Protest+Song

__Protest Song 10/29/07__

media type="file" key="02 Original Faubus Fables.m4a"
 * Name of Song:** Original Fables of Faubus


 * Name of Musician:** Charles Mingus




 * Social Ill/Problem being Protested**: Segregation, more specifically when Orval Faubus, governor of Arkansas in 1957, disobeyed the Supreme Court rulling from Brown v. Board of Education, and used the Arkansas National Guard to prevent black children from attending Little Rock Central High School.

Oh, Lord, don't let 'em shoot us! Oh, Lord, don't let 'em stab us! Oh, Lord, don't let 'em tar and feather us! Oh, Lord, no more swastikas! Oh, Lord, no more Ku Klux Klan! Name me someone who's ridiculous, Dannie. Governor Faubus! Why is he so sick and ridiculous? He won't permit integrated schools. Then he's a fool! Boo! Nazi Fascist supremists! Boo! Ku Klux Klan (with your Jim Crow plan) Name me a handful that's ridiculous, Dannie Richmond. Faubus, Rockefeller, Eisenhower Why are they so sick and ridiculous? Two, four, six, eight: They brainwash and teach you hate. H-E-L-L-O, Hello.
 * Sample of Lyrics**:
 * Relevance of the Words and Phrases selected; is the song convincing in its message:** The words and the message of the song are relatively straightfoward, directly attacking Governor Faubus and his actions. The lead speaker, Charles Mingus, questions "Name me someone who's ridiculous," when the drummer, Dannie Richmond, quips "Governor Faubus!" The song creates a tension to the listener, sending heavily negative connataions, "Why is he so sick and ridiculous?", He won't permit integrated schools, then he's a fool! Nazi Fascist supremists!" is most likely a representation of the tension felt in Little Rock at the time. The song is also powerful beyond its lyrics, the moaning and screeching of both the singers voices and instruments illustrate their feelings of Faubus.

Little Rock Crisis, Orval Faubus, Dwight Eisenhower, Arkansas National Guard, 'Little Rock Nine' (the black students), Little Rock, Arkansas Approximate Date: Late 1950s
 * Event, Person, and Place**:


 * Significance in History:** The song is a protest of a very sad time, when a governor of a state will dispatch the State's National Guard in order to prevent racial integration of schools. A federal court had to order Faubus to remove the Guard, which he did, but that was not the end of the crisis. Police had to [[image:little_rock_9.jpg width="383" height="264" align="right"]]escort the children to school, protecting them from mobs. For the rest of the school year, federal troops had to escort the 9 children to school, where they were abused and ridiculed by white students.


 * Contemporary Connections:** This song has lost some of its meaning because we do not deal with these issues of segragation like we did in the 50s, but the power of the song delivers a constant reminder of the event.


 * Trivia related to the event, people, and places:** The song was orignally to be placed in Mingus's album "Mingus Ah Um (1959)," although the record company, Columbia, who was producing the album, was afraid of the lyrical impact and made Mingus remove the vocal track from the song. Another version of the song, one without lyrics, was inputed instead. So for his album "//Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus"// Mingus was allowed, by another record company, Candid, to release the song as he originally intended. The song was dubbed "Original Fables of Faubus"


 * The reasons you selected this song and/or musician:** I selected this song and this musician mainly because it was the first thing that popped into my head when I thought of a protest song. I personally feel its the greatest protest song I've ever heard. I've always found it interesting how Columbia Records would not allow Mingus to release his album with the lyircs, I've always felt that it was really unfair for them to limit his right to free speech in fear of record sales. I also feel this song is extremely important because it came before protest songs were even popular, which was during the Vietnam War.

http://www.neajazzintheschools.org/listen/listenpop.php?tk=cd2_t18**
 * External Links: http://www.deselbybowen.com/parlando/2007/01/19/charles-mingus-fables-of-faubus-1959-and-original-faubus-fables-1960/