DeKALB – NIU kicked off its Black Heritage Month events with a lecture from Sundiata Djata, an NIU history professor. Djata presented this year’s Dr. LaVerne Gyant Lecture Series on Tuesday evening. 

Djata has a doctorate from the University of Illinois with a focus on African American history. 

Djata’s lecture included topics of untold perspectives in Black history such as those of female and homosexual slaves. 

The focus of the lecture was Black artists’ involvement during wartime. Djata presented songs from artists like The Supremes, Freda Payne, The O’Jays, The Monitors and Jimmy Cliff during the Vietnam War specifically. 

Djata highlighted the differences in lyrics and intent in these songs. Some artists directly mentioned the war while others told stories that reflected African American feelings about the war. 

The political climate during Vietnam split Americans on whether or not the war was unnecessarily putting American lives at risk. For this reason, record labels like Motown were hesitant to promote artists who mentioned the war in their music for fear of dividing their audience. 

Djata pointed this out in Edwin Starr’s “War,” originally a song by The Temptations. The song was re-recorded with Starr’s vocals because Motown did not want to sabotage The Temptations’ image. 

Another example is with Payne’s “Bring the Boys Home.” The song was a direct protest against the on-going war and left a negative impression on the American government. So much so that it was banned on the American Forces Network, the radio station on American military bases. 

Djata was “surprised” in finding out that so many high-profile artists came out with anti-war songs because of the lack of promotion from record labels. 

This lecture was a part of NIU’s Black Heritage Month celebrations.