Teaching Social Studies: Vol. 19, No. 2, Summer-Fall 2019

Teaching about Race and Racism with Springsteen Songs

Mark T. Kissling

Penn State University—University Park

At first thought, it might seem odd to teach about and race was central to what he found there” race and racism in the United States with the (2011, paragraph 7). music of . One of the more famous long-time musicians in this country and With Springsteen’s voice as one of the around the world, Springsteen is likely not often more prominent American cultural voices over associated with these topics, perhaps foremost the past several decades, it is relevant to most all because he is White. Yet race and racism are social issues, but this doesn’t mean it’s the lone important topics in and across his music. voice to consider about race and racism. Indeed, Further, many of his musical influences—like the voices of people of color must be central to and Curtis Mayfield—were Black, social studies teaching about race and racism. as was his most influential musical collaborator, The curriculum cannot be directed solely by , his longstanding friend and White voices, especially those attached to great band-mate known as “the Big Man.” fame and wealth.

For decades, Springsteen has written and Yet, famous, wealthy, White voices are sung about race and racism, particularly America not useless. Racial justice cannot come about struggling with racism. Yes, he writes about cars without progress in all corners of society, and love and the Jersey Shore, too, but race and including—maybe even particularly—White racism are, importantly, also there in the mix. America. Toward this end, White voices calling He has often uttered a line in interviews that his for racial justice need to be heard and considered music charts the gap between the American (and undoubtedly not just those of famous, dream and everyday living in America (e.g., wealthy, White men). Springsteen’s voice Pelley, 2007). In doing this he takes up the reaches the ears of many, particularly in White question, what does it mean to be an American? America, in ways that most other voices do not. This work includes—sometimes explicitly, It can be an important model for White students sometimes implicitly—race and racism. Shortly to learn to speak out against racism, and it can be after the death of Clemons in 2011, Springsteen an important example for students of color of biographer noted that “Springsteen how some well-known White people do speak set out to write about the heart of the country, out in favor of racial justice. 101 Teaching Social Studies: Vol. 19, No. 2, Summer-Fall 2019

Teaching about Race and Racism—with Race and Racism in Springsteen’s Life and Music Songsi

In Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Born in 1949, Springsteen grew up in Coates writes about learning to “ruthlessly Freehold, New Jersey. Issues of race and racism interrogate” (2015, p. 29) his social world. Such were not foreign to him. In “” critical investigation is central to powerful social (1984) he writes and sings, studies teaching and learning. The United States was founded on—and today, in 2019, remains In '65 tension was running high at my structured by—racism. The evidence is strewn high school across the country’s history (e.g., Kendi, 2016; There was a lot of fights between the Lepore, 2018), including 400 years ago, when black and white the first ship with Africans landed at the There was nothing you could do Jamestown colonial settlement. The evidence is Two cars at a light on a Saturday night in also strewn across contemporary America, in the the back seat there was a gun form of staggering gaps in wealth, education, Words were passed in a shotgun blast incarceration, housing, and other areas between Troubled times had come to my White and non-White (e.g., Alexander, 2012; hometown Rothstein, 2017). Social studies teachers have Freehold, like many others, was a struggling the precious responsibility of shining a light on American town and racial tension was one of its this evidence and wrestling with questions of struggles. Like his hometown, Springsteen why and how. personally struggled. In “Tenth Avenue Freeze- Because teaching about race and racism Out” (1975) he writes and sings, is not easy, music is a great avenue for inquiring Tear drops on the city into and discussing these topics. Songs Bad Scooter searching for his groove introduce stories, characters, and ideas that make Seem like the whole world walking pretty us feel and think, consider and investigate. For And you can't find the room to move example, for many teachers addressing the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the mid-Twentieth Scooter is Springsteen, a working-class White Century, spirituals and protest songs—freedom male trying to find his way as a young musician songs—sung primarily by the participants (“stranded in the jungle,” he sings in the next themselves are foundational resources in their stanza), not buying into the rhetoric of his father, lessons. Songs like “Oh Freedom” and “We schooling, or the mainstream establishment Shall Overcome” are examples of the larger calling for him to cut his hair and get a theme that music has a long and important traditional job. His prospects seemingly change history (and present) in the United States of when he partners up with an older, massive, calling for and activating wheels of social -blowing Black male—Clarence change. Clemons, the Big Man. As “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” turns triumphant, Springsteen exclaims,

