Why Country Music Stars Are Reluctant to Speak Up About Charlottesville
In the wake of the deadly neo-Nazi march in Virginia, the Nashville community has stayed largely silent
On August 12th, a group of white nationalists carrying torches
marched in the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting, "Jews
will not replace us" and "white lives matter." They did not feel the
need to obscure their faces.
One of these men drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters,
killing an activist named Heather Heyer and injuring many more.
President Trump, in a nationally televised press conference,
insisted that the neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups included some
"very fine people." Vigils and counter-protests cropped up across the
country, and the story has dominated conversations in real life and
online.
And yet, if you scrolled through the social media
accounts of some of the biggest names in country music, you'd have no
idea that it wasn't just another week in Nashville. Outside of a handful
of outspoken young performers, many country stars were sharing pictures
from their weekend tour stops or promoting their appearances in the CMA
Music Fest ABC television special.
We are, by all
measures and accounts, at a pivotal moment in the complex and bloody
history of race relations and white supremacy in America – a boiling
point that will leave our country scalded if not handled with courage
and care. There are not, as the president insisted, "many sides" to the
events that occurred in Charlottesville. There are Nazis, and there is
everyone else.
So why is it so hard for artists in country music –
a genre with a rich history of giving a voice to the downtrodden – to
share a few words of sympathy and solidarity; to offer, at the very
least, an acknowledgement of the violent, uncertain, increasingly
turbulent state of the nation? A simple "Hey y'all, white supremacy is
bad" – far less than 140 characters – would suffice.
But country
stars still seemingly live in fear of getting "Dixie Chicked." It has
been over a decade since Chicks singer Natalie Maines' onstage comment
about being "ashamed" by George W. Bush got the band blacklisted from
country radio, but the specter of bonfires fueled by disowned copies of Wide Open Spaces remains a a constant reminder of what's at stake if you step out of line. Or speak up.
Last
year, the Dixie Chicks embarked on a sold-out world tour, but the
abrupt end to their radio days still clearly informs who speaks out
about politics in the country landscape, and how. It's not a coincidence
that many of the country artists who have been vocal about
Charlottesville are building careers that aren't completely centered
around country radio airplay. Will Hoge wrote a powerful statement on Facebook
challenging his fans to "jump off the Trump train" and "walk boldly and
proudly onto the right side of history." Brothers Osborne tweeted that "wearing Nazi regalia is the most un-American thing you could do." Kacey Musgraves shared a video of the deadly attack and clapped back
at fans who claimed her attitude made her sound like (gasp!) a pop
star. Even foulmouthed country character Wheeler Walker Jr. has been tweeting up an anti-Nazi storm.
With
his single "More Girls Like You" heading toward the country Top 10 and a
new album due September 8th, Kip Moore didn't shy away from confronting
racism directly, posting the following message
on Twitter the day after the Charlottesville protests turned deadly:
"If your parents taught u 2 hate people of color they're idiots. If
you're an adult & still spewing their hate, that makes u a bigger
idiot."
He followed it up with a much longer post on Instagram,
describing growing up in southern Georgia, and being "100% aware of
what racism looks like, sounds like, and what it feels like (when you
hear it out of another's mouth)." He urged his followers "to stand up to
your friends when you hear them or see them doing racist shit. It
starts with each one of us individually if we wanna change what this
world looks like."
All of the country artists who have spoken out
against racism deserve credit, but the list of performers who haven't is
telling. Brad Paisley, who took a bold if poorly executed step toward
addressing white privilege with 2013's "Accidental Racist," and Carrie
Underwood, who has publicly expressed support for such controversial
social issues as gay marriage, have thus far remained silent. As have
Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Kenny
Chesney, Dierks Bentley and Sam Hunt. While these A-listers ostensibly
have more to lose by taking a stand, they also have the most influence
to effect change and be powerful examples for their fans.
In April, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's Soul2Soul Tour stopped in
Portland, Oregon, just a few hours after a known white supremacist
spouting anti-Muslim hate speech threatened two women of color on a
light rail train and then slit the throats of three men who stepped up to help,
killing two of them. News of the attack had just begun to spread, and
the city was in shock. Toward the end of the show, McGraw gave an
emotional performance of his imploring "Humble and Kind," supported by
images from the song's diverse, multicultural music video.
The crowd sang along to every single word, not skipping a beat when the
smiling faces of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab and a Sikh man in a
turban appeared on screen.
It wasn't a bold political statement, but at that moment, in front of that crowd, it felt like one.
McGraw and Hill have been quick and vocal about condemning the neo-Nazi actions in Charlottesville. McGraw dedicated multiple Instagram posts
blasting "the violent white supremacist attack on freedom and respect."
After President Trump's unhinged Trump Tower press conference, he
shared a quote from Abraham Lincoln,
the implications of which were clear: "Nearly all men can stand
adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
Without
even mentioning Trump's name, McGraw's posts stirred up a hornet's nest
in the comments section. While plenty of fans voiced support and
gratitude for McGraw's message, others were quick to assert that Heather
Heyer's death was "entirely her own fault," that McGraw was
disrespecting his own race, that Black Lives Matter is the real racist
group and, of course, that he should "shut up and sing."
It's easy
to say that country singers don't bear any political responsibility,
that their job is only to entertain us with fun songs that take our
minds off current events. But there are very serious consequences to the
genre's post-Dixie Chicks policy of isolationism. When the issue is as
cut and dry as racism and bigotry, artists shouldn't refrain from
getting "political" for fear of losing some close-minded fans – fans
they'd be better off without.
Politics, privilege and race
relations are complicated issues, but denouncing racism, white supremacy
and fascism is very easy. This is not about conservatives vs. liberals,
or North vs. South. This is about taking a stand for what's right at a
critical moment. Now more than ever, silence equals complicity.
Woody Guthrie's guitar famously bore the words, "This machine kills fascists."
In 2017, the country music machine shouldn't coddle them.
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