1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:03,962 --> 00:00:06,922 [upbeat music playing] 3 00:00:06,923 --> 00:00:09,091 [crowd cheering] 4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 5 00:00:09,092 --> 00:00:13,012 So I need you to repeat after me. 6 00:00:13,013 --> 00:00:15,764 We are here. 7 00:00:15,765 --> 00:00:17,517 We are here! 8 00:00:17,642 --> 00:00:19,477 [upbeat music continues] 9 00:00:22,147 --> 00:00:24,189 [Gomez] Women have used their music 10 00:00:24,190 --> 00:00:26,401 as a form of resistance for decades. 11 00:00:27,444 --> 00:00:28,737 Taking risks. 12 00:00:31,614 --> 00:00:33,741 Singing the truth, even when the world 13 00:00:33,742 --> 00:00:35,118 is telling you to shut up. 14 00:00:35,827 --> 00:00:38,912 I think music is one of the most powerful ways 15 00:00:38,913 --> 00:00:40,789 to put a message out there. 16 00:00:40,790 --> 00:00:45,211 ♪ This girl is on fire ♪ 17 00:00:46,046 --> 00:00:50,425 ♪ This girl is on fire ♪ 18 00:00:51,343 --> 00:00:54,970 ♪ We're walking on fire ♪ 19 00:00:54,971 --> 00:00:56,848 [soft music playing] 20 00:00:56,973 --> 00:00:59,934 [Etheridge] Music has the ability to bypass... 21 00:01:00,894 --> 00:01:02,227 this, this brain. 22 00:01:02,228 --> 00:01:05,022 Music goes straight here. 23 00:01:05,023 --> 00:01:07,274 [H.E.R.] And when something says the things 24 00:01:07,275 --> 00:01:09,318 that you may not be able to articulate yourself, 25 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:12,697 it becomes like part of you. 26 00:01:12,822 --> 00:01:14,948 [Giddens] Music is more powerful now than ever 27 00:01:14,949 --> 00:01:17,202 because it's an example where people come together. 28 00:01:18,411 --> 00:01:20,747 [Gomez] We have an opportunity today 29 00:01:20,872 --> 00:01:23,791 that a lot of women before us 30 00:01:23,792 --> 00:01:25,459 paved the way to do, 31 00:01:25,460 --> 00:01:29,422 and that's to be as loud and proud as possible. 32 00:01:29,547 --> 00:01:30,506 On three. 33 00:01:30,507 --> 00:01:31,965 One, two, three. 34 00:01:31,966 --> 00:01:34,386 Fuck the Supreme Court! 35 00:01:35,637 --> 00:01:38,138 [Abrams] Silence is sometimes its own protest, 36 00:01:38,139 --> 00:01:42,352 but it's born of not believing that your words matter. 37 00:01:43,228 --> 00:01:46,271 And that's where protest music, where the songs 38 00:01:46,272 --> 00:01:48,775 and the lyricism becomes so important. 39 00:01:50,193 --> 00:01:52,486 [Chaka Khan] God put you here 40 00:01:52,487 --> 00:01:56,323 because you have something to offer. 41 00:01:56,324 --> 00:01:59,452 Whether they like it or not, you owe it. 42 00:02:00,286 --> 00:02:01,579 If you're passionate about something, 43 00:02:01,705 --> 00:02:03,038 show up. It's important. 44 00:02:03,039 --> 00:02:06,041 ...that silence is our enemy, but sound is our weapon. 45 00:02:06,042 --> 00:02:07,752 - [clamoring] - [woman] Chill! 46 00:02:08,753 --> 00:02:10,672 [riot guns firing] 47 00:02:12,007 --> 00:02:14,133 [Simone] When everything is so desperate, 48 00:02:14,134 --> 00:02:16,677 when every day is a matter of survival, 49 00:02:16,678 --> 00:02:18,804 I don't think you can help but be involved. 50 00:02:18,805 --> 00:02:21,015 [reporter] State by state, with a growing number 51 00:02:21,016 --> 00:02:22,934 pushing near-total bans. 52 00:02:23,476 --> 00:02:25,227 We will shape and mold this country. 53 00:02:25,228 --> 00:02:28,440 I will not be molded and shaped at all anymore. 54 00:02:28,565 --> 00:02:29,983 So I don't think you have a choice. 55 00:02:30,108 --> 00:02:33,111 How can you be an artist and not reflect the times? 56 00:02:34,487 --> 00:02:36,990 [crowd clapping twice in unison] 57 00:02:37,115 --> 00:02:39,784 [spirited music playing] 58 00:02:42,078 --> 00:02:43,579 [music fades] 59 00:02:43,580 --> 00:02:47,042 [mellow banjo music playing] 60 00:02:51,963 --> 00:02:53,006 Okay. 61 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,482 ♪ I shall not ♪ 62 00:03:10,607 --> 00:03:13,984 ♪ I shall not be moved ♪ 63 00:03:13,985 --> 00:03:17,155 ♪ I shall not ♪ 64 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:19,907 ♪ I shall not be moved ♪ 65 00:03:19,908 --> 00:03:26,997 ♪ Like a tree Planted by the water ♪ 66 00:03:26,998 --> 00:03:31,377 ♪ I shall not be moved ♪ 67 00:03:31,378 --> 00:03:33,629 Music itself is a great way 68 00:03:33,630 --> 00:03:36,216 to broach this topic 69 00:03:36,341 --> 00:03:39,593 of what is the story we've been told about America 70 00:03:39,594 --> 00:03:41,762 in a way that people can hear. 71 00:03:41,763 --> 00:03:44,306 When I first started thinking about doing music as a career, 72 00:03:44,307 --> 00:03:47,394 I didn't start out thinking, "I'm going to be an activist." 73 00:03:48,561 --> 00:03:50,145 I went to school for classical music 74 00:03:50,146 --> 00:03:52,106 and learned how to be a soprano, 75 00:03:52,107 --> 00:03:53,566 and I felt a little hollow. 76 00:03:53,692 --> 00:03:55,068 I was like, "What am I doing?" 77 00:03:55,193 --> 00:03:56,777 What am I doing in this 78 00:03:56,778 --> 00:03:58,822 that a million other sopranos can't do? 79 00:03:59,864 --> 00:04:01,573 So I went back home to North Carolina, 80 00:04:01,574 --> 00:04:03,909 and then I started to hear the banjo, 81 00:04:03,910 --> 00:04:06,495 the big discovery which set me off on this-this thing 82 00:04:06,496 --> 00:04:10,667 of how these activism, history, and music kind of combine. 83 00:04:11,376 --> 00:04:14,003 I was finding out that the banjo was invented by people 84 00:04:14,004 --> 00:04:15,588 of the African diaspora. 85 00:04:15,714 --> 00:04:17,716 [mellow banjo music playing] 86 00:04:19,175 --> 00:04:21,343 And I was like, "What?" 87 00:04:21,344 --> 00:04:23,221 That was the moment where I was like, 88 00:04:23,346 --> 00:04:26,015 "If I don't know this massive thing, 89 00:04:26,016 --> 00:04:27,350 what else don't I know?" 90 00:04:28,435 --> 00:04:31,896 I'm of a long line of women who starts somewhere there. 91 00:04:32,522 --> 00:04:36,191 I'm sitting here having had a pretty darn good life. 92 00:04:36,192 --> 00:04:38,903 And what do I owe my ancestors? 93 00:04:39,029 --> 00:04:41,239 What do I owe the women who came before me? 94 00:04:41,364 --> 00:04:43,616 I think we have a responsibility. 95 00:04:43,742 --> 00:04:45,701 We can't write the laws, 96 00:04:45,702 --> 00:04:48,455 but maybe we can inspire the people who do. 97 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:51,999 [chanting] Not the church, not the state! 98 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:53,667 Women must decide their fate! 99 00:04:53,668 --> 00:04:56,211 [reporter] A sweeping, deeply consequential decision 100 00:04:56,212 --> 00:04:58,005 from the nation's highest court, 101 00:04:58,006 --> 00:05:00,467 ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade. 102 00:05:01,051 --> 00:05:03,385 I don't think anyone thought that could happen. 103 00:05:03,386 --> 00:05:05,597 I don't think we still have fully processed 104 00:05:05,722 --> 00:05:07,599 that it can happen, and that it's happening. 105 00:05:11,895 --> 00:05:14,730 [Wortham] And I think the reason we had so many big artists 106 00:05:14,731 --> 00:05:16,815 being willing to talk about reproductive rights 107 00:05:16,816 --> 00:05:19,902 was because it was such a shocking moment. 