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The Musical Rhetoric Of Aretha Franklin And Nina Simone And The Civil Rights Movement, Hannah Hawk

Master of Arts in Media and Communication Plan II Graduate Projects

Acclaimed artists such as Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone were able to use their music as a way to communicate change during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Through their public platforms they became powerful influencers who were able to spread awareness for social justice and create an image of strong Black womanhood for listeners. By using the Illusion of Life theory, this project examines how the listener is brought into a rhetorical moment that the artist creates through song. Black Feminist Thought allows inclusion of the artists’ life experiences to the analysis of the rhetorical power …