Black Power Soundtrack

by | Jan 11, 2007 | Culture | 7 comments

If you were to create a soundtrack for a Black Power class, what would you include?  I’ve talked about my Black Power Fantasies course, and as it stands we’re going to have three layers (readings, videos, and music).  I’ve got a handle on the first two, and the third as well, but it occurred to me that some of you might have ideas I hadn’t thought of before.  The thing with music is that it isn’t that much of a burden on kids–just have them listen to X number of tracks on the way from class, or to the gym, or to the club.  I can easily imagine having them listen to something like Parliament’s Chocolate City, or maybe Sonny Rollins’ Freedom Suite.  Or maybe even some Osunlade or Jephte Guillaume for modern day diasporal angles.

7 Comments

  1. Krisna Best
    Krisna Best on January 11, 2007 at 4:40 pm

    Fela Kuti.

  2. tootsie
    tootsie on January 11, 2007 at 5:41 pm

    The hardest working man in show business,”Say it loud” ,JB’s record was a defining moment after civil unrest in the states.

  3. ourstorian
    ourstorian on January 12, 2007 at 3:31 pm

    It’s unclear from your brief description whether this is to be a class on the Black Power Movement of the sixties and seventies or primarily a theoretical disquisition on “Black Power.” In any event, no soundtrack dealing with the subject would be complete without Curtis Mayfield’s “We’re a Winner,” which was a kind of early, unofficial R&B anthem of the movement.

    Those of us who advocated a “cultural nationalist” approach to the stuggle also marched to the music of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders. Trane’s “A Love Supreme,” “Africa Brass,” and “Selflessness” albums were essential listening for many of us, and Pharoah Sanders’ entire oeuvre from the sixites and seventies was regarded as the quintessential music of black nationalism, especially the albums: “Tauhid,” “Karma,” “Jewels of Thought,” “Thembi,” and “Black Unity.”

  4. Lester Spence
    Lester Spence on January 12, 2007 at 4:00 pm

    we’re a winner is already a go. as is a love supreme. we’re also going to add some sun ra i think–both his music and a movie that he made. i’ll put the syllabus up later today. an earlier version is already up on the site.

  5. ourstorian
    ourstorian on January 12, 2007 at 6:10 pm

    Sun Ra’s “Astro Black” (1973) is one of my favorites among his massive discography. But none of his recordings capture the power and versatility of the man and his Arkestra. The live “concerts” were off da hook!

  6. ourstorian
    ourstorian on January 12, 2007 at 6:16 pm

    I went to your home page and read the description of the “Black Power Fantasies” you provided, so now I have a better understanding of your objectives for the course. It’s a great idea, and I wish you and your students much success in your journey of discovery and elucidation.