James Brown Research Paper

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Self-proclaimed “the Godfather of Soul” James Brown was one of the many people who contributed widely to The Civil Rights Movement. What was James Brown’s contribution to The Civil Rights Movement? James Brown contributed to The Civil Right Movement by using his music, his influence in the government, and his public presence. Brown was born May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina. He was born a stillborn, he was unresponsive to the constant pokes and prods of aunts and his mother. Everyone had given up on him except his aunt Minnie. She kept poking and blowing into his mouth until he gave the first of his signature screams. His mother left him with his father when he was four years old. It would be another twenty year until he was reunited…show more content…
Brown’s songs reflected the total need for change that everyone believed was important. “James Brown has influenced black music more than any other entertainer dead or alive. His influence will be felt for generations.” Says Island Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid. After Martin Luther King (MLK), Jr.’s assassination he performed in Boston to help prevent rioting. Brown was actually considering cancelling his concert, but decided against it because he was unwilling to forgo the nights pay since he was already booked to play the 14,000 seat Boston Garden. Following the aftermath of the assassination of MLK, Jr., Brown convinced the mayor of Boston, Kevin White, to pay him $60 thousand for the performance to be broadcasted live and then immediately rebroadcasted to keep young blacks in front of their TV’s and not in the streets rioting. Lastly, he used his concerts as a platform to spread the ideology of nonviolence. Near the end of his concert in Boston, some young fans jumped onto the stage while cops, from the wings, came running to the stage to shove them off. However, Brown intervened saying, “You make me look bad, ‘cause I asked the po-lice to step back and you wouldn’t go down. No, that’s wrong. You not bein’ fair to yourself and me and all your race.” Afterwards, when the fans were back in the audience, he was alone in the spotlight again and questioned, “Now, are we together or we

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