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Sarah Abdalla

Professor Cerri- Morgan

English Composition 1302

26 January 2018/ Week 2

Does Your Sound Have Color?

Music has created a space for different races and ethnicities to gather and foster a

community of love. Throughout history, there are multiple instances where music has

been the safe way, the key to the locked door. But there is a darker side to music that is

unexplored. Traveling back in time, there are periods of racism nurtured and

encouraged by music. Music was the tool of propagation to spread this hatred towards

other races. When other races were migrating to North America, the land of

opportunity, the land for new lives, all they could seem to find is a land full of

discrimination and prejudice. Left and right, white people were constructing habits that

would negate the efforts of the immigrated races to take root and form identities.

In the black community, “‘from the moment white guys darkened their faces and

started singing minstrel songs - Genuine Negro tunes - they were changing history,’ said

Jenkins. ‘They created these characters, these caricatures of the black man that exist

today.’” (Roots on Record, pg. 2). This source is referring to “ how African American

history has been co opted by blackface minstrel singers and tin pan alley songwriters,

resulting in a distorted and stereotyped view of black men.” (Roots on Record, pg. 2)

Essentially, white men were proliferated this negative image and took away the voice of

the black community to speak against these false allegations and images.
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In the Latino community, their music was exploited and become connoted with

‘cheap’ and ‘weak’. Because of the long history with using Latinos for unskilled labor,

white individuals with a supremacy complex began to interpret their more fortunate

financial background as justification for their poor treatment of workers and

disseminated this idea of cheap and useless culture that Latinos brought to the table,

“how to use music to unify the community around a common message of justice, peace,

and empowerment.” (Roots on Record, pg. 7) This apparent power dynamic exploited

the music of these people and was misconstrued as the beat of a low class. In order to

restore their standing in the social scene, “Coming from disadvantaged and immigrant

backgrounds, they are able to connect with their students, the majority of whom are

Black and Latino, and provide a perspective that fosters trust, self-empowerment, and

commitment to their community.” (Roots on Record, pg. 5). In response to this blatant

misuse and misconduct by those with the monetary funds to do so, Latinos began to

communicate through their music to distinguish these negative misconceptions from

the actual culture of Latinos. One young Latina wanted to inquire further on the struggle

of her people and “She learned about Brazilian artists who were forced into exile

because of the messages of their music, and about how they were forced to write lyrics in

code to keep communicating with their audience.” (Roots on Record, pg. 6)

In spite of these misconstrued ideas about blacks and Latinos through music,

they found refuge in music. They used this music to promote and foster ideas of self-love

that became essential to their growth in the community. In today’s society, globalization
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has spread different beats, rhythms, sounds, timbre, and more all across the globe.

Music that was encouraged in these communities are now the tunes that are listened to

by millions of people and the message of growth continues to blossom into a beautiful

flower when its beginnings seemed to be so bleak.

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Works Cited

Cotler , Joaquin. “CUNY Academic Works.” City University of New York ,

academicworks.cuny.edu/gj_etds/173/.

Johnson, June. Global Issues, Local Arguments: Readings for Writing. Pearson, 2014.