Promoting the Skills of Activism through Artistic Action

Though young students rarely possess the vocabulary to name what they sense, political marginalization resonates as unfair. Young people who feel oppressed and who internalize the hopelessness it brings believe that there is nothing they can do to change their situation or the injustices they observe in the experience of others. Yet, there are actions that can be taken to identify, call out, and address political marginalization.

Throughout the world, music has a long history of being at the center of political movements, calling out injustices, and inviting/demanding change. No Doubt’s 1995 “Just a Girl,” featuring the line “I’m just a girl in the world, That’s all that you’ll let me be!,” called out sexism, while James Brown’s “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” of 1968 defied white oppression as it became an anthem of Black Power. Bringing attention to child labor practices proliferating across the African continent, Angelique Kidjo released “We We” in 1992 while Dolma Kyab sang “Gangchampa” as a show of strength against Chinese rule through the presentation of lyrics that extol the characteristics of Tibetan identity “in grand and epic terms” (Morcom, 2018, p. 134).

More recently, Dinner Party released “Freeze Tag” in 2020 to highlight the troubling relationship between police and black communities. Each of these songs and the thousands of others like them provide models for students eager to understand how they can shape and share their own messages about the injustices they see and experience in their own lives and communities.

Teachers of composition, songwriting, and production can introduce students to tools of social critique and invite them to pursue artistic social action related to issues that are important in their lives (Hess, 2019; Kaschub, 2009). At every age in public schooling, students can identify situations they deem unfair. These observations provide entry to discussions where students may find ideas for songs that name and describe the social injustices they wish to address.

Very young songwriters might create songs about the problems of having too much homework (and research would back them up!) and older students might focus on what it is like to be an immigrant in their community (Kaschub, 2009). As part of their research, students might seek the viewpoints of others by interviewing teachers, peers, family members, and local politicians about their chosen topic to expand their understanding of complex social situations. Students tend to be passionate about causes that concern them and the resulting songs could provide new insights into students’ lives and experiences. Perhaps most importantly, their fledgling attempts at artistic activism prepare them to advocate for themselves or others in the future.