On May 17th, 1964, Nina Simone, an African American jazz player, performed her song “Mississippi Goddam” in Carnegie Hall. The song is in response to the death of Medgar Evers, a very prominent civil rights activist based in Mississippi, and alludes to several other events that were representative of black oppression: the Baptist Church bombing that killed 4 young girls, the series of bombing in Tennessee, a Governor's use of hound dogs to stop peaceful protests, and the Birmingham Children's Crusade of 1963 where children were hosed down by firemen and forced into jail. In the middle of the song she says the words “This is a show tune, but the show hasn't been written for it, yet.” The irony is that the lyrics and the message are very serious …show more content…
When she performed this song at Carnegie Hall, she sang for a white audience, an audience that might not be for the movement but an audience that enjoyed her music. In regard to this, she says, “You don't have to live next to me/Just give me my equality.” Meaning she is not expecting empathy or even sympathy, but all she wants is to be treated fairly and for African-Americans to not be discriminated against.
The performance was the starting point for Nina Simone’s civil rights activism. She was able to reach both the black and white population. Her large caucasian fan base made it easier to influence Caucasians in the North, and her being an African-American performing at Carnegie Hall inspired many African-Americans to fight for success. This changes the mindset of both populations and sparked the willingness for them to actively make changes. This song proved to be very significant to her overall contribution to the movement. Following “Mississippi Goddam”, she continued to release other protest songs such as “Strange Fruit” - where she compares black people that were hung to fruits on trees - , “Feeling Good” - where she dreams of freedom -, and “Sinnerman” - where she attacks the white people that wronged African-Americans - all In 1965. All of these songs were very