108 00:05:19,903 --> 00:05:22,321 [crowd cheering] 109 00:05:22,322 --> 00:05:24,282 Now y'all know it wouldn't be me 110 00:05:25,116 --> 00:05:26,993 if I ain't take a second 111 00:05:28,119 --> 00:05:31,163 to call out these stupid ass men. 112 00:05:31,164 --> 00:05:33,458 [crowd jeering] 113 00:05:33,583 --> 00:05:36,085 I need everybody in the audience right now to say, 114 00:05:36,086 --> 00:05:38,379 "My body, my motherfucking choice!" 115 00:05:38,380 --> 00:05:40,465 [crowd] My body, my motherfucking choice! 116 00:05:40,590 --> 00:05:44,218 One more time! My body, my motherfucking choice! 117 00:05:44,219 --> 00:05:46,428 [crowd] My body, my motherfucking choice! 118 00:05:46,429 --> 00:05:47,806 Drop that shit, Jay Bone. 119 00:05:48,473 --> 00:05:50,225 I am so... 120 00:05:51,309 --> 00:05:53,812 [bleep] sick and tired 121 00:05:54,437 --> 00:05:56,355 of old men. 122 00:05:56,356 --> 00:06:00,567 It's been really heartening to see a lot of Gen Z pop stars 123 00:06:00,568 --> 00:06:02,111 be so outspoken... 124 00:06:02,112 --> 00:06:03,696 So many women and so many girls 125 00:06:03,697 --> 00:06:05,365 are going to die because of this. 126 00:06:05,490 --> 00:06:10,495 ...against this really regressive wave 127 00:06:10,620 --> 00:06:12,955 of patriarchy. 128 00:06:12,956 --> 00:06:16,417 It's never giving a man policing my body. 129 00:06:16,418 --> 00:06:17,877 It's just crazy to me. 130 00:06:18,003 --> 00:06:20,421 I-I can't imagine anyone 131 00:06:20,422 --> 00:06:23,298 making a decision for a woman that's not her. 132 00:06:23,299 --> 00:06:26,011 I-- That's like we've gone back in time. 133 00:06:27,512 --> 00:06:30,639 I don't think that's something I can sit back and just go, 134 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,100 "Oh, well, hmm, I won't say anything." 135 00:06:33,101 --> 00:06:36,311 I had to find my ways to-to be a part of it 136 00:06:36,312 --> 00:06:38,231 while not having people 137 00:06:38,356 --> 00:06:40,107 down my throat saying, "What do you know?" 138 00:06:40,108 --> 00:06:41,775 And it's like, "Actually, I'm a woman. 139 00:06:41,776 --> 00:06:43,695 I know a lot more than you think." [chuckles] 140 00:06:43,820 --> 00:06:45,071 [man] Selena! 141 00:06:46,156 --> 00:06:50,035 I think I started to recognize my platform meant something 142 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:52,494 when I was around 16. 143 00:06:52,495 --> 00:06:54,997 I had a single mother come up to me. 144 00:06:54,998 --> 00:06:58,751 They were Latin, and she was in tears saying, 145 00:06:58,752 --> 00:07:01,462 "Thank you so much for being someone 146 00:07:01,463 --> 00:07:04,132 my daughter can look up to that looks like her." 147 00:07:04,841 --> 00:07:08,428 That kind of put a little bit of responsibility on me. 148 00:07:08,553 --> 00:07:10,012 [crowd shouting excitedly] 149 00:07:10,013 --> 00:07:11,972 And then in 2020, 150 00:07:11,973 --> 00:07:14,726 I felt like I should get politically involved. 151 00:07:14,851 --> 00:07:16,561 It was around election year, 152 00:07:16,686 --> 00:07:20,231 and I remember I wanted to give my platform 153 00:07:20,357 --> 00:07:22,067 to other people. 154 00:07:22,192 --> 00:07:25,403 And then I ended up interviewing Stacey. 155 00:07:28,198 --> 00:07:29,407 Stacey. 156 00:07:29,532 --> 00:07:31,116 Hello. 157 00:07:31,117 --> 00:07:34,245 [Gomez] I instantly felt like she was a friend for life. 158 00:07:34,371 --> 00:07:38,666 And I believe that we, you know, believe in the same things. 159 00:07:38,667 --> 00:07:41,335 Please grab some friends and vote early. 160 00:07:41,336 --> 00:07:43,922 Go to StaceyAbrams.com to learn more. 161 00:07:50,387 --> 00:07:53,722 [Abrams] My mission, my work is to amplify voices 162 00:07:53,723 --> 00:07:55,266 that are marginalized 163 00:07:55,392 --> 00:07:58,227 and empower people to organize around their beliefs. 164 00:07:58,228 --> 00:08:00,521 Music can do the same thing. 165 00:08:00,522 --> 00:08:02,564 The fights that we're in, 166 00:08:02,565 --> 00:08:04,400 they can be overwhelming 167 00:08:04,401 --> 00:08:06,277 and we lose the thread. 168 00:08:06,403 --> 00:08:07,861 Music lets us find it again. 169 00:08:07,862 --> 00:08:10,365 [vibrant percussive music playing] 170 00:08:11,491 --> 00:08:13,075 If we work, if we fight, 171 00:08:13,076 --> 00:08:15,869 if we resist, we can have more. 172 00:08:15,870 --> 00:08:19,332 And this music reminds women that we have been here before, 173 00:08:19,457 --> 00:08:22,502 we have pushed through, and we will do so again. 174 00:08:23,837 --> 00:08:26,171 [chanting] Free our sisters, free ourselves! 175 00:08:26,172 --> 00:08:28,466 [reporter] The status quo is being challenged 176 00:08:28,591 --> 00:08:30,426 by the women's liberation movement. 177 00:08:30,427 --> 00:08:33,388 Today, it's still a man's world. 178 00:08:33,930 --> 00:08:35,306 And just look at it. 179 00:08:35,432 --> 00:08:38,225 [reporter 2] Women were paid an average of 59 cents 180 00:08:38,226 --> 00:08:39,810 for every dollar a man earned. 181 00:08:39,811 --> 00:08:41,228 [reporter 3] In some states, women 182 00:08:41,229 --> 00:08:42,896 cannot own property in their own name. 183 00:08:42,897 --> 00:08:44,773 [reporter 4] Most women are raised to believe 184 00:08:44,774 --> 00:08:46,943 their true role is that of wife and mother. 185 00:08:47,944 --> 00:08:51,322 But some women are questioning whether this is so. 186 00:08:51,448 --> 00:08:53,282 [mellow country music playing] 187 00:08:53,283 --> 00:08:56,744 [woman] Loretta Lynn was this well-loved popular musician. 188 00:08:56,745 --> 00:09:00,373 She had won multiple awards, had number one hits, 189 00:09:00,498 --> 00:09:02,291 and I mean, at the time, 190 00:09:02,292 --> 00:09:04,169 country music was largely known 191 00:09:04,294 --> 00:09:05,962 to be a little more conservative. 192 00:09:06,504 --> 00:09:09,631 She released a song praising the birth control pill. 193 00:09:09,632 --> 00:09:11,843 This was a really scandalous thing to do. 194 00:09:11,968 --> 00:09:14,970 ♪ There's a-gonna be Some changes made ♪ 195 00:09:14,971 --> 00:09:17,639 ♪ Right here on Nursery Hill ♪ 196 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:21,018 ♪ You set this chicken Your last time ♪ 197 00:09:21,019 --> 00:09:23,355 ♪ 'Cause now I've got The pill ♪ 198 00:09:24,481 --> 00:09:26,982 [Patel] It was this anthem of a woman taking control 199 00:09:26,983 --> 00:09:30,486 not only of her body, but her future too. 200 00:09:30,487 --> 00:09:33,531 And the song started getting banned from country radio. 201 00:09:33,990 --> 00:09:35,657 What about women, Loretta? Have they said, 202 00:09:35,658 --> 00:09:37,577 "Boy, it's about time somebody said something"? 203 00:09:37,702 --> 00:09:39,954 [Lynn on phone] 204 00:09:42,374 --> 00:09:44,876 [Exposito] On radio stations, on television, 205 00:09:45,001 --> 00:09:47,127 "The Pill" was a huge hit. 206 00:09:47,128 --> 00:09:51,006 It's still shocking to me that she was able to do that. 207 00:09:51,007 --> 00:09:54,386 With that one song, Loretta just blew up 208 00:09:54,511 --> 00:09:56,845 what was acceptable for women to sing about. 209 00:09:56,846 --> 00:09:59,306 And she did it so unapologetically 210 00:09:59,307 --> 00:10:02,102 that she opened doors for other women in music. 211 00:10:02,227 --> 00:10:03,852 - [applause] - Thank you. 212 00:10:03,853 --> 00:10:06,105 [upbeat percussive music playing] 213 00:10:06,106 --> 00:10:07,815 [reporter] Liberation is here. 214 00:10:07,816 --> 00:10:10,735 No area of male-dominated American culture is spared. 