Plessy Vs Ferguson

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Blues and Jazz are recognized as a genre in music are around the same time as Plessy v. Ferguson. In the 1890’s, the songs of the blues reflected the current events and protests that people saw on a daily basis just as Hip Hop did in the 1960’s. African Americans at that time were still going through slavery in some parts of America and in other parts of America, African Americans were free but followed the “separate but equal” doctrine. The “separate but equal” doctrine “permitted state-imposed racial segregation despite the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” Blues and Jazz songs in the 1800’s described living everyday along with the current events of that time. Plessy v. Ferguson stated “The “separate…show more content…
Ferguson case was to allow everyone to be able to mix and mingle all as one human race versus everyone having the same thing but, based on their skin color, they had to use separate amenities. The case was supposed to help racism come to an end but it only made things worst. The white people followed the 14th Amendment, section 1, which states “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” but made it fit their needs. That is how the “separate but equal” doctrine was born. The white people followed the law but fit it to still follow their racist minds. In the 1960’s and forward, people formed gangs because they were also “separate but equal.” While being pushed into the projects by the white people, they still had the same amenities that the white people had but the conditions were poor. With the conditions they had to face, tension soared in the Bronx and Harlem projects from the 1960’s and forward. . In “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” chapter 3, Mercado said “Back in England every family had their coat of arms. This is our coat of arms…This is what we are, this is what we be.” That quote was referring to the “colors” that gangs wore in order to survive out there, because if they all went their own ways, one by…show more content…
In the 1960’s, B-Boying, DJing, MCing, and graffiti was the four elements of Hip Hop. Those four elements brought the project stricken people together no matter what color you wore. The Blues and Hip Hop explained, very vividly, the everyday of struggle and how hard and unfair it is to be “separate but equal.” The only difference was the times and how the music sounded. The four elements allowed people to express themselves in more than one way. This way was a constructive way of turning their anger into art, just as the Blues and Jazz singers did in the 1800’s. The gangs was supposed to provide a safe haven for the youth in the ghetto to feel

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