During slavery, one of the few forms of expression for African Americans was singing, whether spiritual songs or others. In the twentieth century, African American historical movements in music unfolded to encompass other forms of expression. Despite the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, the racial struggle continued throughout the twentieth century as African Americans continued to be underserved by social institutions. From Rhythm and Blues and the Motown Sound in the 1960s and beyond to Gangsta Rap in the 1980s, various musical movements played a role in expressing the African American voice and issues related to the racial struggle. Brian Ward (293) notes that "most civil rights workers appreciated the formidable power of black secular and sacred musics in the black community," but other forms of music also served as a form of expression and political tool for African Americans in the twentieth century. This analysis will discuss the Rhythm and Blues, Motown, and Gangsta Rap movements to show that African American music movements play a role of giving expression to what has been an historically marginalized and oppressed group in American society. A conclusion will address the contemporary race struggle and the role of music in it.
Despite the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, African Americans have fought to promote greater equality among the races since that time. Despite the Civil Rights Act and progress for many African Americans since, African Americans still lag behind their white counterparts in terms of educational achievement, income, and advancement to the highest positions of power in U.S. society. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Motown experience was significant not only for its expression of African American concerns through music but also because it represented the kind of self-rule and economic independence advocated by Malcolm X as being essential to African American freedom...