary humanity that has a resonance and ripples spread throughout society and people are inspired by them. that's dr. king. >> this is why i can still sing "we shall overcome. we shall overcome because all of the moral universe is long but
8:19 pm
it bends toward justice. >> he used to say the movement was a collection of people, and he included himself, who was certifiably insane. he said nobody in their right mind would think they were going to take on the federal government, and the world, and all of these state courts, and police, and everybody else with no money, no guns, no political power, nothing but an idea in your head and a song in your heart. and he said, you've got to be crazy. to think you're going oh change the world that way. but he was doing it. >> the civil rights movement didn't happen because there was an emancipation proclamation, it happened because the people gave their all. they gave their lives.
8:20 pm
say hello to the new unlimited data plans from at&t and never pay overages again. so now the whole family can binge,... ...surf, shop, navigate, listen, game, stream and more. all without the hassle of worrying about overages or running out of data. only with at&t, you can now get unlimited data with hbo included. and remember, it's our best, wireless unlimited deal ever. so get at&t, get unlimited and get everyone more for less. i hafor my belly painking overand constipation.ucts i've had it up to here! it's been month after month of fiber. weeks taking probiotics! days and nights of laxatives, only to have my symptoms return. (vo) if you've had enough, tell your doctor what you've tried and how long you've been at it. linzess works differently from laxatives. linzess treats adults with ibs with constipation or chronic constipation. it can help relieve your belly pain, and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements that are easier to pass.
8:21 pm
do not give linzess to children less than six, and it should not be given to children six to less than 18. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain, especially with bloody or bla stools. the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include gas, stomach-area pain, and swelling. talk to your doctor about managing your symptoms proactively with linzess.
8:22 pm
8:23 pm
what is your nationality? >> my nationality is african-american. >> when do you want your freedom, young man? >> i want freedom now. >> michael, you have to wait until next week.
8:24 pm
can't you? >> no. >> you just have to wait until next week. you can't have it now. are you willing to wait until next week? >> no. >> how are you going to get your freedom? >> i will use any means necessary to get my freedom. >> anyeans necessary? >> yes. >> the walls of jim crow started coming down. but in the aftermath of the '60s, the legislation was there, but the application wasn't there. yes, we've got the foundation, but we haven't built anything on the foundation. it was almost like when slavery ended about 100 years before that. okay, y'all are free. you can leave. leave and go where with what and do what? we were free, but not equal. >> what is this moment that we're in, the post-civil rights moment? this moment of legislative racial equality? when i can still be profiled on
8:25 pm
the street? music becomes a gateway for african-americans to articulate their hopes, their desires, their longings, their social critiques. ♪ people get ready ♪ there's a train coming ♪ don't need any baggage ♪ you just get onboard ♪ all we need is faith to hear the drums ♪ don't need no ticket ♪ we'll just pay the lord >> aretha called upon this long black musical tradition of gospel fortitude. >> peoe t ready, there's a train a'coming. curtis mayfield is inspired by
8:26 pm
the movement. the song sounds like an old spiritual, here's your chance, get onboard. there's a movement taking place. by 1968 when aretha's version comes out, she's got this memorable refrain in the beginning, i believe. it opened this idea that the struggle is not over. there are still major obstacles to be overcome. police brutality, economic inequality. and here's aretha in 1968 singing, i believe that a triumph not only over racial injustice, but economic inequality are possible. and for that reason, it was a very powerful song. ♪ you don't need no ticket we'll just get on board all you need -- ♪ you don't need no baggage
8:27 pm
♪ we'll just thank the lord >> she was such a representation of black power. i mean, literally, her voice was an instrument beyond anybody's reckoning. it's one of the greatest voices in american history. >> her ability to travel across racial lines, and to bring an unbridled power, sexuality, but also rage. she became an embodiment of blackness, of a kind of soulfulness that was the essence of our people. >> we are black! our noses are broad! our lips are thick! our hair is nappy! and we are beautiful!
