Prejudice And Racism Exposed In David Dellinger's Hair

Hippie leader David Dellinger was known for being an activist and protesting the Vietnam War. Hair depicted the revolt against the Vietnam War through the perspective of the hippies. This gained the attention of the hippies who were protesting the war and the veterans who had previously fought in war. Hippies were largely made up of veterans who were unsatisfied with the treatment of the American people. Hippies worked to provide for the less fortunate and change America’s political system (Miller 79-86). Hippies lived incredibly free lives. Some hippies were farmers and lived like the early Americans. They also practiced sexual freedom by having multiple partners at once and not committing to one person at a time. An example of this in Hair, is how Jeanie, one of the hippies Claud meets in New York, is pregnant but unaware of who the

Racial inequality created segregation in the working class (Reich 314). In Hairspray, blacks are only invited to dance on the Corny Collins Show once a month on “Negro Day.” The white cast members act as though they are supportive of blacks being invited to dance on the show, but they secretly discriminated against them and are out to get them. Racism was more prevalent in urban areas which is why Hairspray was set in Baltimore, Maryland (Reich 314). Racism and segregation is addressed in Hairspray because of the fact that African Americans are only invited to perform on the Corny Collins Show on Negro Day (Haspel 24). As sung in the show, “Nice, white kids who like to lead the way, and once a month we have our "negro day!" (Shaiman) These lyrics from the show, shows the racism on the show. Racism also affects the show as a whole because the racist owner of the TV station won’t let a black girl dance on the show (Little Inez). Tracy Turnblad, the protagonist of Hairspray, uses her popularity from the show to advocate for African Americans (Haspel