{"id":4236,"date":"2022-08-24T19:05:13","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T19:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/?p=4236"},"modified":"2022-08-24T19:05:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T19:05:13","slug":"here-in-america-a-song-written-about-sam-cooke-is-still-evident-in-todays-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/?p=4236","title":{"rendered":"Here in America, a song written about Sam Cooke is still evident in today’s world"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

TERRY MOSHER<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TOP OF THE T<\/strong>OWN<\/strong> \u2013 I get a kick out of so-called Christians saying there is no racism in America. It\u2019s useless to argue with them. They have drunk 45\u2019s Kool-Aid. At least most of them have. There is built in racism in our country. White men wrote the rules for our country over 200 hundred years ago when slavery was legal and most of the big plantations had slaves doing the heavy lifting. We have gone though phases where slavery was wiped away and replanted using a different word, a different system which still was slavery. The 13th<\/sup> Amendment making slavery illegal was passed in 1865, but in Douglas A Blackmon\u2019s 2008 book \u201cSlavery by another Name\u201d whites got around the 13th<\/sup> Amendment by other means. African-Americans were subject to crimes that didn\u2019t exist and were often put in prison and on chain gang where they were required to do heavy work in coal and steel mines. This went on into the 1920s as whites found ways to \u201ccapture\u201d them and used them as cheap labor. The judicial system in the south ensured that this method of slave labor helped the economies of the south and made African-Americans human chattel for whites. The passage of the 15th<\/sup> amendment in1870 barred voting rights discrimination on the basis of race. But it left it up to the states to determine qualifications for the vote, and you can guess what happened next. African-Americans had to pass literacy tests, poll taxes and other discriminatory practices before they could vote. The result was that whites controlled the power in state legislatures and established Black Codes (Jim Crow laws) that were in place for nearly a 100 years. Jim Crow is no longer, but still linger are less obvious discrimination, including redlining that limits where African-Americans can live and establishes values for homes way less than they really are. I ran across a song on American Routes that reveals the power of discrimination. Dion had written a song based on what he saw while being with Sam Cooke on tours. He didn\u2019t know what to do with it and 58 years after Cooke was shot and killed Dion ran into Paul Simon and showed him the song. Simon said he could do something with it, and what follows is what Dion and Simon came up with. Remember, it\u2019s based on the experiences Dion saw while with Cooke, who was African-American and a great singer-songwriter in his own right. Cooke was a star, but was treated less then that away from the stage. Here goes:<\/p>\n

Song for <\/em><\/strong>Sam Cooke (here in America)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe traveled this land back in nineteen sixty-two
\nWe played the places that were home to me and you
\nWe drove to Memphis, we rocked a set
\nWe walked the streets at night and smoked a cigarette
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here in America
\nThere was so much I didn’t know
\nAbout the way that life could go
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Down the block I saw the people stop and stare
\nYou did your best to make a Yankee boy aware
\nI never thought about the color of your skin
\nI never worried ’bout the hotel I was in
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here in America (in America)
\nBut the places I could stay
\nThey all made you walk away
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You were the man who earned the glory and the fame
\nBut cowards felt that they could call you any name
\nYou were the star, standing in the light
\nThat won you nothing on a city street at night
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here in America
\nYou were told that we were free
\nThis land is made for you and me
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You stayed more steady than a backbeat on a drum
\nYou told me you believed a change was gonna come
\nYou sang for freedom, but lived life free
\nI saw it in your smile and in your dignity
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here in America
\nA preacher’s kid you’d always be
\nSinging the truth to set us free
\nHere in America
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You were a star when you were standing on a stage
\nI look back on it, I feel a burning rage
\nYou sang “You Send Me, ” I sang “I Wonder Why”
\nI still wonder, you were way too young to die
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here in America
\nHey Sam, I wish that you were near
\nI wish that you were here
\nHere in America<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here in America
\nAmerica
\nIn America
\nHere in America\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Sorry to bring this up, but I feel we have done some horrible things to people who have a black or brown skin and it\u2019s all so unnecessary. Skin color does not define a person. Character does. And despite what others say, racism is alive in America today. Even our black star athletes have to be careful when out and about. It\u2019s sick. We all should want peace and equal justice for all. That\u2019s it for today. Stay safe.<\/p>\n

Be well pal.<\/p>\n

Be careful out there.<\/p>\n

Have a great day.<\/p>\n

You are loved.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TERRY MOSHER   TOP OF THE TOWN \u2013 I get a kick out of so-called Christians saying there is no…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4237,"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236\/revisions\/4237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}