215 00:10:11,403 --> 00:10:15,030 [Exposito] Women wanted to equally participate in society. 216 00:10:15,031 --> 00:10:16,990 Not gonna sit quietly any longer! 217 00:10:16,991 --> 00:10:19,284 [Exposito] And a big part of that meant changing 218 00:10:19,285 --> 00:10:21,995 what a woman's role was and how she was perceived. 219 00:10:21,996 --> 00:10:23,915 [reporter] A coalition of liberation groups 220 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:26,333 invaded the offices of the Ladies' Home Journal. 221 00:10:26,334 --> 00:10:29,962 We demand that the magazine ceased publishing advertisements 222 00:10:29,963 --> 00:10:31,296 that degrade women. 223 00:10:31,297 --> 00:10:33,298 - Here's one! - Here's one! 224 00:10:33,299 --> 00:10:36,176 "Made for a woman's extra feelings." 225 00:10:36,177 --> 00:10:37,553 Secret deodorant. 226 00:10:37,554 --> 00:10:40,598 - Oh! - [women exclaiming, laughing] 227 00:10:41,307 --> 00:10:43,935 ["I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy playing] 228 00:10:45,687 --> 00:10:48,188 ♪ I am woman, hear me roar ♪ 229 00:10:48,189 --> 00:10:51,191 ♪ In numbers too big To ignore ♪ 230 00:10:51,192 --> 00:10:55,696 ♪ And I know too much To go back and pretend ♪ 231 00:10:55,697 --> 00:10:57,740 [Reddy] Women are told so much, 232 00:10:57,741 --> 00:10:59,366 and it gets thrown at them 233 00:10:59,367 --> 00:11:02,327 in the form of advertising and just the general attitudes 234 00:11:02,328 --> 00:11:04,538 of family and friends and society. 235 00:11:04,539 --> 00:11:07,541 In general, you are weak. You are inferior. 236 00:11:07,542 --> 00:11:10,377 [interviewer] What are the main things you want equality in? 237 00:11:10,378 --> 00:11:12,212 [Reddy] Probably the basic underlying things. 238 00:11:12,213 --> 00:11:14,632 Just a general change of attitude toward women 239 00:11:14,758 --> 00:11:17,469 in general, and on the part of women themselves. 240 00:11:17,594 --> 00:11:20,180 [interviewer] Hmm. Well, your song, "I Am Woman," 241 00:11:20,305 --> 00:11:23,766 it suggests a toughness, almost an aggressiveness. 242 00:11:23,767 --> 00:11:25,643 Uh, "I am strong, I am invincible..." 243 00:11:25,769 --> 00:11:28,980 It's a positive statement, okay? Positive. 244 00:11:29,105 --> 00:11:31,316 - ♪ I am strong ♪ - ♪ Strong ♪ 245 00:11:31,441 --> 00:11:34,319 - ♪ I am invincible ♪ - ♪ Invincible ♪ 246 00:11:34,444 --> 00:11:37,822 ♪ I am woman ♪ 247 00:11:37,947 --> 00:11:40,658 [Abrams] Songs like "I Am Woman" resonate 248 00:11:40,784 --> 00:11:43,702 because they're simply celebrating being female. 249 00:11:43,703 --> 00:11:45,830 And it's this moment where she's inviting 250 00:11:45,955 --> 00:11:47,499 other women to own their power. 251 00:11:47,624 --> 00:11:49,750 [soft music playing] 252 00:11:49,751 --> 00:11:51,585 This idea gets carried forward 253 00:11:51,586 --> 00:11:53,754 into the next generation of women artists, 254 00:11:53,755 --> 00:11:55,381 who are bigger and bolder 255 00:11:55,382 --> 00:11:57,717 about saying who they are and what they want. 256 00:11:59,969 --> 00:12:03,515 The music industry is designed to be reductive. 257 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,433 And so women have to work really hard 258 00:12:06,434 --> 00:12:08,019 to kind of break out of that. 259 00:12:08,144 --> 00:12:10,938 And part of that is eagerness 260 00:12:10,939 --> 00:12:14,526 to kind of express that women have-- contain multitudes. 261 00:12:16,152 --> 00:12:18,487 It took some effort and some revolution 262 00:12:18,488 --> 00:12:20,322 and radical thinking 263 00:12:20,323 --> 00:12:23,243 to present this reality, or truth, 264 00:12:23,368 --> 00:12:25,285 that we are not one thing 265 00:12:25,286 --> 00:12:27,287 and we're not even like two things. 266 00:12:27,288 --> 00:12:29,124 We're like a million things. 267 00:12:31,001 --> 00:12:35,421 I am very... meticulous 268 00:12:35,422 --> 00:12:38,841 about my self-expression and my art. 269 00:12:38,842 --> 00:12:40,843 I'll go to great lengths to make sure 270 00:12:40,844 --> 00:12:43,930 that everything turns out pure for me. 271 00:12:45,515 --> 00:12:48,809 I was living in New York. This is in the '80s. 272 00:12:48,810 --> 00:12:51,062 And Valerie Simpson and Nick Ashford said, 273 00:12:51,187 --> 00:12:53,022 "We're gonna write songs for you." So they did. 274 00:12:53,023 --> 00:12:55,233 And I think probably the first song they wrote for me 275 00:12:55,358 --> 00:12:56,650 was "I'm Every Woman." 276 00:12:56,651 --> 00:12:59,737 ♪ I'm every woman ♪ 277 00:12:59,738 --> 00:13:02,741 ♪ It's all in me ♪ 278 00:13:02,866 --> 00:13:05,868 ♪ Anything you want done, baby, I'll do it naturally ♪ 279 00:13:05,869 --> 00:13:08,537 When I... [laughs] I listened to the lyrics, 280 00:13:08,538 --> 00:13:10,165 I said, "Oh dear." 281 00:13:10,790 --> 00:13:13,042 I was all self-conscious and shit, and I was like, 282 00:13:13,043 --> 00:13:15,127 "I'm not every woman. 283 00:13:15,128 --> 00:13:17,504 How dare I say I'm every freaking woman. 284 00:13:17,505 --> 00:13:18,798 I'm not." 285 00:13:19,549 --> 00:13:22,676 I felt uncomfortable for many, many years singing that song, 286 00:13:22,677 --> 00:13:25,138 but I had a feeling that it was something bigger than me. 287 00:13:26,264 --> 00:13:29,058 Chaka Khan, she set the scene. 288 00:13:29,059 --> 00:13:31,018 She was... she was the blueprint. 289 00:13:31,019 --> 00:13:33,020 And you saw that confidence, 290 00:13:33,021 --> 00:13:34,813 not just in the music, 291 00:13:34,814 --> 00:13:37,858 but in the performances from that era. 292 00:13:37,859 --> 00:13:40,611 So, like Tina Turner with "You Better Be Good to Me." 293 00:13:40,612 --> 00:13:42,279 ♪ Oh, you better be good To me ♪ 294 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,698 [Exposito] Diana Ross, "I'm Coming Out." 295 00:13:44,699 --> 00:13:46,617 ♪ I'm coming out ♪ 296 00:13:46,618 --> 00:13:47,952 ♪ I want the world... ♪ 297 00:13:48,078 --> 00:13:49,536 [Exposito] And Donna Summer. 298 00:13:49,537 --> 00:13:51,122 She really moved the needle 299 00:13:51,247 --> 00:13:53,458 with videos like "She Works Hard for the Money." 300 00:13:53,583 --> 00:13:55,460 ♪ She works hard For the money ♪ 301 00:13:55,585 --> 00:13:58,296 ♪ So you better Treat her right ♪ 302 00:13:58,421 --> 00:13:59,631 [music fades] 303 00:13:59,756 --> 00:14:03,509 I really believe that music is the purest form 304 00:14:03,510 --> 00:14:06,012 of identity expression that exists. 305 00:14:06,137 --> 00:14:08,764 And these self-ownership anthems were celebrating 306 00:14:08,765 --> 00:14:11,392 what had been won by women 307 00:14:11,393 --> 00:14:13,770 while also demanding so much more. 308 00:14:14,813 --> 00:14:18,108 A lot of that fight for more was happening in the workplace. 