Equality & Music

Throughout history, people have fought to get their voices heard by people in power. Politically, people have resisted government laws in an attempt to gain more rights and equality through protests and movements. Music has played a crucial role in spreading ideas much more than I had realized. Music can be catchy and easy to remember, staying in the minds of listeners long after the song is finished being sung or played. It can effectively send messages to large numbers of people in a way articles in newspapers or speeches can’t. It has been used to advocate for a number or ideas from the support or opposition of war to, as we discussed heavily this week, the advocation for more rights in the workplace.  

Labor unions were first created to give workers the ability to negotiate better working conditions and wages after years of being paid little and working in a poor environment. Young children were placed into the workforce at a young age working long days for hardly any money. Adults worked for one dollar a week which was not even enough to support themselves. Prior to learning this I had not realized how little these people had actually worked for. These workers had no way to stand up for themselves and demand better. Employers would tell their employees that if they weren’t willing to work for what they were paying them there were many people who would be willing to replace them and work for less. This left workers with no power. 

“Solidarity Forever” was a song sung in the past when workers called for more rights and is still sung at rallies and justice movements today. Maggie’s Farm by Rage Against the Machine was another song sung regarding the difficulties in the workforce. It was written in 1965 discussing oppression faced by workers. It is very repetitive stating the phrase “I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more” or similar phrases over and over. This conveys the anger and frustration that was felt. The song communicated the lack of respect the workers were given and the poor conditions they worked under. There was no individuality and they were forced to behave, speak, and act a certain way. Song such as these are a way to capture and understand what these workers were feeling.

Years ago, women were not welcomed into the workforce easily and it was even more difficult for people who were not white to find jobs. Although some things have changes, complete equality still is being fought for today. Women only make 80% of what men do despite having the same degree and qualifications and holding the same position and title. In nearly every single occupation there is a wage gap between men and women. The most significant gaps occur with managers of companies, physicians, accountants, nurses, and education administrators. Similarly, today, minority groups make thousands of dollars less than white men. Strikes still occur today demanding rights people feel they deserve.

As a secondary education major I was most interested in the strikes pertaining to teachers. I had not known that professors and librarians here at Bridgewater State University were taking part in a protest for working over 200 days without a contract. After looking into this topic deeper I learned that the largest teacher protest in decades took place just last month in Los Angeles, California which is the second largest school district in the United States. Teachers protested for higher teacher salaries and lower cap sizes for classrooms. Personally, I think that it is essential that people continue to fight for what they think is right, continuing to work toward achieving equality and music is an important tool for doing this.