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When the change was made uptown Sessions Band played the New Orleans Jazz and And the Big Man joined the band Heritage Festival. Reviewing the performance From the coastline to the city for the Times-Picayune, music writer Keith All the little pretties raise their hands Spera wrote, I'm gonna sit back right easy and laugh When Scooter and the Big Man bust this “No other artist could have spoken to, and for, city in half the city of New Orleans at this most important of Jazzfests more purposefully, more passionately To be sure, the , Springsteen’s and more effectively than Bruce Springsteen and band, was not simply Scooter and the Big Man the Seeger Sessions Band” (Spera, 2012). but it revolved around and was built upon their dynamism. The cover of Springsteen’s breakout One song Springsteen sang was “How album, , in which a bemused Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live,” Springsteen with his guitar leans on Clemons as an adaptation of Blind Alfred Reed’s Great he plays his sax, is telling. Year later, reflecting Depression-era song of the same name. After on the relationship between Clemons and singing Reed’s opening stanza about a doctor Springsteen in a society marked by racism, the and his “humbug pill,” Springsteen departed biographer Marsh wrote, from Reed’s story in order to tell a story about New Orleans post-Katrina: Bruce and Clarence could not pull down the tower in which America is shackled, "Me and my old school pals had some no two humans could do that, but they mighty high times down here inflicted their share of damage…They And what happened to you poor black were these two guys who imagined that if folks, well it just ain't fair" they acted free, then other people would He took a look around, gave a little pep understand better that it was possible to talk, said "I'm with you" then he took a be free. (2011, paragraph 15) little walk Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live

“Gonna be a judgment that's a fact” There's bodies floatin' on Canal and the Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans levees gone to Hell and the surrounding Gulf area in late August of Martha, get me my sixteen gauge and 2005. The aftermath of the hurricane was some dry shells environmentally and socially disastrous. Not Them who's got out of town and them only was New Orleans flooded, social relations who ain't got left to drown within the city were characterized by utter Tell me how can a poor man stand such disregard of the city’s poorest people, times and live particularly people of color. Nine months after Katrina hit, Springsteen and his accompanying Got family scattered from Texas all the group of musicians known as the Seeger way to Baltimore Yeah and I ain't got no home in this

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world no more “It ain’t no secret” Gonna be a judgment that's a fact, a righteous train rollin' down this track In February of 1999, a 23-year old Tell me how can a poor man stand such Guinean immigrant named Amadou Diallo was times and live shot 19 times by four police officers while he stood in the entryway of his apartment building The second stanza focuses on the in the Bronx in . Diallo was response by then-President George Bush. The unarmed. The officers shot 41 times. Diallo president metaphorically takes a walk, signifying died. the way in which the people most struggling in New Orleans, many of whom were poor and At the time, Springsteen and the E Street Black, were left behind by all levels of Band were in the midst of a reunion tour. In the government. wake of Diallo’s shooting, Springsteen wrote a song titled “.” The subtitle is “41 In the third stanza, the folks who “got Shots.” He writes/sings: (money)” fled the town. Those who “ain’t got (money)” were left to drown. As I read this Lena gets her son ready for school stanza, the simple Black-White binary is She says "on these streets, Charles troubled. The speaker, as I imagine, is a small You've got to understand the rules business owner, or even simply a homeowner, of If an officer stops you any race who is looking to protect his business or Promise you'll always be polite, home, and family. All who “ain’t got,” of all that you'll never ever run away races, were left behind. Importantly, though, Promise Mama you'll keep your hands in those who “ain’t got” were overwhelmingly sight" Black. The chorus repeats:

