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31 Songs & Albums to Celebrate Black History Month

The soundtrack of Black America chronicles the ups and downs we’ve experienced in the ‘Land of the Free.’ Nearly 400 years in the United States, Blacks have experienced the worst of the worst (enslavement) and fought and died for equality (civil rights movements) after a disasterous nadir (circa post-Reconstruction America). We have also enriched the land we were forcibly brought to by creating ”America’s only original art form” (jazz) and being innovators in the medical and social sciences as well (albeit often unsung innovators). The list will offer songs and albums that intermesh inspiration with social commentary (and good ol’ love songs, too). I know that there are more than 31 great songs to commerate this month. And I originally planned to limit myself to the 28 days of February. But that proved to be too difficult. So, I tacked on three extra songs to make my list feel more complete. Alongside Sam Cooke and other American soul stirrers, song stylists from around the globe will also make an apperance. The Pan-Africanism movement of the twentieth century has had a lasting impact on world history by making people of African descent aware of the far-flung Diaspora that exists. That’s why you shouldn’t be suprised to see an Afrobeat pionner and well-known Jamaican icon in this biased ranking of a “music snob.”