By isaiah (205.188.117.14) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 10:16 pm:

Which artists, past and present, and of any genre, who most embody the spirit of social consciousness and awareness... We talk a lot about the current state of the music industry, with HipHop being first on the list of negative influences on the minds of our children, so what I'd like to gather is, who're those artists of the past/present who've shown a great consciousness of social affairs in their private lives, as well as their art?

The artists do not have to be "SOUL" artists to be mentioned... Artists of any genre will do... Educate myself, as well as, others about their deeds and acts of kindness and social awareness... I remember in the 1980's, during the anti-apartheid movement, artists were asked not to perform at Sun City in South Africa, and some, unaware of the request, performed there, such as the O'Jays, Curtis Mayfield, Cher, and Tina Turner... Curtis and the O'Jays, after being informed of the boycott of Sun City, apologized, and later committed some of their concert proceeds to the Anti-Apartheid Movement... Cher and Tina Turner, on the other hand, were completely unapologetic, and Ms. Turner made some remarks which I will not repeat here, as they are totally ignorant and repellent...

Sorry for the digression... I have posed the question, and look forward to your informed and intelligent remarks on this question...

Peace!
Isaiah

By ~medusa~ (68.79.120.108) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 10:53 pm:

Last Poets
Gil Scott Heron
Beatles
Public Enemy
Tupac Shakur
KRS1
James Brown
EWF
Donny Hathaway
Chilites

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:02 pm:

Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah, okay Zeke;

The singer/musicians:
Paul Robeson
Herb Jeffries
Frank Sinatra
Sammy Davis, Jr. (YES, he broke down barriers in entertainment venues for black singers).
Hazel Scott
Nat King Cole
Pharoah Saunders/Leon Thomas
Miles Davis
Ray Charles
Cher
James Brown
Curtis Mayfield
Marvin Gaye
The O'Jays
Bob Marley

Other Arts:
Oscar Micheau (sp.)
Mahailia Jackson
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Josephine Baker
Dorothy Dandridge
Bill "Bo Jangles" Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Sidney Poitier
Harry Belafonte
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Maya Anjelou
Nikki Giovanni
Martin Luther King,Jr.
Rosa Parks

to name a few.
S.S.

By Vickie (64.236.243.31) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:07 pm:

Bono

Peter Gabriel (has a human rights organization)
I was at an event where he was honored, he's done incredible work.....

Madonna has used her celebrity for great causes too

By Vickie (64.236.243.31) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:10 pm:

I ditto Soul Sister's list too I had fogotten about some of those folks....

Celebs can do a lot of good in the world with their names.....

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:12 pm:

Universaly add a few more:

Paul Simon
Willie Nelson
Bono

S.S.

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:17 pm:

Add activist:

Marcus Garvey
Sonny Carson (NY)
Charles Moses (NY)
Malcolm X
Al Sharpton
Jesse Jackson
Tom Bradley
David Dinkins
Louis & Carl Stokes
Charles Rangle (sp.)

Too Too Many, I'm tired.

Goodnight,
S.S.

By Uptight (24.55.0.68) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:18 pm:

Stevie Wonder has made donations of musical equipment to schools. He also had been rallying as far back as 1980 to make Dr. King's birthday a national holiday.

Yeah, Isaiah. I remember the Artists United Against Apartheid rallying against performing at concerts in Sun City. Pat Benatar, Kutis Blow, George Clinton, Kashif, Gil Scott-Heron, Bruce Springsteen, and Nona Hendrix were among the artists performing on a single (& music video) called "Sun City" in 1985.

The chorus was "I ain't gonna play Sun City..." And the royalties from the record were going to The Africa Fund to benefit political prisoners in South Africa and to the work of anti-apartheid group in the U.S.

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:35 pm:

Oops forgot:

Stevie Wonder
Bob Dylan
Teena Marie
maybe Janis Joplin

S.S.

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:36 pm:

How about Yea! Quincy Jones!

S.S.