309 00:14:18,858 --> 00:14:21,152 ♪ Tumble out of bed And stumble to the kitchen ♪ 310 00:14:21,277 --> 00:14:23,237 ♪ Pour myself A cup of ambition ♪ 311 00:14:23,238 --> 00:14:26,240 ♪ And yawn and stretch And try to come to life ♪ 312 00:14:26,241 --> 00:14:27,867 [Patel] Dolly wrote "9 to 5" 313 00:14:27,992 --> 00:14:30,495 as a theme song for a movie by the same name, 314 00:14:30,620 --> 00:14:33,414 which was this satire about these three secretaries 315 00:14:33,415 --> 00:14:36,793 who plotted revenge on their super sexist boss. 316 00:14:37,794 --> 00:14:40,462 [movie narrator] ...Rhodes, she's gonna try and rope this-- 317 00:14:40,463 --> 00:14:42,048 She's already got him down. 318 00:14:42,173 --> 00:14:44,342 If I wasn't in the scene, I was there every day 319 00:14:44,467 --> 00:14:45,759 and I would just be like, you know, 320 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:48,013 'cause I couldn't get a guitar out on the set. 321 00:14:48,138 --> 00:14:49,263 So I would just kind of... 322 00:14:49,264 --> 00:14:50,597 You gotta have acrylic nails 323 00:14:50,598 --> 00:14:52,599 to make that real percussive sound. 324 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,144 But I would just-- I thought it sounded like a typewriter. 325 00:14:55,145 --> 00:14:56,687 - Can you hear that? - [nails clacking] 326 00:14:56,688 --> 00:14:58,814 - Yeah. - ♪ Working 9 to 5 ♪ 327 00:14:58,815 --> 00:15:01,025 ♪ What a way to make a living ♪ 328 00:15:01,026 --> 00:15:03,444 ♪ Working 9 to 5 ♪ 329 00:15:03,445 --> 00:15:05,697 ♪ What a way to make a living ♪ 330 00:15:05,822 --> 00:15:07,781 ♪ Barely gettin' by ♪ 331 00:15:07,782 --> 00:15:10,284 ♪ It's all takin' And no givin' ♪ 332 00:15:10,285 --> 00:15:11,785 ♪ They just use your mind... ♪ 333 00:15:11,786 --> 00:15:14,329 [Patel] With "9 to 5," what Dolly did was take 334 00:15:14,330 --> 00:15:16,165 a very real subject 335 00:15:16,166 --> 00:15:19,210 and make it light and approachable and fun, 336 00:15:20,086 --> 00:15:22,921 which is kind of how she approached a lot of things. 337 00:15:22,922 --> 00:15:25,007 I'd like to know. Do you sing in the shower? 338 00:15:25,008 --> 00:15:26,467 [Parton] Do I sing in the shower? 339 00:15:26,468 --> 00:15:29,011 No, but I don't wash on stage either. 340 00:15:29,012 --> 00:15:31,222 [laughter, applause] 341 00:15:31,348 --> 00:15:35,435 [Giddens] Dolly Parton is herself an act of revolution. 342 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,437 I don't want to meet a lot of famous people. 343 00:15:37,562 --> 00:15:38,812 I'm not interested. 344 00:15:38,813 --> 00:15:40,273 She's one I would want to meet. 345 00:15:40,398 --> 00:15:42,817 Just to say, "Good God, you go." 346 00:15:43,943 --> 00:15:46,153 The way that she came from nothing. 347 00:15:46,154 --> 00:15:48,239 And the way that she has written 348 00:15:48,365 --> 00:15:49,698 so many incredible songs. 349 00:15:49,699 --> 00:15:52,243 ♪ And if you don't love me, Leave me ♪ 350 00:15:52,369 --> 00:15:55,580 ♪ And don't let it trouble Your mind ♪ 351 00:15:55,705 --> 00:15:57,164 "Don't let it trouble your mind." 352 00:15:57,165 --> 00:15:59,292 When I'm out the door, don't let it trouble your mind. 353 00:15:59,417 --> 00:16:00,418 I'm gonna be fine. 354 00:16:01,586 --> 00:16:03,128 She stood up for herself. 355 00:16:03,129 --> 00:16:05,090 And she looks the way she looks 356 00:16:05,215 --> 00:16:06,882 'cause that's the way she wants to look. 357 00:16:06,883 --> 00:16:08,426 And she's very clear about that. 358 00:16:09,344 --> 00:16:11,763 [Parton] I enjoy the big hair and the gaudy clothes. 359 00:16:11,888 --> 00:16:13,639 And it's-it's a costume. 360 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,642 It's part of what people have come to know me as. 361 00:16:16,643 --> 00:16:19,270 And I don't like to be ordinary. I don't like to be stylish. 362 00:16:19,396 --> 00:16:21,439 It's far too easy to be stylish. 363 00:16:23,233 --> 00:16:25,567 [Guyton] I just loved her as a businesswoman. 364 00:16:25,568 --> 00:16:28,404 She had big boobs. Everybody talked about it. 365 00:16:28,405 --> 00:16:31,783 They looked down on her for it, and she was just like, 366 00:16:31,908 --> 00:16:34,452 "This is me, and I'm gonna love myself." 367 00:16:35,161 --> 00:16:37,371 I'm sure of myself as a person. 368 00:16:37,372 --> 00:16:38,998 I'm sure of my talent. 369 00:16:39,124 --> 00:16:40,959 I like the kind of person that I am. 370 00:16:41,084 --> 00:16:42,167 [crowd cheering, whistling] 371 00:16:42,168 --> 00:16:43,795 [Exposito] Dolly had plenty of reason 372 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,589 to be sure of herself and her talent. 373 00:16:47,090 --> 00:16:49,049 She was part of a league of female musicians 374 00:16:49,050 --> 00:16:50,592 that were breaking new ground 375 00:16:50,593 --> 00:16:53,555 and shattering expectations left and right. 376 00:16:56,099 --> 00:16:59,144 My whole life, I've only done the stuff that I admired, 377 00:16:59,269 --> 00:17:01,103 and if I admired it, I tried to emulate it. 378 00:17:01,104 --> 00:17:02,396 And I admired Dolly Parton, 379 00:17:02,397 --> 00:17:04,482 and I admired Emmylou Harris tremendously. 380 00:17:05,650 --> 00:17:07,152 One day Emmy called me up and said, 381 00:17:07,277 --> 00:17:09,320 "Dolly Parton's at my house. Why don't you come over?" 382 00:17:09,446 --> 00:17:12,490 It was a 45-minute drive, but I got there in about 20. 383 00:17:12,615 --> 00:17:15,535 We did a Carter song, "Bury Me Beneath the Willow," 384 00:17:15,660 --> 00:17:17,244 and we went, "Wow." 385 00:17:17,245 --> 00:17:21,832 ♪ So bury me Beneath the willow ♪ 386 00:17:21,833 --> 00:17:25,044 ♪ Under the weeping Willow tree ♪ 387 00:17:25,045 --> 00:17:28,047 [Ronstadt] I jam with other singers all the time, you know. 388 00:17:28,048 --> 00:17:29,883 But this sounded different. 389 00:17:31,384 --> 00:17:33,427 If you're singing a song or listening to a song, 390 00:17:33,428 --> 00:17:36,638 and you suddenly have a feeling you didn't realize you had, 391 00:17:36,639 --> 00:17:39,184 that's when music is doing its job. 392 00:17:39,309 --> 00:17:40,893 And it was very musically satisfying 393 00:17:40,894 --> 00:17:42,436 to sing with those two girls. 394 00:17:42,437 --> 00:17:44,564 [tranquil music playing] 395 00:17:46,900 --> 00:17:50,028 [Gomez] The trio was this powerhouse supergroup of women 396 00:17:50,153 --> 00:17:54,366 who had really taken control over their music and careers. 397 00:17:54,491 --> 00:17:56,450 And Linda Ronstadt was not someone 398 00:17:56,451 --> 00:17:57,785 who was gonna be defined 399 00:17:57,786 --> 00:18:00,497 by the conventions of the industry. 400 00:18:00,622 --> 00:18:03,957 ♪ I'm going back someday ♪ 401 00:18:03,958 --> 00:18:05,834 ♪ Come what may ♪ 402 00:18:05,835 --> 00:18:08,213 ♪ To Blue Bayou ♪ 403 00:18:08,338 --> 00:18:10,005 And I remember hearing "Blue Bayou." 404 00:18:10,006 --> 00:18:13,885 I think I was probably 17. 405 00:18:14,928 --> 00:18:18,847 My mom told me that I looked like Linda Ronstadt, 406 00:18:18,848 --> 00:18:21,059 and she goes, "You should listen to her music." 407 00:18:21,184 --> 00:18:24,186 She has an incredible voice, like, "You're No Good." 408 00:18:24,187 --> 00:18:26,647 ♪ You're no good, You're no good ♪ 409 00:18:26,648 --> 00:18:27,732 ♪ You're no good ♪ 410 00:18:27,857 --> 00:18:30,151 ♪ Baby, you're no good ♪ 411 00:18:30,777 --> 00:18:32,319 Completely fell in love. 412 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:35,907 Those songs to me are so... 413 00:18:36,866 --> 00:18:40,452 They're like, um, the Taylor Swift of that time, 414 00:18:40,453 --> 00:18:42,663 you know, that-that powerful, like, 415 00:18:42,664 --> 00:18:44,749 "Oh, yes, I deserve the best. 416 00:18:44,874 --> 00:18:49,503 And I know exactly where I want to stand and who I am." 417 00:18:49,504 --> 00:18:51,672 And that's vulnerability and strength. 