Nina Simone

During the 1960’s the United States was in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. This movement sought to reconstruct the already established order of the natural existence. During this time of turmoil, for blacks, many took to streets to protest and joined lobbyist groups to help get legislation passed. Some took an artist approach. Many jazz artists used their talents to express their pain to their listening audiences. While examining the many of the published songs in the late 1950s and…

Fruit by Billie Holiday (my favorite version of the song is by Nina Simone), I instantly got excited because that poem is so powerful and timeless. At times, I had a hard time hearing, so I am not sure why Strange Fruit was mentioned, but it seemed to go with the theme of the hardships of the Black experience in America. I also enjoyed reading and listening to the song (or poem) Four Women by Nina Simone. Similarly to Strange Fruit, Nina Simone’s song also resonated with the theme of blacks…

‘’When i'm on stage, my interaction with the audience is something that really makes me feel alive. It's a feeling like no other. The energy of the crowd fuels something new inside.”~Alicia keys. Alicia keys cook is best known for “alicia keys. She is an american singer, songwriter, Record producer and actress. She has impacted people through her music, also due to her to her lyrics it can be very inspirational.She is a co- founder of keep a child alive, which is an organization that…

For a number of reasons, culture is significant to a variety of ethnicities all around the world. When people think about culture they tend to think of traditions, values, and beliefs. We often gain a sense of knowledge about culture from our family, friends, the education system, and media. Thanks to the many forms of communication surrounding us, it is almost impossible for people in a certain culture to be unaware of cultures outside of their own. When learning about other cultures an…

An Artists’ Influence Artists write about what they know; they pull feelings from their heart and their songs relay what the artists’ emotions, whether it be of their hometown, their high school crush, or their experiences. Many artists that came to fame during the twentieth century have a fair share of experiences they share with us in the form of their songs. The twentieth century is comprised of the institution of slavery and its effects, war, gender norms, discrimination based on nationality…

I am an eighteen year old interracial female, I have experienced both sexism and racism in my life. Due to my complexion being lighter I have not encountered racism or sexism as harshly as those who have a darker complexion. Colorism in the African American, Asian, Latino, and Hispanic communities is an issue that is downplayed. Colorism comes from internalized and systematic racist beliefs that lighter is better in regards to skin color. We as a society have been conditioned to believe European…

The effects of racism has caused separation between the races, stereotypes, and discrimination. On the website Brainy Quotes.com, the author Nina Simone states that “ The worst thing about that kind of prejudice.. is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self doubt. You start thinking perhaps I am not good enough’’ (Simone). Since black people are being separated, stereotyped, and discriminated by the other races, that has caused people to feel like they don't…

There’s Sylvia Path, Demi Lovato, Owen Wilson, the list goes on. In the end, I decided to choose Nina Simone because of how tragic, yet power her story was to me. From the documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? Nina Simone her entire life had suffered hard ships from the moment she was born. At a young age she would seclude herself from the other children and play piano in hopes of going to Julliard to study…

Black history is a commemoration of the impotrtant African American leaders and activists. Many people have dispute about the month of February, others are in agreement of this celebrtion and many others disregard it. There is an innimerable amount of reasons of why, “we the people,” should celebrate in this influential month. Black History Month started out as “Negro History Week.” it has appreciably expande into 4 months, one month. Celebrating back history honors the historic African…

As we live, we learn more about ourselves, and the world around us. Based on our experiences and acquired knowledge we can discern what is right and what is wrong, or at least what we believe to be right and believe to be wrong. But this raises a problem. Beliefs are relative and everyone experiences different situations that shape how we choose to live, with whom we choose to communicate and the way we choose to treat people; especially those who look, act and think differently from us. It is a…