Work through all of the multi-media interactive components, label each of your responses according to section letters below A-D, and then find a meaningful multi-media element to add to your padlet. 
The media (picture, song, drawing etc...) should be significant in some way or symbolic of,  what you learned here. Come up with a creative title and include your name in a by:line, after the title. 

A.  Listen to the song while paying close  attention to what feelings and thoughts arise as you listen to the song. (3-4 sentences).

B. Read the song lyrics here. Then in 4-5 sentences: (Do not do any outside research beyond reading the lyrics, in this section).

C. Conversational Inquiry (2-3 sentences)

 

D. Synthesis: The creation of new meaning – After working through parts A-C (7-8 sentences)

E. Meta-reflection: How is the activity in anyway related to the lecture material from this week and/or the Haas/Flower article? (5-6 sentences)
 

F. Include a multi-media element that is significant in or symbolic of your experience here, come with a creative title, and DO NOT FORGET YOUR NAME IN THE BY-LINE

E. Share link to Padlet profile on BB by Thursday, 11:59pm on BB.

B.      After physically reading the lyrics of the song instead of listening, I feel like I heard more of her problems. When listening, the main thing I heard was that she believes change is coming. While reading I got that she’s been running, trying to look for change maybe. It’s hard for her to exist, but she doesn’t want to go yet, because she’s afraid and clueless of what’s next. It’s not safe to go some places, and she has to fend for herself. I personally relate to the song because I can say I’m afraid to die. Same as her, I don’t know how I’ll feel, what I’ll see, or what will happen. 

C.      The author of the song is Sam Cooke, an African American who’d experienced discrimination when trying to make a reservation for a hotel, also within the rest of hi life. The song could’ve bought him hate, as far as white people were concerned with the words written. The song did bring him much recognition, as he spoke out against the unfair acts towards himself, and all African Americans. 

D.      In the beginning, I felt Lauryn Hill was almost giving a motivational speech. The words were quite simple, but inspiring at the same time. When I read the lyrics, I sought out more problems she faced, instead of just the idea of change. After reading about the Sam Cook, I found a deeper meaning. It was more personal and of a whole new context. My original responses in part A and B are just as important because the led to my response in part C. As I read through each, I was going to go back and change my responses, but they are meaningful so I didn’t. Each one was like a step to the next, to pull out my true understanding of the song. A comparison within both artist is that they struggled some how, but found a way to overcome the issue. Hill’s response was to wait and believe that change is soon to come. Cooke went and wrote a song to express his feelings and as a way to defend his people. They are both important because although they have different personal meanings, they are about a general idea. 

E.       This activity is related to the Haas/Flower article because the main idea I pulled out the article is that, reading and writing is whatever you make it. There are certain ways to use certain techniques, but no right or wrong answer. It’s how thorough your understanding or point is. Or what you choose to express, however you choose to. I got to not consider it knowledge-reading and knowledge-telling, you have to come up with meaning and think outside of what you’re given. 

B. The song and its lyrics forces its listeners to prevail through their hardship. The lyric deepened my initial feelings by allowing to focus on the individual experiences with people in his life that Sam Cooke sang about. For example, his brother. This song resonated with me because I talk to family  members and friends about when I feel like giving up and after I went through with the action. 

C.The original artist is Sam Cooke. This song became a civil right anthem during the 1960s which is how it is known throughout the African American community.

  

D. The meaning of the song evolved in my eyes. Its significance became deeper when I found out it was used as a civil rights anthem. I originally thought this song was used to get people through hard times, but It was much more than that. This song pushed an entire race's movement toward rights that have been historically denied forward. It fueled the fight for civil rights, justice and high expectations for future generations. My original interpretation in part A and B is just as important as C because it shows the difference in my knowledge with context and new interpretation. All parts can reflect the average person's feelings towards the song.

E. 

Both the readings and the activity stressed the importance of critical thinking. Many times we are reading for context and not a higher understanding. Higher understanding urges us to make more connections and deeper thinking. This week activity and reading focused on racial injustice as well. “Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke talked about racial injustice and how there is a light at the end of every tunnel.