418 00:18:51,673 --> 00:18:55,718 And I think that every girl can relate. 419 00:18:55,719 --> 00:18:57,511 "When Will I Be Loved," 420 00:18:57,512 --> 00:19:00,807 it's kind of an upbeat song, but it makes me emotional. 421 00:19:01,599 --> 00:19:06,271 ♪ When will I be loved? ♪ 422 00:19:06,980 --> 00:19:08,856 [Gomez] She was powerful. 423 00:19:08,857 --> 00:19:11,609 She was a huge part of music. 424 00:19:11,735 --> 00:19:14,737 She was with the Stones, Dolly Parton, 425 00:19:14,738 --> 00:19:18,866 and she was the first woman to headline full arena tours. 426 00:19:18,867 --> 00:19:21,160 She was her own trailblazer, 427 00:19:21,161 --> 00:19:24,580 and she knew deep down that it was important for her 428 00:19:24,581 --> 00:19:27,125 to get in touch with her roots 429 00:19:27,250 --> 00:19:29,418 and to do something that was daring. 430 00:19:29,419 --> 00:19:32,630 - [crowd cheering] - [upbeat music playing] 431 00:19:32,756 --> 00:19:36,342 I think everybody did not want her doing a Spanish album. 432 00:19:36,343 --> 00:19:39,846 - [mariachi music playing] - [singing in Spanish] 433 00:19:43,141 --> 00:19:46,478 [Ronstadt] 434 00:19:48,104 --> 00:19:51,316 [interviewer] 435 00:20:07,624 --> 00:20:10,085 [Gomez] She ended up winning a Grammy, 436 00:20:11,002 --> 00:20:13,128 and the album is still the biggest selling 437 00:20:13,129 --> 00:20:16,341 non-English-language record in American history. 438 00:20:18,385 --> 00:20:19,968 Women like Linda Ronstadt, 439 00:20:19,969 --> 00:20:23,472 who pushed to embody their heritage, set the stage 440 00:20:23,473 --> 00:20:26,392 for non-English-speaking artists of today. 441 00:20:26,393 --> 00:20:29,103 There is a direct line to Gloria Estefan, 442 00:20:29,104 --> 00:20:31,271 Selena Quintanilla, J.Lo, 443 00:20:31,272 --> 00:20:35,943 and full circle with artists like Rosalia and Karol G today 444 00:20:35,944 --> 00:20:37,569 who are dominating the charts 445 00:20:37,570 --> 00:20:39,948 without making albums in English. 446 00:20:40,615 --> 00:20:42,991 [Abrams] There's a lot to be said about women taking 447 00:20:42,992 --> 00:20:46,204 what is considered normal and turning it on its head. 448 00:20:47,372 --> 00:20:49,581 When did you decide to be larger than life? 449 00:20:49,582 --> 00:20:51,792 When did I decide to be myself, really? 450 00:20:51,793 --> 00:20:53,627 I think that's what it comes down to. 451 00:20:53,628 --> 00:20:56,214 You have to fearlessly go into this madness, 452 00:20:56,339 --> 00:20:58,632 and you have to find your walk 453 00:20:58,633 --> 00:21:00,093 and you stick to it. 454 00:21:00,218 --> 00:21:02,094 If you stick to it 455 00:21:02,095 --> 00:21:04,304 and are true to that and yourself... 456 00:21:04,305 --> 00:21:06,141 [upbeat music playing] 457 00:21:07,267 --> 00:21:10,228 [chuckles] I can't think of much else that really matters. 458 00:21:11,271 --> 00:21:12,731 [TV clicks, static buzzing] 459 00:21:12,856 --> 00:21:16,401 The '90s are gonna make the '60s look like the '50s. 460 00:21:16,526 --> 00:21:21,113 [Exposito] It was awesome to be a little girl in the '90s 461 00:21:21,114 --> 00:21:24,491 in a time when so many powerful women were coming up. 462 00:21:24,492 --> 00:21:27,412 We had the first female attorney general, 463 00:21:27,537 --> 00:21:29,329 secretary of state, 464 00:21:29,330 --> 00:21:31,290 and the number of women in the Senate 465 00:21:31,291 --> 00:21:33,918 had gone from two to twelve. 466 00:21:34,627 --> 00:21:36,671 I can be anything I want to be. It's the '90s. 467 00:21:38,214 --> 00:21:40,592 Women were given these platforms 468 00:21:40,717 --> 00:21:43,218 that they may not have had before. 469 00:21:43,219 --> 00:21:44,345 [static] 470 00:21:44,346 --> 00:21:46,638 But, you know, at the same time, 471 00:21:46,639 --> 00:21:49,516 you would see like Girls Gone Wild ads on 472 00:21:49,517 --> 00:21:50,977 late at night. 473 00:21:53,313 --> 00:21:55,356 We saw this dichotomy in popular culture 474 00:21:55,357 --> 00:21:59,651 and outright hostility in the media towards women. 475 00:21:59,652 --> 00:22:02,280 Monica also said that, uh, President Clinton 476 00:22:02,405 --> 00:22:04,991 would often compliment her on her figure. 477 00:22:05,116 --> 00:22:06,241 If you didn't think this guy 478 00:22:06,242 --> 00:22:08,202 was the biggest liar in the world before... 479 00:22:08,203 --> 00:22:09,621 You know, the last time I saw you, 480 00:22:09,746 --> 00:22:11,289 were you this weight or a different weight? 481 00:22:11,414 --> 00:22:12,498 I was a little skinnier then. 482 00:22:12,499 --> 00:22:14,000 - What's your name? - Heather. 483 00:22:14,125 --> 00:22:17,378 Well, buddy. Heather, she's got a fresh little crumpet. 484 00:22:17,379 --> 00:22:20,298 Are you guys ready for your foxy boxers? 485 00:22:20,423 --> 00:22:24,469 If I don't get you to show your breasts, I will get fired. 486 00:22:24,594 --> 00:22:26,805 [punk rock music playing] 487 00:22:28,139 --> 00:22:29,556 [Exposito] Bands like Bikini Kill 488 00:22:29,557 --> 00:22:31,225 were not here for that. 489 00:22:31,226 --> 00:22:34,229 This is for all those fuckers! 490 00:22:35,980 --> 00:22:37,982 Well, it was really hard in the '90s 491 00:22:38,108 --> 00:22:40,442 to be a woman in a feminist band. 492 00:22:40,443 --> 00:22:41,820 [screams] 493 00:22:41,945 --> 00:22:43,862 There were always feminists in punk. Always. 494 00:22:43,863 --> 00:22:45,197 From the very beginning. 495 00:22:45,198 --> 00:22:46,449 But it had changed. 496 00:22:47,450 --> 00:22:50,536 Punk started as the soundtrack to class warfare, 497 00:22:50,537 --> 00:22:53,832 and then it became about guys who were, like, mad 498 00:22:53,957 --> 00:22:55,916 their mom wouldn't make them a sandwich. 499 00:22:55,917 --> 00:22:59,337 ["Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies playing] 500 00:23:01,131 --> 00:23:03,341 [Hanna] As someone who was going to shows, putting on shows, 501 00:23:03,466 --> 00:23:05,051 very involved in the punk community, 502 00:23:05,176 --> 00:23:06,845 and I'm like, "Seriously?" 503 00:23:09,347 --> 00:23:12,350 I worked at a domestic violence and rape relief crisis center 504 00:23:12,475 --> 00:23:15,644 when I was from 19 to about 24, 505 00:23:15,645 --> 00:23:17,813 and that really informed the way I wrote lyrics 506 00:23:17,814 --> 00:23:19,274 and what I wrote about. 507 00:23:21,067 --> 00:23:24,903 I was so full of all of this crisis and rage and pain, 508 00:23:24,904 --> 00:23:29,242 and like, how could I process that without music? 509 00:23:29,826 --> 00:23:34,205 [Hanna singing] 510 00:23:40,337 --> 00:23:42,881 Girls always get pushed to the back, and it's all this, like, 511 00:23:43,006 --> 00:23:45,924 sweaty boy, long hair, beer belly thing in the front. 512 00:23:45,925 --> 00:23:49,095 Girls need to reclaim the scene for themselves, I think. 513 00:23:50,180 --> 00:23:51,556 [Hanna] It did feel radical 514 00:23:51,681 --> 00:23:53,767 and it did feel really dangerous. 515 00:23:54,351 --> 00:23:56,394 Men were standing up and yelling, 516 00:23:56,519 --> 00:23:59,439 "Shut up and play the song. Take it off." 517 00:24:02,567 --> 00:24:05,236 [singing indistinctly] 518 00:24:09,074 --> 00:24:10,866 We really needed to create community. 