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It’s been a very hot summer so far, and not just because of climate change. We’re faced with openly racist hostility, revisionist spewings about slavery being good for Black people, and a host of other grave political concerns politically. As I pondered this week’s installment of Black Music Sunday, I recalled another long, hot summer—more than five decades ago in 1967—and I realized how many of the folks in my life today weren’t even born then. They don’t remember when urban centers across America burned—literally.
Though often portrayed as race riots, many historians have also described these events as uprisings and rebellions. The uprisings took place in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Tampa, Birmingham, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Newark, New York City, Plainfield, Rochester, Toledo … the list is long—there were more than 150 rebellions that summer.
One major result of the unrest was the incisive “Kerner Commission Report,” the important conclusions of which were essentially ignored. The aftermath of the summer of ‘67 also created a shift in music, which became more militant, more “Black and proud,” and also highlighted conditions in the Black “ghettos” of the United States.
RELATED STORY: Florida tries to defend its revisionist history on slavery
Black Music Sunday is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music. With nearly 170 stories (and counting) covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack, I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new.
