Protest Song One protest song from the 1960s that stands out is Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddman.” It is a song about the racism in the South that was tearing the country apart in the 1960s. As an African American and friend of Malcolm X, Nina Simone was angry about what she saw and this song’s lyrics express that anger: “I can’t stand the pressure much longer,” she sings early in the song. Compared to another protest song from today called “No Justice No Peace” by Z-Ro from 2016, not much has changed. Z-Ro is another African American who is angry about police violence against blacks. His song, like Nina’s is about taking a stand and facing the racism straight on. This paper will compare and contrast three themes from these two songs.

The first theme that emerges in both is the racism against blacks. Nina Simone sings about blacks having to fight for their rights because of inequality. Z-Ro raps about blacks being assaulted by police because the police are racist. Both are singing about an unfair system, but Nina is describing the lengths to which blacks must go to protest for their rights: “Picket lines / School boycotts”. Z-Ro is rapping about the lengths to which police will go to oppress blacks, even using violence against them: “No justice, no peace

It's us against police / Every time I turn around they shoot another brother down in these cold, cold streets.”

The second theme that emerges is a sense of hopelessness: Nina sings: “Hound dogs on my trail / School children sitting in jail / Black cat cross my path / I think every day's gonna be my last.” The images that she brings to mind are of a criminal being hunted down and innocents being locked up. She is out of breath and does not think she will see tomorrow, the racism has gotten so bad. Z-Ro sings: “Shit, I can't even go where I wanna go / Cause I might not even make it to the corner store / Maybe we all gone get shot, I don't even know no mo' / They kill our kids, it seems like they don't get to grow no mo'”—the implication being that the very way of life for African Americans is threatened by the presence of violent police who are out to get them—not just to oppress them but to outright murder them now. The hopelessness is bad in Nina’s song, but it is even worse in Z-Ro’s.

The third theme that emerges is the demand for justice and equality. Nina sings: “All I want is equality / For my sister my brother my people and me.” She identifies the goal that the African Americans are struggling to achieve: it is equal rights. Z-Ro is rapping also for justice and equality, but the goal he has in mind is a bit different. He wants just to survive—and to survive he knows he needs to stand up and fight back: “I'ma protect...

They are separated by about half a century and yet both highlight the same themes—violence, injustice, disharmony, oppression. Nina sings in her song about the lengths to which blacks must go to earn respect from the white establishment. Z-Ro raps about how far the white establishment is willing to go to keep blacks from having normal lives: they cannot even walk to the corner store without fearing for their lives. Both songs address the same issues, but by the time it gets to Z-Ro, the urgency and state of alarm is even higher.
Appendix

“Mississippi Goddamn” by Nina Simone

The name of this tune is Mississippi goddam

And I mean every word of it

Alabama's gotten me so upset

Tennessee made me lose my rest

And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam

Alabama's gotten me so upset

Tennessee made me lose my rest

And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam

Can't you see it

Can't you feel it

It's all in the air

I can't stand the pressure much longer

Somebody say a prayer

Alabama's gotten me so upset

Tennessee made me lose my rest

And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam

This is a show tune

But the show hasn't been written for it, yet

Hound dogs on my trail

School children sitting in jail

Black cat cross my path

I think every day's gonna be my last

Lord have mercy on this land of mine

We all gonna get it in due time

I don't belong here

I don't belong there

I've even stopped believing in prayer

Don't tell me

I tell you

Me and my people just about due

I've been there so I know

They keep on saying 'Go slow!'

But that's just the trouble

'Do it slow'

Washing the windows

'Do it slow'

Picking the cotton

'Do it slow'

You're just plain rotten

'Do it slow'

You're too damn lazy

'Do it slow'

The thinking's crazy

'Do it…