By Vickie (64.236.243.31) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:46 pm:

Soul Sister,

you're on a roll.....it's enlightening to knowso many do so much - really...

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Friday, April 02, 2004 - 11:54 pm:

Hi Vickie;
How are you doing today, you sound good!
I'm just burning off excess energy after spending the day getting Jimmy all checked out with cartiologists at the Cleveland Clinic all day long! I happy to report his heart's muscle has gotten unbeleivably so much stronger over the past 7 months thanks to my T.L.C.!!!!!!!
S.theenergizerbunnyS.

By Edgar (200.46.13.221) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 12:00 am:

Robert Altman
Spike Lee
Bob Marley
Caetano Veloso
Chico Buarque
Gilberto Gil
Gal Costa
Eartha Kitt
Bruce Hornsby
Ossie Davis
Ofelia Medina
Tim Robbins
Susan Sarandon
Michael Moore
Jean-Luc Godard
Jane Fonda
Oliver Stone
David Byrne
Dalton Trumbo
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Luchino Visconti
John Sayles
Helen Mirren
Lupe Ontiveros (the killer in "Selena")
Rubén Blades
Luis Buñuel
Francis Coppola
Robert Redford
Pat Benatar
Bono
Bruce Springsteen
Jimmy Cliff
Peter Gabriel
Herbie Hancock
Nona Hendryx
Peter Wolf
Bobby Womack
Eddie Palmieri
Ray Barreto
Alfonso Cuarón (director of "Y tu mamá también")
Kim Basinger
Jim Jarmusch
Ernest Dickerson...

By Vickie (64.236.243.31) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 12:00 am:

Jeanie,

I am good .....I'm really glad to hear Jimmy is doing great! your sweet love is healing him more and more everyday.....Keep it up girl!~!!!

you take care of you too, have a nice bath and treat yourself to something special for you...

You're an angel.....you've got to rest those wings once in a while hun

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 12:32 am:

Edgar;
Thank you, most definately Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee!!

Vickie;
LOL!! I don't know about all that esp. the angel part but I do work hard.
Thank you for the fun & laughs!!
S.S.J.

By lennytone (66.241.87.179) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 04:24 am:

Surely social activism isn't limited to socialists and secular humanists. Many of the above names are not "artists" anyway, so allow me to suggest:
Alan Keyes
Ken Hamblin
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson
Richard St. Andrew
J.C. Watts

By Isaiah (205.188.117.14) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 07:25 am:

LENNYTONE, You coulda thrown Roy and Niger Inniss in there for good measure - and why not Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, and the whole Bush clan????(Smile!) These people you mentioned are all at home with Clarence Thomas over for dinner, and I believe their greatest deeds in behalf of humanity has been to stuff their own pockets and stomachs at the expense of the rest of humanity... Come on, now, Lennytone, you know what time it is(smile!)

Peace!
Isaiah

By Pogo (66.129.42.46) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 07:49 am:

I don't think Jane Fonda should be on the list after what she did to the Viet Nam vets. Yes it's still a sore spot for some.
Pogo

By Isaiah (205.188.117.14) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 03:51 pm:

I asked that ARTISTS who are socially conscious be mentioned in this thread, not those who are activists... I asked that folks whom you know to be socially conscious be included in this thread - not for your politcal likes, dislikes, and ideology... Thank you for sabotaging my effort here... I shall remember you in the future...(smile!)

Peace!
Isaiah

By moanman (24.44.218.110) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 08:31 pm:

Zup Pa

My list includes the following:

Paul Robeson (he rose his mighty voice in protest and in defiance of a nation that would continue, even w/ his wealth of talent and education, to hold him back and pigeonhole his massive talent. For his outspokenness, he was promptly �blacklisted��ironic word�isn�t it?)

