African-American and Mexican-American protest songs in the 20 (th) century: Some examples
Ibarraran-Bigalondo, A.
Journal of Popular Music Studies 29(2)
2017
ISSN/ISBN: 1524-2226 DOI: 10.1111/jpms.12211Document Number: 525666
The construction of the United States as a nation has always been linked to agriculture and the possession and exploitation of the land. The African slaves' work during the 17(th) and 18(th) centuries in the Southern territories and the efforts of Mexican braceros in the Southwest after the annexation of the Northern territories of Mexico are essential to understanding the history of agriculture in the United States. The exploitation of these workers has always been accounted for and justified in historical, literary, and journalistic texts. This essay begins with the premise that popular songs produced by African-Americans and Mexicans offer an important corrective to biased official texts, providing key historical and sociocultural information, without the distortions arising from the need to justify the subjugation of a people in the name of economy and patriotism. The article aims to understand the relevance of popular song for the denunciation of the difficult working conditions in agricultural fields, as they were experienced from the colonial era through the 20(th) century, and how field worker organizations of the 20(th) centuryespecially the Southern Tenant Farmers Union and the United Farm Workersused popular songs to demand better working and living conditions and rights for the African and Mexican workers and to encourage workers to unionize and defend their demands.