What makes a protest song?
Prompt The primary questions are: What makes a protest song? What is/isn’t protest? I’ve included some extra questions to help you think about the primary questions (what makes a protest song, what is/isn’t protest). You won’t answer all of them, but they might inspire your thoughts in the essay as you find an answer to the main question:
o If you were an artist back then, do you think these movements would have impacted you? Why/why not? How?
o If you were a listener back then, do you think this music would have impacted you? Why/why not?
o How did these artists and listeners use music as a form of self-expression? How do they and we use music to build communities, or to demonstrate solidarity with or difference from communities?
o Are there protest songs today that resonated with you as you worked through this material from the past?
Sample Solution