Post by Emerald City on Aug 23, 2005 16:44:31 GMT -5
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Cody Williams
The Supremes/ George Bush's Supreme Court Nominee
Goodbye to Two Generations of a Liberal Court
During the politically charged 60s Motown founder Berry Gordy presented to the world The Supremes, the quintessential girl musical group. In the 60s President Lyndon Johnson also appointed Thurgood Marshall to the US Supreme Court. Marshall was the quintessential liberal justice. The 60s was the `decade of change.' For a lot of folks America was two very different worlds on either side of this decade and the Supremes helped to ease us through that transition, while the Supreme Court helped to facilitate it.
Gordy promoted Diana Ross as the Supremes lead singer. Diana, for me, went on to become the voice of the sixties. More than any other voice this soulful soprano stylist provided a musical backdrop, a soundtrack to a turbulent era of political and social upheaval.
Marshall, the first black to sit on the court in its two hundred year history, helped the Warren Court to become a "functioning partner in Kennedy-Johnson liberalism" says Lucas Powe author of the book "The Warren Court and American Politics." This court, Powe writes, "helped to impose national liberal-elite values on groups that were outliers to that tradition the white South, rural America, and areas of Roman Catholic dominance."
The Supreme Court guided by Chief Justices Earl Warren and Warren Berger helped to shape the America we live in today and gave blacks the liberties the constitution promised but society had previously denied. Before Motown and the dominance of these two liberal courts America for blacks looked a whole lot like Apartheid South Africa.
Segregation was an accepted norm. Blacks were defacto second-class citizens. Previous Supreme Court decisions like Plessy vs. Ferguson and Dredd Scott, looking at the same constitution we have today, told America that it was perfectly fine for black and white public (and private) accommodations to remain separate. In the south there were Negro sections in movies houses and parks, Negro bathrooms and drinking fountains and blacks were not allowed the sit in some restaurant dining areas with whites or walk through some of the same building entrances.
As we processed Jack Kennedy's call up of US troops to escort black children into white southern schools the girls sang "Where Did Our Love Go?" "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me."
With the anxiety of pending nuclear war we got "Stop!In the Name of Love." Watching replays of Dr. King's great march on Washington, Jack's assassination and George Wallace's segregationist defiance we listened to "Back in My Arms Again."
When Malcolm and Medgar Evers were assassinated radios blasted "My World Is Empty Without You."
"I Hear a Symphony," "Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart," "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone," "The Happening," and "Reflections," played during Vietnam war protests, campus uprisings and Kent State.
In the wake of losing Dr. King The Supremes gave us "Love Child." "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" made more bearable Bobby's assassination, the Detroit riots, the Newark riots and the ruckus Democratic convention in Chicago. Then the Supremes ushered us out of the 60s with their breakup song "Someday We'll Be Together."
"Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand," was as close as Diana would get to directly challenging the political system. Supreme productions were not soul searching message music but her songs, crossing a divide that speeches, prayers and polemic rhetoric couldn't, made us feel better being who we were and about what we could accomplish. Her skinny little black girl ghetto-to-greatness story its self was motivational.
Black men came into the 60s carrying signs trying to convince the world that, "I AM A MAN." We exited declaring, "I'm Black and I'm proud."
The Supremes lulled us through turbulent progress and political advances. Motown's Supremes gave us a degree of entertaining escapism during a very difficult a period in our nation's history. Berry Gordy with his insistence on polish and professionalism gave mainstream America a rock-n-roll that was not so threatening. The world lovingly embraced his Supremes. Diana has delivered more hits songs than any female recording artist in history. Billboard named her the female Entertainer of the Century.
Cody Williams
The Supremes/ George Bush's Supreme Court Nominee
Goodbye to Two Generations of a Liberal Court
During the politically charged 60s Motown founder Berry Gordy presented to the world The Supremes, the quintessential girl musical group. In the 60s President Lyndon Johnson also appointed Thurgood Marshall to the US Supreme Court. Marshall was the quintessential liberal justice. The 60s was the `decade of change.' For a lot of folks America was two very different worlds on either side of this decade and the Supremes helped to ease us through that transition, while the Supreme Court helped to facilitate it.
Gordy promoted Diana Ross as the Supremes lead singer. Diana, for me, went on to become the voice of the sixties. More than any other voice this soulful soprano stylist provided a musical backdrop, a soundtrack to a turbulent era of political and social upheaval.
Marshall, the first black to sit on the court in its two hundred year history, helped the Warren Court to become a "functioning partner in Kennedy-Johnson liberalism" says Lucas Powe author of the book "The Warren Court and American Politics." This court, Powe writes, "helped to impose national liberal-elite values on groups that were outliers to that tradition the white South, rural America, and areas of Roman Catholic dominance."
The Supreme Court guided by Chief Justices Earl Warren and Warren Berger helped to shape the America we live in today and gave blacks the liberties the constitution promised but society had previously denied. Before Motown and the dominance of these two liberal courts America for blacks looked a whole lot like Apartheid South Africa.
Segregation was an accepted norm. Blacks were defacto second-class citizens. Previous Supreme Court decisions like Plessy vs. Ferguson and Dredd Scott, looking at the same constitution we have today, told America that it was perfectly fine for black and white public (and private) accommodations to remain separate. In the south there were Negro sections in movies houses and parks, Negro bathrooms and drinking fountains and blacks were not allowed the sit in some restaurant dining areas with whites or walk through some of the same building entrances.
As we processed Jack Kennedy's call up of US troops to escort black children into white southern schools the girls sang "Where Did Our Love Go?" "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me."
With the anxiety of pending nuclear war we got "Stop!In the Name of Love." Watching replays of Dr. King's great march on Washington, Jack's assassination and George Wallace's segregationist defiance we listened to "Back in My Arms Again."
When Malcolm and Medgar Evers were assassinated radios blasted "My World Is Empty Without You."
"I Hear a Symphony," "Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart," "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone," "The Happening," and "Reflections," played during Vietnam war protests, campus uprisings and Kent State.
In the wake of losing Dr. King The Supremes gave us "Love Child." "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" made more bearable Bobby's assassination, the Detroit riots, the Newark riots and the ruckus Democratic convention in Chicago. Then the Supremes ushered us out of the 60s with their breakup song "Someday We'll Be Together."
"Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand," was as close as Diana would get to directly challenging the political system. Supreme productions were not soul searching message music but her songs, crossing a divide that speeches, prayers and polemic rhetoric couldn't, made us feel better being who we were and about what we could accomplish. Her skinny little black girl ghetto-to-greatness story its self was motivational.
Black men came into the 60s carrying signs trying to convince the world that, "I AM A MAN." We exited declaring, "I'm Black and I'm proud."
The Supremes lulled us through turbulent progress and political advances. Motown's Supremes gave us a degree of entertaining escapism during a very difficult a period in our nation's history. Berry Gordy with his insistence on polish and professionalism gave mainstream America a rock-n-roll that was not so threatening. The world lovingly embraced his Supremes. Diana has delivered more hits songs than any female recording artist in history. Billboard named her the female Entertainer of the Century.