A. This song awakens a full body experience of emotions whenever I hear it. It is so powerful in its message and its delivery, that everybody in the African American community feels this so deeply. Initially, I feel great sadness and heartbreak for my people and the journey we have come and the battle we are still fighting. By the end of the song I feel a sense of gratitude, not in the sense that our fight is over; but in the fact that I am learning about this song now as I sit comfortably in my home at my four year university, that my people have some so far in their fight. The artist, Lauryn Hill, is a very popular black r&b artist and she took upon the risk of recreating a song that is so heavily valued and respected in the African American community. 
B. My initial interpretation of the song is definitely a plea for help or a shedding of light on the reality of living as an African American. The words that stuck with me was the hook when he is saying “it’s been a long time coming” and that “a change is going to come.” When I hear these words I hear the disparity and exhaustion in the voices of the entire black community. I was able to read these lyrics and see them as an actual conversation and account of words that actually came from the mouth of a black man, not just hearing this tune as a catchy song. I feel personally connected to the song in the sense of being within the black community. I do not go through the exact same struggles that my community did during that time, but I definitely feel the weight of these experiences as it is still impacting my community today. 
C. After researching the background information in addition to what I already knew about the song in its originality sung by the great Sam Cooke. Sam Cookie was a very influential and talented musical artist during the 1900s. Like the average Black man during that time, he faced hardships as it related to racial injustice. In this song he wanted to use his voice and talent to shed light on this struggle, something he knew everyone in the African American community could relate to. In writing this song he took the risk of expressing the truth about the black American experience, during a time where our opinions were not widely accepted.

D. Being truthful, my interpretation of the song did not drastically change over the course of this assignment. I grew up in a house with my grandfather who felt the impact of racism and brutal acts of hatred against black people greatly. He relates to Sam Cooke and his music because of his life experiences, so that is all I grew up listening and learning about. I was very familiar with Cooke and this song, and the weight the words and song have on my community. Since the beginning of this assignment until now, I still believe this is one of the most powerful songs in the Black community as it relates to our long fight for equality and justice. My original responses in part A&B are just as important as part C, because one was before I read the lyrics and background history of the song but in both instances my feelings about the words are valid. Lauryn Hill and Sam Cooke are both very influential black artists in the music industry who use their art to paint the African American experience. I see Sam Cooke's version of this song as the original exploitation of the injustice African Americans endure. Similarly, I interpet Lauryn Hill's remake of this song decades later as a reminder that Black people are still going through these hardships, and still pleading for a change. Lauryn Hill uses her art as a continuation of the hope in the Black community as we still fight in white America today. 
E. This activity is directly related to our class discussion this week of Rhetorical Reading by Haas & Flower. Earlier this week we learned about the importance of rhetorical reading, and not reading to absorb information and mindlessly read it back but to digest it. An important term mentioned in our class discussion this week was the idea of integration while reading, to gain a genuine understanding of the text. We were given a song to sit with and digest and a multitude of questions that enabled us to pull our emotions and interpretations out of the text. We practiced the element of Rhetorical Reading as we integrated our personal feelings and connections with words and what was presented to us. We were able to gather a deeper understanding of Sam Cooke and Lauryn Hill’s purpose of the song after we read the history and origin of the song and combined it with our personal experiences and what we already knew to be true doing these times. 

F. above
G. Submit

 

B. My initial interpretation was that this song's theme was about overcoming depression. After reading the lyrics I learned that this song was not only about persevering through sadness but also overcoming being the ugly duckling that doesn't fit in. I personally relate to this as a philosophy major at Howard University. My mother and father wanted me to choose a more job oriented major, but I honestly couldn’t see myself graduating if I took on a major like those. My dreams and personality have never lined up with the workforce, but I’ll keep moving forward and find a way despite everyone's doubts.

 

C. Sam Cookes had the stakes of vile racism which shaped the writing of this song.  He and his colleagues had a very horrid experience being turned away from a whites only motel. That shaped how he felt and one can begin to feel how he did through this track.

D. I feel so inspired by this track after this assignment. I feel much more connected to blackness and the struggles we had to triumph through as a people. In my original responses I thought this song had little to do with race, but now that I know about the racial aspect it means a lot more to me. My original responses are just as important as my developed response because they highlight my natural initial thoughts on the subject matter. These thoughts would be much less authentic with the influence of other knowledge present. All and all, I thought the tone of both of the renditions of this track were beautiful. Lauryn Hill and Sam Cookes create such a compelling and touching story through their singing voices and diction. I’m glad they were able to appropriately convey such a powerful message to inspire the black community in our times of need. 

 

E. This activity can be related to rhetorical reading. I had to make use of rhetorical reading before I had a full understanding of the purpose Sam Cookes was trying to convey. Reading the author's background allowed me to better understand him as a person. I also learned about the events that caused him to write this empowering song. I’m thankful that he felt compelled to uplift his fellow black brothers and sisters.

 

 

 

 

B. 

My initial interpretation of the song is that it’s time for America to change how they treat black people. It’s also time for black people to stop being afraid and pushing their fears of what may happen if we speak out about this unfair treatment. I personally relate to the song because of its overall meaning that we need change in our lives. I relate especially now hearing that barely even a month after my brother’s legal issues were resolved, he finds himself, once again, a victim of our justice system in america. I just don’t understand how after so many years of operation, our law enforcement can’t seem to figure out how to change their operations so that they punish the real criminals of society.

