For as long as
there has been an established Government in place, there have been Activist
protesting and denouncing its crippling grip on society. I am also aware that as long as activist have
been marching, sitting and shouting for the freedom of all, Artist and their
various art forms have been the first journalists on the scene giving minute to
minute detail of what is happening around the world. I am not sure if activism inspires art or
vice versa but one thing is certain; one is always a mirror for the other.
Whether the tool
of change is a paintbrush, a Bic pen or a microphone, artists often shed a
spotlight on the destruction that befalls us.
Diego Rivera, a
Mexican painter and member of the Mexican Communist Party during the 1920s used
his murals to expose the atrocities of the Church and its crooked Clergymen.
John Steinbeck,
author of Grapes of Wrath used his
pen to detail the depressing and life-altering journey from Oklahoma to
California during the 1930s Dustbowl Migration.
Marvin Gaye used
his voice to speak for a weary generation of people who were tired of being
beaten and abused, tired of being ignored by the government, screaming out for
an answer in the form of “What’s Going
On?”
Both Artists and
Activists have always walked hand and hand, willing to speak for the masses
because no one else is willing to listen.
They live among us and carry our message to the powers that be. Not always receiving a welcome or thank
you. More often than not they are
greeted with backlash and scrutiny. As
the country music group the Dixie Chicks learned after speaking out about their
disgust toward former President Bush and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Rapper Jay-z’s
song “Minority Report” speaks volumes
about the lack of a response or support from the White House and former
President Bush after Hurricane Katrina destroyed Louisiana and
Mississippi.
It is amazing
that as human beings we can feel powerless until we have that one weapon. That one weapon that once wielded can raise
an army and destroy one just as easily.
That one weapon of mass destruction, a pen, a voice, a paintbrush or
YOU!
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