Like later Stevie Wonder classics of the '70s, it was a political song that also burned up the dancefloor; an unapologetic stormer that would influence generations. For instance, the Mayor Of London Night Czar, who helps ensure safety and nighttime infrastructure for venues toward the Mayor's Vision for London as a 24-hour city. Those are four words that are very important right now, and four words that you could argue are lacking in a lot of ways. Know your equipment. He also performed the heart-breaking song at a voter registration rally for Black farmers in Mississippi later that year. If you are a high school or college student, you can gain valuable experience and as an intern at SMA during our SNAP! The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is located on the original site of Stax Records Inc. a 21-year-old Bob Dylan begins on his beloved 1963 song, "Blowin' In The Wind," another anthem of the civil rights movement. I think that if we could all find a bit more of that, maybe we could get out of this situation. She’s one of nine siblings that came from the Dominican Republic where they all lived in a one room shack with dirt floors. As HuffPost notes, "he raps about how to cherish moments like chilling with your homies to enjoying your mom's food to NOT get harassed by the police." I had just come off a really good previous year of touring. Services … I’m so struck by the parallels between this moment and the struggles that shaped the early days of Stax. When N.W.A released "F*** Tha Police" in 1988, their hometown of Compton, in South Los Angeles, was rife with police brutality and racial profiling. Nobody notices this thing, but I noticed it pretty much when I interviewed for the job. It still does. That’s what I was now forced to do for almost a year. One of the things it did—you talk about shut up and sing—they did get some backlash from people who thought they were just subscribing to the Stax newsletter and all of a sudden they’re getting stories about current events along with their stories about Johnnie Taylor and Albert King. Photo: Shane Trulin. insights—and we encourage staff to do the same. In order for that concert to happen, the curfew needed to be lifted. The path that was school of hard knocks, learning on the job, learning in the studio and mailroom or publicity office at Stax Records, now it’s in the classroom, orchestra suite and choir suite, and providing these young people with the tools they need for lifelong success. If the police officer tells you to back up, comply with their orders. That’s the company understanding that there’s this moment here, this is our time to step up, this is our time to make our voice heard, because this is what our buying public, our customers, the people that are keeping us in business, and the people in this community that we are serving, this is what they’re saying. From the time he became a star in the music business, he was also a budding philanthropist in Macon, staging fund-raisers and working in other ways to make sure children there stayed in school instead of dropping out, as he had to do. You can even film your feet as you’re backing up and say aloud, “I’m complying with orders.”. Not stripped down—just vocals and piano. You can stay safe and still film critical footage from a distance, like from a window, balcony, rooftop, or fire escape. 18-time GRAMMY winner Aretha Franklin was one of the many successful soul and gospel singers inspired by Jackson and the path she paved, even performing at her funeral in 1972. For us, it’s what we can contribute, and we’re trying our best to figure out how to do that when so much of the ways we’ve been able to do it—through the museum, through 30-40 free programs a year, providing a venue for Shelby County public schools to tour our museum at a free or discounted rate—all of that stuff is on hold right now.