[to be graded #3] malcolm x post 8: importance of music in the past and present

especially in the mid section of the book, music was a very strong theme which guided malcolm through life in harlem and boston. he worked as a shoe shiner in theaters, and that is where his love of music, jazz, and the lindy hop dance began to grow. musical talents such as duke ellington, sonny greer, cootie williams, and eddie "cleanhead" vinson, inspired malcolm with their music. i think that it was this newfound interest in the musical and instrumental fields that kept malcolm off the streets some nights, and in the theaters to hear the bands peform, and to work. in harlem, the tour guide taught us how a man, charles mingus, was meeting duke ellington in his harlem apartment, and when he had asked for directions, duke told 

him to take the "a" train. by the time mingus had arrived at his apartment, he had potential song lyrics in his head, and when he met ellington, they created the song "Take the A Train." this shows how artists can be inspired by anything in the world surrounding them. for example, will.i.am wrote numerous songs during the election about President Obama, and how change was going to come. now, how does this relate to me?  although i am not a musician, i do write poems, which in a sense is the same roots as music. by writing about things that inspire me, or emotions that i am experiencing, i am just as much a musician as duke ellington or will.i.am. although i don't have the voice, i can "voice" my opinions and express my thoughts, just as any of these artists. 

in general, men's voices are generally heard more than a woman's, especially back then. however, do you think people in the 1960's would rather listen to a white woman's opinion, or a black man's? think about it. women were completely seen as inferior, because the men ruled the household, brought in the income, and was the backbone of the family. however, some people completely disregarded the existence of african americans. sadly, i would think that a woman might be heard more just because she is of the white race. however, since some men didn't even listen to their own wives, i even beg to differ my opinion. 

after coming up with that question, i decided to rese

arch it. i found an article from the boston globe, which actually related directly to the current election. as you can even see in this picture, people were polled as to whether they would rather vote for a black man, or a white woman, and to some, the results may be surprising - black man. think about it...who would you rather vote for? now pretend that you were living in the 1960's in malcolm's time. who do you think you would have voted for then?