Here’s a continuation of political songs that have strong statements about our society back then and still to this day.

These first 3 were recommended by Ms. McCorry here at Lincoln. She says that they were the songs that stuck in her head, especially Nina Simone. Nina was not only a singer but a civil rights activist and wrote “Goddamn Mississippi” in response to the murder of Medgar Evers, another civil rights activist, from Mississippi. The song was also a response to the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Alabama that killed four young black girls and blinded a fifth. The Ghost of Tom Joad was originally written by Bruce Springsteen, Tom Joad a character from the book “The Grapes of Wrath.” “The idea is that the ghost of Tom Joad, the spirit of working together as a community, will prevail in times of great injustice (police brutality, economic corruption.

1. The Ghost of Tom Joad -Rage Against the Machine
2. Goddamn Mississippi  -Nina Simone
3. You Haven’t Done Nothing -Stevie Wonder
4. Open Your Eyes – Immortal Technique
5. America -Motionless in White

Stevie Wonder’s song is directed solely at President Nixon, who resigned two weeks after the release of the single due to the watergate scandal. “Open Your Eyes” and “America” are more modern songs. The artist Immortal Technique is a very radical activist, and the majority of his songs are about corruption in government.

If you have any suggestion for a playlist topic, email us at [email protected]