Langston Hughes (his artistry told stories of both the beauty and the plight of the �Negro� in America. His satire and the character Jes B. Simple was biting, informative and real. Read his poem �A Negro Speaks of Rivers�)

James Baldwin (an important writer, and chronicler of a diseased society, he told raw stories and revealed essential truths that opened minds, and angered many, as his intelligence tried and tested those who would seek to stereotype him, his gift and his mighty literary and social roar)

Lorraine Hansberry ( her writing often reflected the turbulent times of African-Americans, and blatantly named and showcased the inequities between the treatment of Black and Whites within America and in Third World countries)

Eartha Kitt (her daring and righteous stance, in the White House, against the Viet Nam War, left Lady Bird agog, and Ms. Kitt to pay the price by being blacklisted)

Ossie & Ruby (long time civil rights workers & spokespeople, who for years, in their roles and in their personal lives have continued to fight the power, as well as fight FOR power)

Toni Morrison (see Lorraine Hansberry)

Amiri Baraka (ditto)

Bob Marley (his crusade, the urgency of his music was lively and POLITICAL, detailing the strife and struggle within Jamaica)

Gil Scott-Heron (in music, he has continued to recite the ills of society as he sees, hears, feels, tastes and smells them. Listen to �Johannesburg�)

Bono (in music �Pride In the Name of Love� an homage to MLK, has written, sang and championed the fight for Irish independence, and for AIDS in South Africa)

Sting (in music, �I Hope The Russians Love Their Children Too�, �They Dance Alone� dealt with the proliferation nuclear arms, and the systemic Chilean murders of innocent political prisoners, respectively. In private life, he has waged a decades long fight to save the rain forests)

Harry Belafonte (see Ossie & Ruby)

Stevie Wonder (in music �Livin For the City�, �You Haven�t Done Nothin��, �Happy Birthday� �Don�t Drive Drunk� etc., he reveal very close ties to the insight and to the plight facing the African, American and Third World Diaspora)

Cicely Tyson (for a long time refused any role that didn�t serve to strengthen and uplift her people, and thus, with the lack of significant roles offered, created a chasm in her brilliant career )

Spike Lee (his film work speaks for itself)

Michael Moore (a steadfast agitator/ provocateur who often questions the American way�- his films and book soften mock the ridiculousness inherent and pervasive within this society)

In addition to the above consider: Danny Glover, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Denzel Washington, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, india.arie, Whoopi Goldberg, Common, LL Cool J, Mariah Carey, and Mary J. Blige, who either in their artistry, in deed, or in both reveal a social-consciousness.

One.

MM

By ~medusa~ (68.79.83.104) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 06:00 am:

Donny Hathaway/Aretha/Bobby Womack(Someday We'll All Be Free)
Sista Souljah(Activist)
Whispers(Seems Like I've Gotta Do Wrong Before They Notice Me)
The Johns Brothers(Try To Walk A Mile In My Shoes)
Chilites(For God Sakes)
McFadden & Whitehead(Aint No Stopping Us Now)
Temps(Message from a Black Man)
Syl Johnson(Is It Because I'm Black)
Main Ingredient(We're Not Stone, Rolling Down A Mountain side...God Is On Our Side)
Sound Of Blackness(We're In A Crisis)
Isley Brothers(Fight The Power)
Stevie Wonder/Bob Dylan(Blowin' In The Wind)
Denice Williams(Black Butterfly)

By Pogo (66.129.42.50) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 01:57 pm:

Isaiah,
If my comment was the one you were referring to in your last post then I must apologize. I must have taken the purpose and meaning of your post out of context. I read your remarks about Tina Turner in your initial statement and thought mine would fit right in. Apparently I was wrong and if I am indeed the person you alluded to I am sorry. You see that was my opinion and you know what they say about opinions. As far as sabotaging your effort, I haven't the savvy to sabotage anything and mistook your point completely.
I would like to add at this point 2 artists who may fit the bill. Gil Scott-Heron & Neil Young.
In closing if I am that one you spoke of I want to apologize again and am sorry that I did tread on your thread, so to speak (smile). I bid you adieu and humbly remove myself from this thread.
Peace, love, soul, & God bless,
Pogo