519 00:24:10,867 --> 00:24:12,911 So we started getting names 520 00:24:13,036 --> 00:24:14,787 of girls and women who came to our shows 521 00:24:14,788 --> 00:24:17,040 and then inviting them to come to our next gig. 522 00:24:17,624 --> 00:24:21,210 Eventually, me and my friend Allison Wolfe from Bratmobile, 523 00:24:21,211 --> 00:24:24,464 we were like, "We're gonna have a meeting with girl punks." 524 00:24:24,589 --> 00:24:25,881 [punk music playing] 525 00:24:25,882 --> 00:24:28,426 But everyone had horror stories. 526 00:24:28,551 --> 00:24:29,885 It started feeling like, "Hey, 527 00:24:29,886 --> 00:24:31,846 you know what people want? They want support." 528 00:24:32,389 --> 00:24:33,598 People started skill-sharing. 529 00:24:33,723 --> 00:24:34,848 "Do you want to start a band? 530 00:24:34,849 --> 00:24:36,517 Do you want to start a press 531 00:24:36,518 --> 00:24:38,311 where we put out a bunch of fan zines?" 532 00:24:38,436 --> 00:24:40,562 Like, "What do you want to do?" 533 00:24:40,563 --> 00:24:43,817 Eventually, the meetings became known as riot grrrl meetings. 534 00:24:45,068 --> 00:24:49,029 Riot grrrl was not just a genre of music. 535 00:24:49,030 --> 00:24:50,906 It was a movement. 536 00:24:50,907 --> 00:24:54,159 [Hanna] If you're a racist, homophobic, sexist, 537 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:56,412 or just a plain fucking asshole, 538 00:24:56,413 --> 00:24:58,039 you will be asked to leave. 539 00:25:09,592 --> 00:25:11,760 I started saying "girls to the front" at shows 540 00:25:11,761 --> 00:25:15,097 because why were we printing up lyric sheets 541 00:25:15,098 --> 00:25:16,683 with our words on them 542 00:25:16,808 --> 00:25:18,392 to hand them out to dudes? 543 00:25:18,393 --> 00:25:20,020 That's not who I made them for. 544 00:25:20,812 --> 00:25:22,438 So I needed them to see 545 00:25:22,439 --> 00:25:25,274 Kathi's hands on the bass and how easy it was. 546 00:25:25,275 --> 00:25:27,360 How are they gonna start bands if they're stuck in the back 547 00:25:27,485 --> 00:25:29,320 where they can't even see? 548 00:25:29,446 --> 00:25:32,406 We wanted to have that physical connection 549 00:25:32,407 --> 00:25:33,615 because connection is joy. 550 00:25:33,616 --> 00:25:36,244 [punk music playing] 551 00:25:38,705 --> 00:25:42,082 [Patel] Their movement was about raising up women, 552 00:25:42,083 --> 00:25:45,878 and "Rebel Girl" is this rallying cry 553 00:25:45,879 --> 00:25:47,839 for what this movement is. 554 00:25:54,679 --> 00:25:55,929 When I wrote "Rebel Girl," 555 00:25:55,930 --> 00:25:58,183 I was really working with what it was like 556 00:25:58,308 --> 00:26:00,185 when I was a kid, 557 00:26:00,310 --> 00:26:02,269 before I sort of got tamped down 558 00:26:02,270 --> 00:26:03,855 and made to feel less than. 559 00:26:04,564 --> 00:26:07,734 I remember watching my sister ride around on her big wheel, 560 00:26:07,859 --> 00:26:09,569 and I just thought she was the coolest, 561 00:26:09,694 --> 00:26:11,863 and all the girls I had crushes on 562 00:26:11,988 --> 00:26:13,947 in junior high and high school. 563 00:26:13,948 --> 00:26:16,909 I was just thinking about all these amazing women I knew. 564 00:26:16,910 --> 00:26:18,994 And it just sort of came out. 565 00:26:18,995 --> 00:26:22,790 ♪ Rebel girl ♪ 566 00:26:22,791 --> 00:26:26,126 [Patel] This whole movement set the tone for what would come. 567 00:26:26,127 --> 00:26:27,545 ♪ Rebel girl ♪ 568 00:26:27,671 --> 00:26:29,171 ♪ Rebel girl ♪ 569 00:26:29,172 --> 00:26:30,715 ♪ I really like you ♪ 570 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:33,884 ♪ I really wanna be Your best friend ♪ 571 00:26:33,885 --> 00:26:38,013 ♪ Be my rebel girl ♪ 572 00:26:38,014 --> 00:26:39,391 [song ending] 573 00:26:40,141 --> 00:26:42,894 [Exposito] In the '90s, there was this really angry, 574 00:26:43,019 --> 00:26:46,731 subversive, forceful thing happening with punk rock. 575 00:26:47,857 --> 00:26:50,235 At the same time, there were these parallel waves 576 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:53,987 of feminism happening in other genres, 577 00:26:53,988 --> 00:26:57,283 and this was especially notable in women's hip hop. 578 00:26:58,535 --> 00:27:01,287 [bass-heavy hip hop music playing] 579 00:27:01,871 --> 00:27:04,707 [Hope] In the '90s, you kind of saw a lot of gangsta rap 580 00:27:04,708 --> 00:27:06,542 being more in the forefront, 581 00:27:06,543 --> 00:27:09,294 and women in gangsta rap 582 00:27:09,295 --> 00:27:11,589 were not multi-dimensional figures. 583 00:27:12,424 --> 00:27:15,050 You had songs like "A Bitch Iz a Bitch." 584 00:27:15,051 --> 00:27:18,263 [Ice Cube rapping] 585 00:27:20,890 --> 00:27:23,977 During my teenage years, I was kinda like bopping along to it. 586 00:27:24,102 --> 00:27:25,310 - Kind of like... - [record scratch] 587 00:27:25,311 --> 00:27:26,729 this is not quite right. 588 00:27:26,730 --> 00:27:28,231 [record spinning] 589 00:27:28,815 --> 00:27:32,067 There had to be, at some point, women breaking through 590 00:27:32,068 --> 00:27:33,527 and challenging the system. 591 00:27:33,528 --> 00:27:36,405 That's where we get women like MC Lyte, 592 00:27:36,406 --> 00:27:38,907 Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, 593 00:27:38,908 --> 00:27:42,578 sort of pushing back against this dominant archetype. 594 00:27:42,579 --> 00:27:44,288 ♪ Who you callin' a bitch? ♪ 595 00:27:44,289 --> 00:27:46,248 ♪ Yeah, You gotta let them know ♪ 596 00:27:46,249 --> 00:27:47,667 ♪ U-N-I-T-Y ♪ 597 00:27:48,168 --> 00:27:49,835 [Hanna] I was very lucky that I had friends 598 00:27:49,836 --> 00:27:52,338 who turned me on to lots of different kinds of music. 599 00:27:52,339 --> 00:27:54,923 And when I heard "U.N.I.T.Y.," 600 00:27:54,924 --> 00:27:56,676 I was like, "This is different." 601 00:27:57,260 --> 00:27:59,679 To be talking about street harassment 602 00:27:59,804 --> 00:28:02,015 in a song that's on the radio, 603 00:28:02,140 --> 00:28:03,641 that everyone's listening to, 604 00:28:03,767 --> 00:28:06,268 was absolutely out of control. 605 00:28:06,269 --> 00:28:09,104 ♪ I walked past these dudes, When they passed me ♪ 606 00:28:09,105 --> 00:28:11,649 ♪ One of em' felt my booty, He was nasty ♪ 607 00:28:12,609 --> 00:28:15,277 [Hope] She put on paper an experience 608 00:28:15,278 --> 00:28:17,446 that women could relate to, 609 00:28:17,447 --> 00:28:20,449 and that hadn't been done in that way before, 610 00:28:20,450 --> 00:28:22,242 on a rap song. 611 00:28:22,243 --> 00:28:27,749 It opens the lane for this expression of anti. 612 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,336 [hip hop music playing] 613 00:28:31,461 --> 00:28:34,506 You know, I think a great way to spread a message 614 00:28:34,631 --> 00:28:37,050 is for it to come across as authentic. 615 00:28:37,175 --> 00:28:39,968 But it's kind of where the authenticity feels 616 00:28:39,969 --> 00:28:43,098 shocking in a way when we see it. 617 00:28:43,682 --> 00:28:46,433 With the '90s, what we saw 618 00:28:46,434 --> 00:28:48,811 was this reclamation of sex 619 00:28:48,812 --> 00:28:50,813 with artists like Lil' Kim 620 00:28:50,814 --> 00:28:53,024 and Foxy Brown and Missy Elliott. 621 00:28:53,149 --> 00:28:55,150 ♪ We got sex appeal, I'ma keep it real ♪ 622 00:28:55,151 --> 00:28:57,277 ♪ If I didn't have a deal, I'd still be worth a mill' ♪ 623 00:28:57,278 --> 00:28:59,988 [Hope] They were showing that women 624 00:28:59,989 --> 00:29:01,866 and particularly, you know, Black women 625 00:29:01,991 --> 00:29:03,576 can own sexuality. 