12 Trivia Tidbits for Friday, April 19, 2024

Let these tidbits dance in your children's heads, instead of those dastardly sugarplums

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Did Taylor Swift Just Doom Us to Another ‘American Pie’ Sequel?

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12 Musicians Who Performed Seriously Gutsy Acts Of Activism

By:: Lily Landau

December 25, 2021

12 Musicians Who Performed Seriously Gutsy Acts Of Activism

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that wildly famous, successful musicians are people with lives outside of the music they produce for our consumption. Let’s celebrate the humanity and empathy of these 12 musicians whose activism astounded us.

12

Noname CRACKED.COM In addition to producing absolute bangers, Noname is an outspoken advocate for the destruction of oppressive structures that have negatively impacted communities and people of color for centuries. She also established a book club which highlights two books a month written by authors of color and sends these monthly picks to incarcerated individuals. — Source

11

Nina Simone CRACKED.COM In 1964, the indomitable Nina Simone wrote & recorded Mississippi Goddamn in response to the murder of Medgar Evers in MI and the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, AL: Keep on saying 'go slow,' to do things gradually would bring more tragedy. Why don't you see it? Why don't you feel it? The song elicited such a strong reaction that it was banned in several states. — Source

10

N.W.A. المملكة Fuck THE Kings N.W.A SEATTLE police Seahawas CRACKED.COM The rallying cry Fuck tha Police, heard at demonstrations against police violence across the nation, was originated by the rap group N.W.A. on their 1988 debut album, Straight Outta Compton. The song became a protest anthem in 1992 when Los Angeles erupted in anti-police demonstrations following the acquittal of the cops who brutalized Rodney King. — Source

9

Stevie Wonder CRACKED.COM When he was just 15, Stevie Wonder met Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at a Civil Rights rally in Chicago. After King's assassination three years later, Wonder mobilized a decades-long campaign to recognize the King's birthday as a national holiday. In 1981, Wonder debuted his revolutionary reimagination of the classic Happy Birthday song in Washington, D.C. on King's birthday: You know it doesn't make much sense/ There ought to be a law against/ Anyone who takes offense/ At a day in your celebration. — Source

8

Rage Against The Machine RN VETERANS THE WER ACAINST TIE IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR CRACKED.COM As their name suggests, Rage Against the Machine's music is incendiary to say the least and the band has participated in a number of protests. In 2008, after headlining the Tent State Music Festival to End the War during the DNC in Denver, the band joined uniformed veterans from Iraq Veterans Against The War in a five-hour standoff with police which resulted in Barack Obama's campaign agreeing to meet with the veterans to hear their grievances. — Source

7

Public Enemy & The Bomb Squad FIGHT THE POWER EXTENDED VERSION PERSONAL 7,7, *STA TIMEL CRACKED.COM Originally recorded in 1989 for Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad's Fight the Power has remained a rallying cry for social justice movements. Consisting of a nearly overwhelming array of samples, including speeches by Civil Rights activists, jazz, soul, reggae, and more, the song was played and chanted wherever people felt at odds with an oppressive system, from American student protests to dissident Serbian radio. — Source

6

Pete Seeger CRACKED.COM Folk singer Pete Seeger is perhaps best known for co-writing and popularizing the Civil Rights anthem We Shall Overcome, adapted from a hymn penned by Lucille Simmons which Seeger added a few verses to. All royalties from the song go to grants to African American activists organizing in the South. In addition, Seger founded the nonprofit Hudson River Sloop Clearwater which, after decades of activism and litigation, compelled General Electric to dredge toxins it had dumped into the river. — Source

5

Josephine Baker CRACKED.COM Famous for her risqué performances, Josephine Baker put the privileges fame afforded her to the test while living in France during WWII. She housed resistance fighters in her home, collected information on German troop movements, and smuggled classified documents out of France by writing them on her sheet music with invisible ink. — Source

4

Joan Baez CRACKED.COM Folk singer Joan Baez made an indelible impact on the world with her activism and musical performances. In 1963, she sang We Shall Overcome, (written by Lucille Simmons and Pete Seeger) which became a Civil Rights anthem, at the March on Washington alongside Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She also founded Institute for the Study of Non-Violence in CA in 1965. — Source

3

James Brown JAMES BROWN says: DON'T BE A DROP-OUT KING 6056 A Documentary to All Young People to Remain in School. AM GRATEFUL TO VICE-PRESIDENT HUMPHREY FOR THE CRACKED.COM НЕ BESTOWEDUPON ME In addition to joining Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Stokely Carmichael, and other Civil Rights activists at protests and marches, James Brown embarked upon an education campaign by recording Don't Be a Drop-Out in 1967 and touring schools to drive home the importance of education. — Source

2

Eartha Kitt CRACKED.COM Perhaps best known for her 1950s holiday hit, Santa Baby, and her portrayal of Cat Woman in 1966, Eartha Kitt was an outspoken activist. When invited in 1968 by Lady Bird Johnson, then the first lady, to discuss what women could do to help eradicate crime on the streets, she frankly expressed her opinion that juvenile crime was a direct result of young people opposing the Vietnam War draft. As a result, President Johnson blacklisted her and she could only find work in Europe for the next decade. — Source

1

Aretha Franklin CRACKED.COM Born to a Civil Rights activist father, Aretha Franklin lent her voice and celebrity to the cause by frequently performing at protests and rallies. What many don't know, however, is that she put her money where her mouth was: in 1970 when Angela Davis was arrested and pronounced a terrorist by Nixon, Franklin paid the $250,000 bail that freed the young activist. — Source

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