By Isaiah (205.188.117.14) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 03:59 pm:

No, Pogo, it was not you whom I was talking about, and I did not mention names because I am not interested in getting into squabbles and fights with folks unnecessarily... I am talking about the worthless exchange of pleasantries that could be dealt with in an e-mail or two, while we discuss and learn something about artists who are concerned with their fellow human beings outside of the context of their art... In many respects, it is about a big-up for those artists, a great spotlight put on their character as human beings... That is all I was after, but I really think folk take offense to any allusion of that, poarticularly when it comes from myself... If that's the case, then I sincerely wish they'd just leave any thread I start alone, because there's no compulsion to post, and certainly not to do what was done on this thread... Pogo, once again, it was not you whom I was referring to, and I offer you my apologies if you thought it was...

Peace!
Isaiah

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 04:26 pm:

Hey Isaiah;
Did my adding an afterthought of activists to my long list of entertainers bother you too or were you just referring to the other person you read out??
S.S.

By Edgar (200.46.13.212) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 07:28 pm:

Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong: just consider their songs Cloud Nine, Friendship Train, Ball of Confusion, Law of the Land, War, Plastic Man, Masterpiece, Papa Was a Rolling Stone, Message from a Black Man, Runaway Child Running Wild, Stop the War Now, Smiling Faces Sometime, Hurry Tomorrow, Ma, Don't Let the Joneses Get You Down, Unite the World, Superstar...
If it were just one song, one would think it was opportunistic, but they did it again and again.

By tricky (81.134.114.2) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 04:37 am:

BLOWFLY !!!!!!!
HE LIKES SOCIAL AFFAIRS.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 04:23 pm:

Soul Sister:
You're list pretty much hits the nail. I do agree about Sammy Davis Jr's contribution - he does deserve more credit for breaking down racial barriers in entertainment from Los Angeles and Las Vegas to Broadway.

Isaiah:
I was the program director for Ithaca College's radio station during 1985-87 and aired the single "Sun City" when it was released in the fall of '85.

If their names haven't been added I would like to add to the list KENNETH GAMBLE & LEON HUFF. IMHO they created some of the most socially-conscious music next to Curtis Mayfield. They also contributed to causes within the Philly area and Gamble himself has build housing, mosques and community buildings for the inner city of Philadelphia.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 05:24 pm:

THANK YOU KEV-GO, for saying it.
Sincerely,
S.S.

By Grubman, Indursky & Schindler (216.139.153.109) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 05:28 pm:

Tricky,

Yeeeeeah ah ah ah ah aaaahhhh !!! ....... Yeaaaaaahhh !!!!! Love Blowfly !! I would represent him in a heartbbeat !!!

My fave is "First Time Ever You Sat On My Face" Classic !!!

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 06:15 pm:

Soul Sister:
No problem....Not many people realize that Sammy tried to rally Hollywood behind Dr. King's causes as far back as the late 1950s (this according to Davis' autobiography "Yes I Can"). At that time Sam's "colleagues" felt that Dr. King's cause was "noble but not the right time". Fortunately, Sammy felt differently and continued rallying.

I have a photo of Sammy at the 1963 March To Washington and Ebony Magazine did an extensive cover article on Sam at the time of his death that featured photos of him with Dr. King and Coretta.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 06:34 pm:

Kev-Go;
Good research. My ex would probably like to see that photo as he and his group of friends (some famous, some not) from Greenwich Village at the time attended the 1963 March on Washington.
Thanks again,
S.S.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 06:43 pm:

Soul Sister:
The photo of Sammy at the 1963 March on Washington can be found in Shaun Levy's book "Rat Pack Confidential". Sammy is seated with others and he looks like he's applauding a speech.

Sammy also mentioned the March in his last autobiography "Why Me" and the meeting Dr. King had with JFK.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 06:48 pm:

Kev-Go;
Ok, Thanks again & again .
S.S.