Epilogue: “We People Who Are Darker than Blue”: Black Studies and the Mizzou Movement

Abstract:One of my favorite song titles is Curtis Mayfield’s “We People Who Are Darker than Blue” (1970). It connotes the deep and unique physical beauty and painful struggle of Black people all around the world. The song itself is a journey from Africa to the Americas, fusing the hypnotic djembe drum beats of a West African past with the funky improvisational jazzy horns and keyboards of African American R&B. Mayfield includes spoken word and sung lyrics, stories and didactic lessons, varying the tempo and the dynamism, all resulting in an urgent call to Black folks to remain steadfast in the fight against systemic oppression and racism. Although the twenty-first century #BlackLivesMatter generation has gravitated toward hip hop to find an apt soundtrack for their modern movement, this Curtis Mayfield song could serve as the theme song for the movement’s continuum.