“Blackbird” was released in 1968. It was the year that MLK was assassinated, police riots broke out during the Democratic Convention in Chicago and the nation was in a state of total upheaval. I wanted to sing it to show my support and solidarity with the protests happening around the country right now. But also, as a promise to myself and the black voices who have been singing protests songs and doing social justice work long before I was born, that I will dedicate myself to doing the work to fight racism. As a white woman with inherent privilege, I will not look away, go numb or continue to stay ignorant to the issues black and brown people face every single day. I promise to use my privilege to lift up grass roots organizers and movements, to donate to organizations that need it and to continue educating myself on what it means to be actively anti-racist. Music has always been my way of making sense of things and I cannot listen to Nina Simone and Billy Holiday without recognizing the injustice they are singing about.
The animation was done by my good friend Kayla! Her instagram is @strcbelite