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Summary Of Juan Williams 'Songs Of The Summer Of 1963'

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Juan Williams’ “Songs of the Summer of 1963….and 2013” compares popular music from the sixties, with connections to the civil rights struggle, to in his own words, “malignant, self-aggrandizing rap songs that define today's most popular music.” In this subject to subject, or side by side, essay Mr. Williams talks about the music of the civil rights era, the artists who created it and its interracial effect from inception to present day. Then in a rather brief synopsis Williams expouses his belief that contemporary rap is inhibiting racial relations progress and sites examples of current violent, misogynistic and hate filled rap music and its artists.
I chose this comparison essay because I believe it is a poor essay example of this type as the connections between the eras of music are tenuous at best, at least in the way the author seems to be expressing them. I am not a rap music fan, and I’m certainly not defending the negative effects on society some rap music may have, but to compare the many inspirational songs of the civil rights era to a current genre of music because it is dominated by …show more content…
There are many dilapidated West Virginia coal communities, whose constant economic hardships have brought generation after generation of welfare recipients; creating an environment overrun with drugs, unwed mothers, absentee fathers, joblessness and no hope for the future. I have seen the same in the poor Guatemalan towns I’ve visited and expect I would see those same variables in inner city Baltimore. Still I don’t believe this shared experience to be the reason that rap is popular and I don’t believe it as music meant to inspire hope or change. I think it is just a mirror to a segment of society that’s rough, painful message is so strong it affects even those who might not have the same cultural reference on a primal

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