626 00:29:05,036 --> 00:29:07,788 There's some subversion at play. 627 00:29:07,789 --> 00:29:10,083 And "subversion" actually is the word 628 00:29:10,208 --> 00:29:13,293 that I would most apply to artists like Salt-N-Pepa 629 00:29:13,294 --> 00:29:16,463 who flipped the script a lot of times. 630 00:29:16,464 --> 00:29:18,799 ♪ Let's talk about sex, baby ♪ 631 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:19,926 ♪ Let's talk about you and me ♪ 632 00:29:20,051 --> 00:29:22,177 [Hope] There's a way that musicians 633 00:29:22,178 --> 00:29:24,096 can, like, sneak a message in, 634 00:29:24,097 --> 00:29:26,390 and "Let's Talk About Sex" is the opposite. 635 00:29:26,391 --> 00:29:27,808 ♪ I won't get got, I'm on the pill ♪ 636 00:29:27,809 --> 00:29:29,560 ♪ Until the sores, spores ♪ 637 00:29:29,561 --> 00:29:30,853 ♪ And stuff pour Down your drawers ♪ 638 00:29:30,854 --> 00:29:31,896 ♪ He gave it to you ♪ 639 00:29:32,022 --> 00:29:33,022 ♪ And now it's all yours ♪ 640 00:29:33,023 --> 00:29:34,149 [song ends] 641 00:29:35,191 --> 00:29:37,860 [woman] I think that we need to really think about how artists 642 00:29:37,861 --> 00:29:40,154 are not just building their own careers, 643 00:29:40,155 --> 00:29:42,407 but really building out culture. 644 00:29:42,532 --> 00:29:44,576 It's not just about making the music. 645 00:29:44,701 --> 00:29:46,827 It's about engaging with the community 646 00:29:46,828 --> 00:29:48,580 that the music is about. 647 00:29:49,539 --> 00:29:51,458 We come in contact with a lot of people 648 00:29:51,583 --> 00:29:53,084 that we became close with 649 00:29:53,209 --> 00:29:56,045 as far as AIDS, you know, HIV positive. 650 00:29:56,046 --> 00:29:58,965 That's what really made us open our eyes and be like, 651 00:29:59,090 --> 00:30:00,800 "Wow, you know, this can happen to anybody." 652 00:30:00,925 --> 00:30:02,761 - Anybody. - We feel, as rap artists, 653 00:30:02,886 --> 00:30:05,846 we have a responsibility to the teenagers that listen to us, 654 00:30:05,847 --> 00:30:07,974 to let them know it can happen to you too. 655 00:30:09,684 --> 00:30:12,644 [Gonzalez] Early hip hop movement was really rooted 656 00:30:12,645 --> 00:30:16,316 in poor Black and Brown communities. 657 00:30:16,900 --> 00:30:18,859 And all of these folks that are talking 658 00:30:18,860 --> 00:30:22,529 about really important things that are also in schools, 659 00:30:22,530 --> 00:30:26,408 they're singing verses that young people needed to hear. 660 00:30:26,409 --> 00:30:28,995 ♪ Girls, you know You'd better watch out ♪ 661 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:30,954 Being a kid, I fell asleep 662 00:30:30,955 --> 00:30:32,791 to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. 663 00:30:32,916 --> 00:30:34,917 And I loved that album. 664 00:30:34,918 --> 00:30:36,251 Her voice was so powerful 665 00:30:36,252 --> 00:30:38,797 and just how she observed the world. 666 00:30:40,423 --> 00:30:43,176 That album is structured through the lens of a classroom. 667 00:30:44,010 --> 00:30:45,804 She's using that framing 668 00:30:45,929 --> 00:30:47,680 as a way to talk about the importance 669 00:30:47,681 --> 00:30:51,976 of talking to kids about the ideas on the album. 670 00:30:53,311 --> 00:30:55,814 [Hope] She's talking about motherhood, 671 00:30:55,939 --> 00:30:58,149 she's talking about career, 672 00:30:58,274 --> 00:31:01,027 she's talking about an extremely emotional breakup. 673 00:31:02,112 --> 00:31:04,863 [Wortham] But Miss Hill was sort of saying to women, 674 00:31:04,864 --> 00:31:07,158 "Think twice, be careful, protect yourself." 675 00:31:07,826 --> 00:31:11,620 [H.E.R.] Her album was very much speaking about culture 676 00:31:11,621 --> 00:31:14,165 and the experience as a woman, as a Black woman, 677 00:31:14,290 --> 00:31:17,043 and I feel like it's not really easy to put into words 678 00:31:17,168 --> 00:31:19,504 what that does for you. 679 00:31:19,629 --> 00:31:21,589 But the representation was everything. 680 00:31:22,298 --> 00:31:24,800 Since Miseducation, everybody's been begging you, 681 00:31:24,801 --> 00:31:26,761 "Come on, Lauryn, give us something!" 682 00:31:27,971 --> 00:31:31,224 There's a lot that could force an individual to compromise, 683 00:31:31,349 --> 00:31:33,226 and to me, for me to make music, 684 00:31:33,351 --> 00:31:35,310 it doesn't really make sense for me to make music 685 00:31:35,311 --> 00:31:38,063 if I can't make something that has a purpose. 686 00:31:38,064 --> 00:31:40,734 [mellow R&B music playing] 687 00:31:41,985 --> 00:31:43,652 [Hope] Lauryn is notorious, obviously, 688 00:31:43,653 --> 00:31:46,573 because she's sort of retreated from the spotlight. 689 00:31:47,741 --> 00:31:49,658 [Wortham] The costs have been really high, like, 690 00:31:49,659 --> 00:31:52,871 this is the toll of this business. 691 00:31:53,413 --> 00:31:56,957 I feel really moved by her unwillingness to compromise. 692 00:31:56,958 --> 00:31:58,710 I'm still impressed by it. 693 00:31:59,169 --> 00:32:01,796 It's not always the exact same contour of fight. 694 00:32:02,380 --> 00:32:04,673 But there's always something more to be done. 695 00:32:04,674 --> 00:32:06,885 [soft, dramatic music playing] 696 00:32:07,010 --> 00:32:10,262 We have a common bond that should help us transcend 697 00:32:10,263 --> 00:32:11,973 the next hard thing we do. 698 00:32:12,432 --> 00:32:14,641 [cars honking] 699 00:32:14,642 --> 00:32:17,562 No justice, no peace! 700 00:32:17,687 --> 00:32:20,273 There are certain moments of rupture that are important. 701 00:32:21,107 --> 00:32:22,858 [reporter] Demonstrations erupting today 702 00:32:22,859 --> 00:32:24,903 in the name of George Floyd. 703 00:32:25,695 --> 00:32:29,074 Protestors flooding the streets and calling for justice. 704 00:32:29,199 --> 00:32:31,617 Floyd, an unarmed Black man, 705 00:32:31,618 --> 00:32:33,827 died after being cuffed and pinned to the ground 706 00:32:33,828 --> 00:32:35,080 by an officer's knee. 707 00:32:35,622 --> 00:32:38,667 Stop killing Black people! 708 00:32:39,584 --> 00:32:41,960 Activism, a lot of times, is just like what's going on 709 00:32:41,961 --> 00:32:45,090 in your community that kind of forces you to activate. 710 00:32:45,590 --> 00:32:48,842 [Patel] The shock and horror of what happened in 2020 711 00:32:48,843 --> 00:32:51,637 was so much for everyone to bear. 712 00:32:51,638 --> 00:32:54,391 A moment that big wakes people up. 713 00:32:55,100 --> 00:32:56,643 It means you have to be present, 714 00:32:56,768 --> 00:32:57,936 you have to be listening, 715 00:32:58,061 --> 00:32:59,104 you have to be learning, 716 00:32:59,229 --> 00:33:01,897 and you have to be speaking about it. 717 00:33:01,898 --> 00:33:03,524 Shut it down! 718 00:33:03,525 --> 00:33:05,777 [soft music playing] 719 00:33:07,237 --> 00:33:08,947 [chanting] I can't breathe! 720 00:33:10,073 --> 00:33:11,532 I can't breathe! 721 00:33:11,533 --> 00:33:14,034 [H.E.R.] I was in the Bay Area, at my mom's house, 722 00:33:14,035 --> 00:33:16,830 and I was seeing people marching outside and, you know, 723 00:33:16,955 --> 00:33:18,623 on the news and on social media. 724 00:33:18,748 --> 00:33:21,250 I had to turn it off because you're just watching that video 725 00:33:21,251 --> 00:33:25,547 over and over again, and it's really, um, painful. 