Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Anthem Against Racism
This year shocked our whole nation like a defibrillator on a cardiac patient. Our economy and way of life drastically changed and previously tolerated attitudes shattered. The rise of the Black Lives Movement seeks to bring an ultimate end to race-based discrimination. Many may not know that there is a theme song against racial prejudice, hate and fear; people have sung it since its debut a few years after the end of World War II. It is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.
Known for their Broadway productions including Oklahoma and the Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein presented South Pacific to the post-war Broadway audience in 1949. Based on James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific, the musical was so well received the pair won a Pulitzer Prize.
Featuring famous tunes such as Bali Hai and Some Enchanted Evening, the list includes the song which many critics considered musically forgettable: You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.
Navy Lieutenant Cable sings the tune while struggling with anxiety. He anticipates the resistance he will receive when he brings the Polynesian woman he wants to marry back to the states. The fruit of this apprehension is the song where he recognizes that hate, prejudice and fear have to be taught. The message is ironic. These attitudes are not innate…
