Every
now and then people needed to be reminded of what’s ahead and during the Civil
Rights Movement what was ahead was freedom. “Keep Your Eyes On The Prize” by
Sweet Honey in The Rock was that influential song that inspired many to keep up
the fight for freedom. During the Civil Rights Moment violence was at an all-time
high. Lynching, bombing, burning, violent beatings, shootings, and just about
any form of cruel injustice imaginable was thriving during this era. Many
fathers, mothers, daughters, and sons were lost during this pivotal era in history
causing many to lose hope and lose sight of the freedom ahead. The African
American community needed hope and they usually found such hope in spirituals. Spirituals were usually accapella songs that were
an outpour of suppressed emotion intertwined with biblical stories; these songs
would often be sung at church gatherings and during protest walks. This particular
spiritual “Keep Your Eyes On The Prize” is a reminder to the African American
community that no matter what their situation looked like, they should keep
their eye focused on the prize of freedom which would someday come.
With all of the horrible, violent acts occurring during the Civil Rights movement, I understand why people would often sing these spirituals to give them comfort, a sense of community, and hope that something good was on its way. These songs are probably what kept them motivated and gave them the courage to never give up on their dreams of equality. -Kristen
ReplyDeleteI love the personal tone that this post has. Rather than trying to master the assignment in every way, you made it a blog post. Really nicely written and it gives an idea to the emotions that many experienced during the movements.
ReplyDeleteOne note- check out yo grammar.
-Elie
It's funny how influential music can really be. I personally relate African American spirituals to gospel music. The correlation between both genres produce an underlying message of just keeping the faith for a better tomorrow.
ReplyDelete-Kosi
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ReplyDeleteI definitely see how these songs were "intertwined with biblical stories." There was a reference, I believe, to the children of Israel's journey from Egypt to their promise land. If I am right on this, it is interesting that the songwriter(s) decided to relate African Americans at that time to the children of Israel.
ReplyDelete-Jon
It amazes me how this group of people was so strong through out everything they had to deal with. I have always viewed music as a major stress reliever and place of solitude for ones mind, so it does not surprise me that they turned to such methods the cope with their situation.
ReplyDelete-Jeff Brower
It's amazing how great of an impact and influence music can have on a generation. Your analysis of this song reminds me a lot of my analysis of "All you Need is Love," on our War Protests blog. Both songs gave people hope and drove them towards a fight for change in a time of conflict and violence.
ReplyDelete-Hedeya
Music is one of the best outlets of expression and representation of what a society, generation, race, etc. is feeling about something and everything. Your post really touches on this fact. It explains how it was stress outlet and expression of emotions African Americans felt at this time. Really great post!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great song choice for your blog topic. That is exactly what they needed, faith that better times were coming. I like the creative title as well. Seems to fit in with the title of the song real well.
ReplyDelete-- Collin