C. Conversational Inquiry:

Sam Cooke wrote and recorded this song after he was turned away from a motel and then arrested for disturbing the peace. This happened because he was black. It’s sad how even today that this song is still relevant.

 

D. Synthesis:

My interpretation of this song was expounded on because initially I understood the song as change needs to come in America in general. But as I listened and read and watched the visuals, this song is about how we need to change how America treats black people. There is no reason why the black community should have to suffer in order to try to be great. It's worse because some are telling blacks to not speak at all out of fear. The interpretations I made in part A and B are just as important as part C because even though the song is old these interpretations still represent the world today as mentioned in part C. Both song renditions talk about change Lauryn’s version is mainly talking about the problems within the black household in America by using her family as an example. Sam’s Version speaks on the problems outside of the black home in America. They connect because Lauryn's version is the result of Sam’s version. This is important to know because if you don’t know the start of the problem how can you bring about change.

E. Meta-reflection:

This activity relates to our discussion about how Lyiscott used hiphop to teach. Though these songs aren’t rap i think the same concept still applies. Sam Cooke used this song to bring awareness to the fact that black people are still being treated bad and we need to bring about change. Because he put the message into a song the song has become a staple in the discussion of equality for black people. I have yet to meet a black person who doesn’t know this song or what the song is about.

B. I initially thought this song was about overcoming hardships in life.  Whenever I would listen to this song, I would hear the lyrics, but I never really heard the lyrics. The author starts with the beginning of their life saying how they were “born in a little tent.” They came from an underprivileged background, and that is something I can relate to. I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida.  I grew up on one of the most notorious streets but my family was able to move. Our change came. The quote, “There have been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long But now I think I’m able to carry on”, is something that resonates with me. I often have thoughts that I should just give up. However, I continue to work because I know the life I could have. 

C. The original singer and songwriter was Sam Cooke. This song was about trying to overcome racial inequality  in America. This song was created after Cooke was discriminated against at a hotel. This adds a deeper layer to this song. This also makes sense as to why so many of my older relatives loved this song. It was a song they could relate to. 

  

D.I appreciate this song much more. Racial inequality is sadly something people of color still face in America. I can now relate to this song on an even deeper level. Although we have overcome some issues, there are still many other obstacles we must face.  

E. After this week's class I found it easier to break down text. Learning the context helps understand the author’s environment and mindset. I learned not to read contextually and not just regurgitate information. 

B. At first I thought the song was about his own struggles and life and how he dealt with those problems as well. But after really listening to and looking through the lyrics I understand now that the song isn’t about just his experiences it’s about himself and his community’s struggles and experiences. It also has historical roots in racial disparities in the time of racial turmoil. I can definitely relate to this song because I go through a lot of hard and tough times in my life and sometimes the only thing that keeps me going is knowing that there are and have been better days and today isn’t that day but that doesn’t mean tomorrow can’t be. 

C. The original artist of this song was Sam Cooke. He made this song in a time where the message was important for black people in America at that time and somewhat relevant to today as well. The stakes he had in this song is that he wrote a message song for black people in America in a time where we weren’t well represented and he had to deal with racism and people who were against the civil rights movement. 

D. The beginning I thought the song was only about how he felt about his experiences, struggles, and how he dealt with those problems. But now that I looked more into it and understand the material a little more I understand now that he was talking about the black community as a whole and what we went through during that time and we can triumph over it. Talking about racism and struggles we as black people went through back then and how he said motivational words to uplift us to see a better future. My responses in A and B are important in C because it shows other changes in view over the song itself and the perspective as well. I can connect with both of the artists because they were both black artists in America experiencing different forms of racism and have had struggles and hard experiences. But both found ways to deal with those hard experiences and found hope in the midst of despair. This connection is important because you can see the similarities and differences between what was happening then in the original rendition of the piece and what was happening during the time of Lauryn Hill’s rendition of the song. 

E. The activity relates to the Hass/flower article and the lecture materials because it focuses on the rhetorical reading. If you read rhetorically you know that you were doing this assignment correctly because we had to inquire about historical context, relating the material to your own personal experience, asking questions about the writer, and questioning how the writing impacted or will impact the audience. I had to use these skills when looking at the background of Sam Cooke and reading lyrics to the songs. We had to integrate our own experiences to think of our own interpretations of the song and the artist's motivations for the songs. Also how we came to new conclusions and interpretations of songs after reading more information about the person and the lyrics and listening to both versions of the song as well. We got a more detailed interpretation of the song by using rhetorical strategies when looking and listening to the song.