8:28 pm
and we are beautiful! we are beautiful! >> the early '60s, you have the hymns of unity and change. once the black power movement comes along, the hymns are replaced by much more militant sentiments of the music. you have the assertions, the rhythms and the sort of starkness. >> the white people who know right and want to do right. but there's so few. if 10,000 rattlesnakes was coming down that aisle and i had a door i could shut, and of that 10,000, 1,000 meant right, 1,000 didn't want to bite me, i knew they were good, should i let all these rattlesnakes come down hoping the thousand get together and form a shield? or should i just close the door and stay safe? >> you couldn't see people that had bifr saying we shall overcome. it just seemed incongruent. >> there was a sense of identity
8:29 pm
through style. and music. james brown. say it loud. i'm black and i'm proud. and the feeling, of course, of pride. >> i must have been 5 years old, and my aunt bought me a t-shirt. it had an image of james brown with an afro. i loved that t-shirt. i remember i used to rub my hand over james brown's image. >> james brown was unapologetically black. and made it. this is the first time that we saw white america wanting to be us. real blacks. >> with james brown it was always about articulating blackness lyrically, but also sounding it out.
8:30 pm
♪ we demand a chance to do things for ourselves we're tired of beating our head against the wall and working for someone else ♪ ♪ say it loud >> james brown is an assertively black idiom with an assertively black message, say it loud, i'm black and i'm proud. almost anybody could sing that actually and sort of believe it. >> proud, keep your head up high and do what you got do, as a people. always say it loud. that you're proud. >> james brown had a very self-consciously bootstrapping kind of individual notion of what it meant to be black in america. a man can't accomplish anything if he isn't proud of who he is.
8:31 pm
he's a nascar champion who's she's a world-class swimmer who's stared down the best in her sport. but for both of them, the most challenging opponent was... pe blood clots in my lung. it was really scary. a dvt in my leg. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. my doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®... to help keep me protected. xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner... ...that's proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. here's how xarelto works. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least six blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective... ...targeting just one critical factor, interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. n't stop takg xarelt® without talking to your doctor as this may increase risk of blood clots. while taking, you may bruise more easily,
8:32 pm
or take longer for bleeding to stop. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. you've got to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know. [heroine] happy to be here. [ceo] so when you take the job, all these benefits are yours. the world's 2nd most decorated sushi chef... i'm trying to get the first. over here we have quiet spaces for deep thoughts. the latest smart technology. and of course, personal mobility solutions... functional and pragmatic.
8:33 pm
8:34 pm
plenty had changed i america by virtue of the civil rights movement.
8:35 pm
the begiing of the integration of schools. you have the election of black elected officials. >> when we get black voters voting in large numbers, we'll have a politician elected that will represent all the people. and when politicians represent all the people, we'll have a new hope in america. >> you have the opportunity for african-american artists to reach the highest success. you have opportunities for companies like barry gordy's motown to become one of the preeminent american success stories of that period. ♪ >> the '70s were an expansion time for black music. the black album market is really introduced. and you have marvin, you have isaac, barry white. it's an amazing period.
8:36 pm
and stevie was coming of age at the right time. ♪ >> one of the responses to civil rights is the industrialization. white flight. stevie wonder catalogs the six degrees of segregation. housing, education, surrounded by walls that aren't so pretty. >> after the civil rights movement, here we are in the valley, drugs had come in. dysfunctional communities. and the music reflected that. ♪ >> it's poetry, but it's also summing up social, economic
8:37 pm
issues that define urban black america. it's about survival, living just enough, just enough for the city. >> the problem with motown is i came to it when i was 9 years old, so not only did they consider me an artist but they considered me almost like a child. i experienced new, beautiful things that would cause me to write a certain way. >> stevie is very politically conscious. stevie is a man who wants the world to be better. we all want the world to be better. but stevie, he lives it. >> congress was urged today to make the birthday of martin luther king jr. a national holiday. >> dr. king did not speak for all black people and all hispanics. he spoke the truth which represented every living american member of the melting pot.
