The song What About Us by the Coasters represents the idea of the absence of equality among African-American and white people in the USA. In 1959, when the composition was released, the question was extremely acute, and the lyrics appealed to most fighters for adequate human rights as it aims to demonstrate the ills of society. The purpose of this paper is to prove that the analyzed song puts forward the thesis that white people live better and retire in luxury, unlike the African-Americans.
The Civil Rights Movement that took place after the Second World War in the 1950s until the late 1960s was called the Second Reconstruction. One of the most significant figures of this period was Martin Luther King, whose aim was to fight against racial segregation. It is possible to assume that the actions during this era were highly efficient and changed the lives of millions of people in the USA. For example, the decision of the Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education stopped the racial segregation of children depending on their color of skin (“The Civil Rights Movement and the Second Reconstruction,” 2008). However, Brownstein (2014) argues that the consequences are not positive. Even though nowadays the amount of people with higher education among the African-American and the white people is almost equal, the professors still grade higher the second group than the other one (Brownstein, 2014). It shows that segregation did not disappear but passed through several modifications.
The song What About Us does not seem to cover the specific events that happened during the Second Reconstruction. However, in the lyrics of the Coasters, it is possible to notice the echoes of the slogans and public speeches of those times (The Coasters, 1962). For example, the songwriters use popular stereotypes about white people that did not correspond to reality like the fact that they eat “at the Ritz” or have their “own swimming pool” (The Coasters, 1959). The Coasters use the grotesque description to highlight the differences in the quality of life of the two categories of humans.
Jargon has a specific role in the lyrics of the song by the Coasters. The composers turn to lingo like “chick,” “slick,” “gaz” in order to demonstrate the distinction in the social level and the cultural diversity (The Coasters, 1959). It is essential to notice that no proper nouns and names appear in the song. The reason for it is that leadership was the responsibility of each person who wanted to fight for their rights (Schmitz, 2015). The author of the article maintains that the names of King or Ms. Parks are well-known because of the particularities of human perception: people need to have a concrete hero to follow (Schmitz, 2015). Nevertheless, the nation, in general, was the frontrunner of the Second Reconstruction.
In conclusion, it is necessary to mention that not only the music industry was influenced by the Second Reconstruction and this historical period but also literature, art, and cinema. The question of racist segregation is still actual, even in the 21st century. The events of the 1950s made significant changes, but without supporting it and ameliorating the results, it would be hard to make a difference, especially in small regions where people are not so tolerant as in metropolitan areas. The system of school education has to be controlled and improved in order to provide not only equal opportunities to study, but also to be graded and get fair feedback from the teachers. The song What About Us contains several stereotypes; however, some of the described situations are common even in modern society.
References
Brownstein, R. (2014). How Brown v. Board of Education changed – and didn’t change – American education. The Atlantic.
The Civil Rights Movement and the Second Reconstruction, 1945 –1968. (2008). History, Art and Archives.
The Coasters (1962). Run Red run [Song]. On Coast Along [Album]. Jerry Leiber.
The Coasters (1959). What about us [Song]. On Coast Along [Album]. Jerry Leiber.
Schmitz, P. (2015). How change happens: The real story of Mrs. Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Huffpost.