The fourth stanza faces the reality of the Is it a gun, is it a knife exodus from New Orleans from the point of view Is it a wallet, this is your life of someone who was able to flee. The reality of It ain't no secret families and communities scattered to the winds It ain't no secret is plainly acknowledged. Springsteen sings “I No secret my friend ain't got no home in this world no more,” You can get killed just for living echoing Woody Guthrie’s lament (“I ain’t got no In your American skin home, I’m just a ramblin’ round”) during the Dust Bowl and westward migration that John Springsteen first played “American Skin” in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath characterizes. Atlanta, during the reunion tour. It was big But there is also a hope expressed in the idea of a news, particularly in the New York press as the “righteous train”: a judgment is coming. It may tour concluded with a 10-night stand at Madison not be present yet but it’s coming. Square Garden in New York City (Barnes, 2000). Springsteen played “American Skin” each night at the Garden despite protests from the New York City Police Department and the

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Police Benevolent Association. A recording of many grade levels with appropriate adaptation. the song from one of these performances, which As a beginning, a teacher might play audio (and is serious and haunting, was included on a DVD possibly video) for the song and hand out a copy released after the tour. The repetition of “41 of the lyrics so that students can examine and Shots” by Springsteen and other members of the annotate them. band—seemingly 41 times, even if not really— serves as the song’s heartbeat.

In 2012, Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” Black male, was murdered by George • Focus: Personal Reflection Zimmerman, a 28-year old biracial (Latino and • Context: Our personal experiences shape White) male, in a gated community in Sanford, how we interact with the world. They Florida, where Zimmerman was the also provide the boundaries around our neighborhood watch coordinator. After the imagination for what might be possible. shooting, Springsteen began regularly singing Thinking about the relationship of Bruce “American Skin” during his ongoing tour, and Clarence, students can examine in including at shows in Florida. Two years later, their own lives the influences and roles of just months before Eric Garner was strangled in people from different backgrounds. New York City and Michael Brown was shot in • Guiding Questions: What are your Ferguson, Missouri—two of the events that experiences with people from different precipitated the movement— racial and ethnic backgrounds than you? Springsteen released the album High Hopes, Thinking about what Bruce and Clarence featuring a first-ever studio version of meant to each other, how has your life “American Skin.” been bettered, directly or indirectly, by the actions of people from different backgrounds than you? Ideas for Teaching with Springsteen Songs • Additional Considerations: Student might write narratively in response to these The songs featured above are just several questions; they might also gather artifacts of many Springsteen songs that engage race and related to their experiences and compile racism. I chose these both for their personal them in a scrapbook or memory box significance to Springsteen (“Tenth Avenue

Freeze-Out”; “My Hometown”) and their relevance, including commentary, on important “My Hometown” cultural and political events (“My Hometown”; “How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and • Focus: Attending to the Local Live”; “American Skin”). These songs can be • Context: So much attention in the social engaged in the classroom in numerous ways. studies curriculum is focused on the Here are curricular possibilities for each one. I national level, sometimes obscuring more intentionally do not affix grade levels to these local levels. While learning about race suggestions as I believe they could span across and racism across the United States, it’s

