Paul McCartney Voices Support for Protests Against Racial Injustice - Rolling Stone
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
"Saying nothing is not an option," artist says in post voicing support for Black Lives Matter protests
By Kory Grow
Kory Grow
Senior Writer
Paul McCartney has voiced support for protests against racial injustice, saying he wants justice for George Floyd's family.
Paul McCartney posted a statement of support for protests for racial justice on Friday. "We all need to work together to overcome racism in any form," he wrote. "We need to learn more, listen more, talk more, educate ourselves and, above all, take action."
He also added links to Black Lives Matter, Color of Change, the NAACP, Stand Up to Racism, Campaign Zero, and Community Justice Exchange.
McCartney then recounted a concert the Beatles were booked to play at Jacksonville's Gator Bowl in 1964, and how when they learned that it would be a segregated audience they refused to play. "We never play to segregated audiences and we aren't going to start now," John Lennon said at the time. "I'd sooner lose our appearance money." The concert ended up being the first nonsegregated audience there. After that, the Beatles incorporated a clause in their contracts guaranteeing audiences would not be segregated.
McCartney explained the band's stance in a 1966 interview. "We weren't into prejudice," he said. "We were always keen on mixed-race audiences. With that being our attitude, shared by all the group, we never wanted to play South Africa or any places where blacks would be separated. It wasn't out of any goody-goody thing; we just thought, 'Why should you separate black people from white? That's stupid, isn't it?'" And two years after that, he penned "Blackbird" as a tribute to the Civil Rights movement.
"I feel sick and angry that here we are almost 60 years later and the world is in shock at the horrific scenes of the senseless murder of George Floyd at the hands of police racism, along with the countless others that came before," McCartney added in his post. "I want justice for George Floyd's family, I want justice for all those who have died and suffered. Saying nothing is not an option."
Read Paul McCartney's full statement:
As we continue to see the protests and demonstrations across the world, I know many of us want to know just what we can be doing to help. None of us have all the answers and there is no quick fix but we need change. We all need to work together to overcome racism in any form. We need to learn more, listen more, talk more, educate ourselves and, above all, take action.
In 1964, the Beatles were due to play Jacksonville in the US and we found out that it was going to be to a segregated audience. It felt wrong. We said, 'We're not doing that!' And the concert we did do was to their first non-segregated audience. We then made sure this was in our contract. To us it seemed like common sense.
I feel sick and angry that here we are almost 60 years later, and the world is in shock at the horrific scenes of the senseless murder of George Floyd at the hands of police racism, along with the countless others that came before.
All of us here support and stand alongside all those who are protesting and raising their voices at this time. I want justice for George Floyd's family, I want justice for all those who have died and suffered. Saying nothing is not an option.
Love Paul McCartney
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Sir Paul.
BLACKBIRD - The Beatles
Of course McCartney is correct.
But, how long will it take until the MAGA bots begin their attacks and slander. Seeing as how that's all they got to defend the MINI MAN.
I wrote this in 2009 when I was still on NV.
Good News: What Sir Paul Taught Me Last Night About The Song Black Bird
By Perrie
Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:43 AM
• entertainment
• the-beatles
• civil-rights-movement
• sir-paul-mccartney
• citi-field
• blcak-bird
• paul-mccartney-concert
DISCUSS: 30 23
It was a misty cool evening at the new Citi Feild, home of the New York Mets last night, but I didn't care. I was lucky enough to get tickets to see Paul McCartney. When he came out on to the stage, his face spoke of the years he had lived but his boyishness superseded his looks as he played coy and teased the crowd with the energy level of a young man. In the middle of the concert, he became more serious. He spoke and sang of the losses in his life, his beloved wife Linda, John and George with pain and heart ache in his voice. And then he told the story of the song "Black Bird."
He wrote the song "Black Bird", in reaction to what he was hearing in England about the American civil rights movement. He tried to put himself in the place of a young black girl who was coming of age and the difficulties that she would be having here in the states. He thought of how it must have been so hard for her, and yet the civil rights movement gave her hope. And as he sang the song, I had wondered why, for all the times I had heard that song, that it wasn't evident to me the true meaning of the song. It was so clear, after sir Paul told his story.
So what is the "Good News"? We have come a long way since the song "Black Bird" was written. We have gone from Sir Paul wondering what it was like to suffer as a young black girl here, to having our first black President. Sure, things are still not perfect, but we have come a long way as a nation. And that is "Good News".
So please do the following; Click on the link for the song "Black Bird" , it will open a new window. Then come back to this page and read the words as Paul sings, and read the words. Take a moment to reflect our past as a Nation and see how far we have come. Now isn't that Good News?
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Prophetic?
Maybe. I actually thought about this article today, but the word ironic came to mind.
“All of us here support and stand alongside all those who are protesting and raising their voices at this time.”
That was a well written statement except for the quoted line. It should have read
All of us here support and stand alongside all the peaceful protestors who are raising their voices at this time.