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Tupac Shakur's Been In The Storm So Long

1098 Words5 Pages

Rooted in our Past History is a subject some people love, but yet some also hate. Regardless of it all history is an integral part of our lives today, because we either learn from it or unfortunately, just end up repeating the same mistakes of the past. History is reflected all around us, it is even reflected in songs and music of today. Music as we all know tells a story and in the song “Changes” by Tupac Shakur, though written in recent time, expresses the oppression of African Americans and the discrimination against them. This essentially reflects similar conditions expressed in the spiritual Been in the Storm So Long, written during the slave era, which expresses the oppression of African American slaves. Though the circumstances vary, the oppressive conditions are the same nevertheless. …show more content…

The “storm” refers to the harsh conditions in which the slaves were forced to live in, as part of their everyday lives. The lack of freedom, the despair, and mistreatment they faced from their master, is all portrayed within that simple word “storm”, which yet holds so much significance. This spiritual also expresses how desperately they would hope and pray for some sort of escape, it stated “this is a needy time” and “my neighbors need you now” (Gates and Smith, 15). Those statements were cries out to God, to help them. The pain and suffering were evidently too much for them to handle and were weighing heavily on

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