8:38 pm
>> we needed to memorialize the break-throughs that the civil rights movement had achieved, pushing us towards a more diverse society and a more just society. >> greatness has been proven by this man. i urge my colleagues, give martin luther king his day. >> senator helms insisted there king. e no holiday for dr. >> he attackedhis couny in the most vicious way. >> i went to d.c. with stevie, did the big rally out in front of the capitol building. >> it was here, that dr. martin luther king inspired the entire nation. >> a representation of can we take the civil rights movement
8:39 pm
and make a monument to it. >> as an artist, my purpose is to communicate a message that can better improve the lives of all of us. >> stevie wonder really led this fight to make sure that a person of color could have a day that we can all come together and really reckon with the legacies of this man who transformed modern life. ♪ >> he figured out a way to write a new happy birthday song, which speaks to his brilliance in that people can sing along. and a lot of people has no idea that it was about martin luther king's birthday in any way, shape or form. >> it's one of our most important kind of songs that does the kind of political work, even when you're not thinking about it. >> i do not believe we would
8:40 pm
have ever had dr. king holiday if stevie wonder hadn't done that song. i told him later, you sang that song into legislation. >> i was born in '84. just growing up and learning about that holiday and learning about what he sacrificed, first of all you're grateful for those people who gave up their very lives for the simple liberties i have today. but it means everything, you know. i think it shows us how far we have come. but also, how far we still have to go. >> you know, the key to unity of all people -- esents, how to win at business. step one: ask the presenter to "go back a slide." well played. you just tossed a mind grenade into into your colleagues' dulled senses. look at them, "what did i miss?" he one-upped me once again. step two: choose la quinta. and your la quinta reward points can be redeemed
8:41 pm
for everyday purchases on the go so you can win at business. learn more at lq.com today. you're not taking these. hey, hey, hey! you're not taking those. whoa, whoa! you're not taking that. come with me. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. mom, i'm taking the subaru. don't be late. even when we're not there to keep them safe, our subaru outback will be. (vo) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. ♪ ♪
8:42 pm
i'm dr. keey mcneely a some day you might be calling me an energy farmer. ♪ energy lives here. garden weeds are scoundrels. with roundup precision gel®, you can banish them without harming plants nearby. so draw the line. give the stick one click, touch the leaves and the gel stays put killing garden weeds to the root. draw the line with roundup precision gel®. ...where each drop was formulated to be smarter.... ...even smarter than that... ...so if a color didn't go on evenly, it would balance itself out to reveal its truest, richest state. if a paint could realize the fullest potential of any color...
8:43 pm
...you have to wonder... is it still paint? aura interior from benjamin moo®e . only available at independently owned paint and hardware stores.
8:44 pm
in the '80s, american abandoned inner cities. >> everybody was moving out of their homes. you get a lot of social flack. to me i called it socially engineered anarchy induced chaos. >> civil rights felt like it had been abandoned. >> i'm trying to tell you --
8:45 pm
>> the civil rights movement that we saw in theound never really dealt with, the latent racism in the north. so when we started seeing killings in new york, we used some of the tactics in the south, marching and all. but it was in an urban context. and it was in our style. so we were a lot more defiant. though we were nonviolent. but we were more in your face, because we were in new york. >> 1989, america's racial contradictions are coming home. on the one hand, this is the peak of school desegregation. and then on the other hand, there's a rise of hate violence. and into this cauldron of racial tension, public enemy released "fight the power."
8:46 pm
>> public enemy, the young black male situation in america, we feel we're all public enemies. we have a logo that has a cross. we feel that represents ourselves, and anybody in our situation. >> public enemy had already been the most political rap group, at the time and still probably the most political rap group ever. they were not afraid to invoke the nation of islam. they were taking from black oppositional politics that was different from the mainstream ones. no one else had really had the courage to consistently use that as a base of operation. sampling is a musical practice. but i always thought of it as a way of recognizing musical history.
8:47 pm
so one way to look at public enemy and fight the power as though they're speaking with the ancestors, james brown, and through sampling, they're bringing the ancestors to a new generation of african-americans. >> so here was this group in 1989 at a moment where african-americans are under assault again. saying, we've got the blueprint for how to fight this. and that bloublueprint is what happened in the '50s and 1960s. you've fought to fight power. we've got to stand up. we've got to present our bodies. >> part of the black freedom struggle has always been about thinking of this larger kind of redemption that was waiting for us. that we need to be ready, that we need to be prepared, and that we also need to make that change. >> every time change has come,
8:48 pm
it's not because a particular leader created all that change. what's happened that a movement began of people saying we want a change. and a leader says, you know what, if i can walk with you, if i can march with you, if i can work with you, if i can be alongside you, i want to help, i want to roll up my sleeves, i want to make a change! i just want to be a part of creating a better america! ♪ i was born by the river ♪ in a little church ♪ and just like the river i've been running ever since ♪ ♪ it's been a long a long time coming but i know a change going to come ♪
8:49 pm
♪ oh, yes, it will ♪ it's been too hard living -- >> barack obama walks out with his family. and he starts speaking. >> put their hands on the arc of history, and bend it once more towards the hope of a better day. it's been a long time coming. but tonight, because of what we did on this date, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to america. >> and what he said, change has that littleica, i thought about 45 record at home, sam cook. >> the arc of history is bending towards moral justice in that song.