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important for students and teachers to • Focus: Extending the Tradition study these topics locally. • Context: Many folks songs, including • Guiding Questions: What are ‘race freedom songs sung during the Civil relations’ (or ‘struggles for racial justice’) Rights Movement, are adapted across like in your local community? What is time and place to speak to new contexts. the history of ‘race relations’ in your Just as Springsteen adapted Blind Alfred local community, including during the Reed’s song to the context of New 1950s and 1960s when Springsteen was Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, students growing up in Freehold, New Jersey? can write an adaptation of the song (or • Additional Considerations: Local any song) for a new, present-day context. libraries can be a wonderful resource for • Guiding Questions: What is a justice such investigations, as well as local issue that needs particular attention? newspaper archives; interviews with What details of the issue are important community elders can also be quite and should be worked into the song? powerful Who is the audience for the song and what particular words, phrases, or ideas will be meaningful to that audience? “American Skin (41 Shots)” • Additional Considerations: Students can • Focus: Studying Examples of Racial record and/or perform their songs to Injustice bring awareness to, and spur action of, • Context: The murder of Amadou Diallo others in their schools and/or is one of many instances in U.S. history communities of people being killed “just for living in Additionally, in working with each of these [their] American skin.” Students might songs, I encourage teachers to ask students to study two instances of this kind of find other songs, especially in other musical injustice, one historical and one genres, which have similar themes and bring contemporary. them into the inquiry. • Guiding Questions: What social context precipitated each instance? What happened in each instance? What were Conclusion the ramifications of what happened? Social studies teachers must grapple with How do the instances compare and the history and present of race and racism in the contrast? United States and across the world. This is • Additional Considerations: Having both simply non-negotiable if we are to take seriously national and local dimensions to this our charge to create effective citizens, as stated investigation can be quite meaningful as by the National Council for the Social Studies students come to see that injustice is not (2010). In doing this, we must work with and solely ‘here’ or ‘elsewhere’ see to it that our students hear many voices; “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Bruce Springteen’s is one of so many potential Live”

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curricular resources. While his voice cannot stand alone in the inquiry, it can be a powerful Coates, T. (2015). Between the world and me. part of it, particularly as it is firmly rooted in the New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau. places of New Jersey and New York. Kendi, I. X. (2016). Stamped from the Thinking about the significance of place, beginning: The definitive history of racist ideas and what it might mean for students learning in America. New York: Nation Books. about their places, I am reminded of something that Springsteen said to me when I was able to an Lepore, J. (2018). These truths: A history of the interview him about Woody Guthrie’s song United States. New York: Norton. “This Land Is Your Land”: Marsh, D. (2011). MIGHTY MIGHTY, SPADE [“This Land Is Your Land” is] AND WHITEY: Clarence and Bruce, friendship enormously beautiful. It’s one of the and race. Virtual Dave Marsh [blog]. Retrieved most beautiful statements of ownership from http://davemarsh.us/?p=918 of your own Americanness. The insistence of your place, that this is your National Council for the Social Studies (2010). place. That you have a place, not just National curriculum standards for social geographically, but by birthright you are studies: A framework for teaching, learning, and a player in history. By your belonging to assessment. Washington, D.C.: NCSS. this place, at this time, and making your claim of ownership of this place, at this Pelley, S. (2007, October 4). Springsteen: time, marks you as a player in this Silence is unpatriotic. 60 Minutes. Retrieved moment in history. As such you are from empowered, rather than disenfranchised. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/springsteen- (Author, 2018, p. 14) silence-is-unpatriotic/ Rothstein, R. (2017). The color of law: A

forgotten history of how our government References: segregated America. New York: Norton.

Alexander, M. (2012). The new Jim Crow: Mass Spera, K. (2012, April 22). Remembering Bruce incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New Springsteen’s big moment at the 2006 New York: The New Press. Orleans Jazz Fest. The Times-Picayune. Retrieved from Author. (2018). Blinded for review. http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2012/04/ Barnes, J. E. (2000, June 13). Springsteen song remembering_bruce_springsteens.html about Diallo prompts anger from police. The New York Times. Retrieved from Springsteen, B. (1975). Tenth avenue freeze-out. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/13/nyregion/s Retrieved from pringsteen-song-about-diallo-prompts-anger- from-police.html

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http://brucespringsteen.net/songs/tenth-avenue- Springsteen, B. (2006). How can a poor man freeze-out stand such times and live. Retrieved from

Springsteen, B. (1984). My hometown. http://brucespringsteen.net/songs/how-can-a- Retrieved from poor-man-stand-such-times-and-live http://brucespringsteen.net/songs/my-hometown Springsteen, B. (2014). American skin. Retrieved from Springsteen, B. (1996). . Retrieved from http://brucespringsteen.net/songs/american-skin- 41-shots http://brucespringsteen.net/songs/the-ghost-of- tom-joad

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