To Be Young, Gifted And Black

Lyrics:

To be young, gifted and black,
Oh what a lovely precious dream
To be young, gifted and black,
Open your heart to what I mean

In the whole world you know
There's a billion boys and girls
Who are young, gifted and black,
And that’s a fact!

You are young, gifted and black
We must begin to tell our young
There’s a world waiting for you
Yours is the quest that’s just begun

When you feel really low
Yeah, there’s a great truth you should know
When you’re young, gifted and black
Your soul’s intact

Young, gifted and black
How I long to know the truth
There are times when I look back
And I am haunted by my youth

Oh but my joy of today
Is that we can all be proud to say
To be young, gifted and black
Is where it’s at  

To Be Young, Gifted and Black was performed by Nina Simone with lyrics by Weldon Irvine. Although it was written in 1969 and not during the Harlem Renaissance, it carries many of the same themes as the Harlem Renaissance. This song is primarily about (surprise) being young, gifted and black, and what that means in a Euro-centric society. You can easily tell this from the central refrain, "to be young, gifted and black." Simone is celebrating the "billions" of black youth with unbound talent, and telling them not to back down from their gifts and talents. She says that "there's a world waiting for [them]" and that their "quest[s]" have only just started. 

          The theme of the Harlem Renaissance that most shows through in this song is pride. She even states, "we can all be proud to say to be young gifted and black." Even though this song was written in the 1960s, when blacks were still fighting for equal rights, this song illustrates an intense passion and pride in black culture. It also shows the theme of identification with race. Simone uses the collective "we" in this song, showing a strong connection with her race, while celebrating the happiness of being black and gifted.

         I chose this song because I think it is perfect for this project because of how clearly it illustrates the Harlem Renaissance themes. I have the Donny Hathaway   cover of this on my iPod, and when I looked it up to use for this project I saw that the original was done by Nina Simone. I quite enjoy her music, so I chose to use her version.