8:50 pm
the desire for racial justice, turned into a love song, to the country, but also to african-americans. to remind them that the future tells us something different. >> a preacher from atlanta told the people we shall overcome. yes, we can. >> it was emotion at, first of all. but what i think got me is when i looked at my father. when i looked at my grandmother, she was completely broken. she's been alive almost 100 years, she's seen a lot. to have her be able to witness him being elected into office. i mean, that was -- it gives me goose bumps thinking about it now. >> i was so proud. i was proud of america. black people didn't elect barack obama. america elected him.
8:51 pm
were it not for all the races of people in america who voted for him -- he wouldn't have been president. >> when he was elected, there's a feeling that maybee've ossed the threshold. and there's a lot of exuberance, maybe a rational exuberance, that we had overcome.
8:52 pm
who's that? topher: it's my son. ♪ this is rosenberg. i'm topher brophy. we get easily confused, because there's a resemblance people say. he loves taking pictures. and the camera on the galaxy s8... it's amazing. and with sprint's unlimited plan, we can post whenever we want. ...which works for me. does the plan work for you? he says it works for him! lease two samsung galaxy s8s for the price of one. and with galaxy forever, you can upgrade to the latest galaxy every year. plus get unlimited $30 per month per line for four lines. for people with hearing loss, visit sprintrelay.com. (vo) your love is purely thoughtful, purely natural, purely fancy feast. delicious entrées, crafted to the last detail. flaked tuna, white-meat chicken, never any by-products or fillers. purely natural tastes purely fancy feast.
8:53 pm
8:54 pm
8:55 pm
i became involved in the black lives matter movement on august 9th, 2014 when mike brown was brutally killed by darren wilson in ferguson, missouri. we knew that every 20 hours a black person was killed by police officers or vigilante. >> tray -- >> von. >> black lives matter. >> we really had to rely on ourselves. we couldn't just rely on our president. >> jesse jackson came to ferguson and we marched to one particular church. i think he tried to have us sing "we shall overcome." >> that's not where these kids are coming from. they're not going to question
8:56 pm
church like that, they don't have the same tradition. >> the song doesn't tell us when we shall overcome. it is saying that we will overcome some day. and what we in the streets wanted, we wanted justice now. ♪ ♪ >> we're going to be all right. >> people started to chant, we're going to be all right. >> there's a spirituality in that song that resonates back through the great music through the civil rights movement. ♪ >> it's about seeking collectivity.
8:57 pm
and becoming aware that a higher power can move us forward. it's a leap of faith. >> it's multiple messages. you're going to be all right, we're going to get through this day, and we're going to be here tomorrow, and we're going to fight to save this nation, and fight to save ourselves. we're right. this is a morally righteous cause. ♪ >> there's a funny story of the civil rights era woman, who writes for the "washington post." was given a record to listen to. hated the kendrick lamar. hated it, found it foul and disgusting. i thought, well, that means that it's really, really working. >> he's meant to get on your nerves with new stuff. and they will do it. because they don't want their
8:58 pm
grandmom, or mom or older brother's sound. kendrick lamar came in and talked about everything. it's the best record he had. ♪ [ gunfire ] >> i remember you was conflicted. using your influence. sometimes i did the same. >> there's a hip-hop coolness swagger, as a kind of weapon, as a kind of tool to fight everyday battles. it's about the message of an inner voice, what's happening right now. it's excruciating. but big picture, we gonna be all right. >> when it seems like there is
8:59 pm
no hope at all, music can provide that hope. music transports you. it beams you to this other place where freedom is possible for african-american people in a way that was being denied to them in the political present. >> i think martin luther king's legacy, the legacy we should really take to heart is that america as a country, although it has great promise, has not reached its potential yet. it's still a work in progress, and the country in many ways needs to be radically reconstructed to include all of these different voices and people who make up the fabric of what this country actually is. it's amazing, so many decades later, these are still the same questions that we're asking. >> if we really want to honor martin luther king's brilliant legacy today, i think we have to
9:00 pm
try to enact what he was trying to do, and make it a reality, rather than just a dream. we like to call them tastefully smutty. >> what are your dreams? >> to rule the world. >> michael jackson is the man of the '80s. >> music to the beat, and talk, it's rap music. ♪ >> heavy metal glorifies, sex, violence. >> the presentation that was burnt in the pit of hell!

63 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on