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What Music Can Teach Us About Unity

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What Music Can Teach Us About Unity
What Music Can Teach Us About Unity

Music teaches you how to live, it makes you feel emotions, and explains things and situations. Music can motivate, encourage, and energize. Music holds a powerful position. Music can travel across country borders, barbed wire, and conflict. Music cannot be beaten, stolen, jailed, insulted. Music is not one person’s claim; no one can own music. Music can be interpreted according to you; there 's no right or wrong way. Music is a language that can be understood universally without translation. In times of need and sadness music has the ability to unite people across cultures. Musicians are given the power to use their music as a bridge to change and social advocacy. After World War II there was a period of time of unparalleled energy. African American soldiers had returned from war and demanded equal rights. Numerous ways of resisting racial segregation and discrimination included civil disobedience, protests, boycotts, and marches. The people who would fight for their American freedom did so without a weapon to kill or the urge to kill. They had one means of protection, however, music. With a strong mind, a song in their heart, a want to be free, they sang through the thickness. Music was a fundamental part of the Civil Rights Movement. Music had given them courage. When non-violent protestors came together they faced beatings, fire hoses, shootings, and jail. They didn’t have any source of protection other than the strength they gained from music. People that went through these trying times , “sang, in order to uplift their spirits and keep their minds focused on what they were trying to achieve.” (45, Hast) Not only can music cause unity to fight for a cause but it can also bring people together to help out others. On January 12, 2010 Haiti suffered a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. There were 316,000 lives lost (Archibold). Musicians came together in order to create “We Are the World 25 for Haiti” - a remake



Cited: Archibold, Randal C. "Haiti: Quake 's Toll Rises to 316,000." The New York Times. 14 Jan. 2011. The New York Times. 20 Dec. 2012 . Hast, Dorothea E. Exploring the world of music. 2nd ed.: Kendall/Hunt Company, 1999. Vinciguerra, Thomas. "The Truce of Christmas, 1914." The New York Times 25 Dec. 2005. 13 Dec. 2012 . "Who Do You Think You Are? Season Two." NBC.com. 20 Dec. 2012 .

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