726 00:33:26,965 --> 00:33:28,716 And I had this old guitar that I've had 727 00:33:28,717 --> 00:33:31,719 since I was like nine years old and I just picked it up. 728 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:33,887 I started playing those chords and singing that chorus. 729 00:33:33,888 --> 00:33:35,889 ♪ I can't breathe ♪ 730 00:33:35,890 --> 00:33:37,391 [soft R&B music playing] 731 00:33:37,392 --> 00:33:40,520 ♪ You're taking my life From me ♪ 732 00:33:40,645 --> 00:33:42,021 [music fades] 733 00:33:42,022 --> 00:33:45,483 It is a painful thing to tell a dark story. 734 00:33:46,317 --> 00:33:48,694 When a musician is vulnerable, 735 00:33:48,695 --> 00:33:51,447 we have space to process our grief. 736 00:33:51,448 --> 00:33:54,033 All right, I'm not gonna lie, I'm gonna cry. [laughs] 737 00:33:54,034 --> 00:33:56,327 I was teared up, I got chills. 738 00:33:56,995 --> 00:34:00,999 [H.E.R.] People were telling me, "This made my 70-year-old dad 739 00:34:01,124 --> 00:34:02,958 think differently." People were telling me that. 740 00:34:02,959 --> 00:34:04,461 I was like, "Wow, that's insane." 741 00:34:05,295 --> 00:34:07,629 Another man was like, "I marched from Harlem 742 00:34:07,630 --> 00:34:10,299 to Brooklyn with a bunch of people to this song." 743 00:34:10,300 --> 00:34:13,635 - [soft music playing] - [gentle vocalizations] 744 00:34:13,636 --> 00:34:16,305 I think when we create music, it can be more selfish 745 00:34:16,306 --> 00:34:17,891 and then it turns into something else. 746 00:34:18,016 --> 00:34:19,558 I'm not thinking about millions of people 747 00:34:19,559 --> 00:34:21,019 are going to hear this. 748 00:34:23,396 --> 00:34:27,775 Music is a universal language and it-it allows somebody 749 00:34:27,776 --> 00:34:30,111 to help get out what they're feeling. 750 00:34:31,488 --> 00:34:33,989 And that's vulnerability and strength. 751 00:34:33,990 --> 00:34:37,118 [gentle piano music playing] 752 00:34:37,660 --> 00:34:39,913 [Giddens] You know, people talk about stress. 753 00:34:40,497 --> 00:34:43,290 When you look at what the legacy of that is, 754 00:34:43,291 --> 00:34:44,625 the inheritance of that, 755 00:34:44,626 --> 00:34:48,088 the ancestral bequeathing of that, 756 00:34:48,213 --> 00:34:50,297 I'm living with that stress. 757 00:34:50,298 --> 00:34:52,676 It's in my bones. It's in my DNA. 758 00:34:53,510 --> 00:34:56,721 But singing helps to release some of that. 759 00:34:57,514 --> 00:34:59,264 When I went back home to North Carolina, 760 00:34:59,265 --> 00:35:02,394 I started reading enslaved people's narratives. 761 00:35:02,519 --> 00:35:05,020 It's an amazing experience to sit in a library 762 00:35:05,021 --> 00:35:06,564 looking at somebody's diary 763 00:35:06,690 --> 00:35:08,566 or a letter that they've written. 764 00:35:08,692 --> 00:35:10,735 "Oh, I'm sorry it took me so long to write." 765 00:35:10,860 --> 00:35:12,319 I mean, some things are universal. 766 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:13,905 "I was sick." You know, 767 00:35:14,030 --> 00:35:15,823 "I'm sorry it took me so long to write you. 768 00:35:15,824 --> 00:35:17,366 And the weather's been really crap. 769 00:35:17,367 --> 00:35:19,493 And the crops are... You know, they're doing okay. 770 00:35:19,494 --> 00:35:22,288 And we sold Sally last week, and I bought a new dress." 771 00:35:23,206 --> 00:35:24,416 It's like that. 772 00:35:24,916 --> 00:35:27,668 It's like that. 773 00:35:27,669 --> 00:35:29,629 I didn't know what to do with these emotions, 774 00:35:29,754 --> 00:35:30,879 thinking about these women 775 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:33,173 and the lives that they had to lead. 776 00:35:33,174 --> 00:35:34,634 So I started writing songs. 777 00:35:34,759 --> 00:35:36,928 [gentle banjo music playing] 778 00:35:37,053 --> 00:35:39,388 Probably my most well known one of these is called 779 00:35:39,389 --> 00:35:40,974 "At The Purchaser's Option." 780 00:35:52,485 --> 00:35:54,112 So I found an ad, 781 00:35:54,237 --> 00:35:56,321 and it was for a young woman who was for sale. 782 00:35:56,322 --> 00:35:58,365 At the end of the ad, it says she has with her 783 00:35:58,366 --> 00:35:59,951 a nine-month-old baby 784 00:36:00,076 --> 00:36:01,911 who is at the purchaser's option. 785 00:36:02,746 --> 00:36:05,248 She has with her a baby. You can buy it or not. 786 00:36:06,124 --> 00:36:08,334 And I thought about that young woman. 787 00:36:08,335 --> 00:36:10,586 I imagine her lying on the bed, 788 00:36:10,587 --> 00:36:12,797 her little nine-month-old baby next to her. 789 00:36:12,922 --> 00:36:14,089 She opens up her eyes, 790 00:36:14,090 --> 00:36:16,508 not knowing how that day is gonna end. 791 00:36:16,509 --> 00:36:18,719 Is she gonna be with that little baby? 792 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,639 Do you love them the less because you never know 793 00:36:21,765 --> 00:36:23,932 if they're gonna stay with you? Of course you don't. 794 00:36:23,933 --> 00:36:27,437 So all of these questions go into that song. 795 00:36:27,562 --> 00:36:29,147 ♪ You can take my body ♪ 796 00:36:29,272 --> 00:36:30,982 ♪ You can take my bones ♪ 797 00:36:31,107 --> 00:36:32,733 ♪ You can take my blood ♪ 798 00:36:32,734 --> 00:36:34,443 ♪ But not my soul ♪ 799 00:36:34,444 --> 00:36:35,569 ♪ You can take my body ♪ 800 00:36:35,570 --> 00:36:37,404 It's heavy. 801 00:36:37,405 --> 00:36:40,325 But I feel like it's what I'm here to do. 802 00:36:42,243 --> 00:36:44,871 [Abrams] Even as music helps us process pain, 803 00:36:44,996 --> 00:36:47,248 it also unites us in joy. 804 00:36:48,500 --> 00:36:50,877 From the beginning of the fight for civil rights, 805 00:36:51,002 --> 00:36:52,920 there was always the music. 806 00:36:52,921 --> 00:36:54,797 [men singing] 807 00:36:54,798 --> 00:36:56,465 From the churches 808 00:36:56,466 --> 00:36:58,051 to the streets 809 00:36:58,176 --> 00:36:59,802 to the nation's capital. 810 00:36:59,803 --> 00:37:03,223 Music has given people the strength to keep going. 811 00:37:03,348 --> 00:37:04,473 Lena. 812 00:37:04,474 --> 00:37:05,766 Odetta. 813 00:37:05,767 --> 00:37:08,143 Mavis. Marian. 814 00:37:08,144 --> 00:37:10,730 They showed us that the more you speak out, 815 00:37:10,855 --> 00:37:13,107 the more you can change the world. 816 00:37:13,108 --> 00:37:15,360 [applause] 817 00:37:17,696 --> 00:37:20,532 But we've also learned that the louder you are, 818 00:37:20,657 --> 00:37:22,491 the more the forces of oppression 819 00:37:22,492 --> 00:37:24,119 will try to silence you. 820 00:37:25,537 --> 00:37:27,580 [explosion] 821 00:37:27,706 --> 00:37:30,124 [clamoring] 822 00:37:30,125 --> 00:37:31,583 [somber piano music playing] 823 00:37:31,584 --> 00:37:33,752 [reporter] Dynamite exploded on a Sunday morning, 824 00:37:33,753 --> 00:37:35,880 killed four little girls in Sunday school. 825 00:37:37,507 --> 00:37:40,844 [Simone] When the kids got killed in that church, 826 00:37:42,220 --> 00:37:45,056 first you get depressed, and after that, you get mad. 827 00:37:45,598 --> 00:37:47,433 And when these kids got bombed, 828 00:37:47,434 --> 00:37:49,269 I just sat down and wrote this song. 829 00:37:51,062 --> 00:37:55,482 [Patel] She saw the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, 830 00:37:55,483 --> 00:37:57,317 and she was fed up with it, 831 00:37:57,318 --> 00:37:59,404 and she wrote "Mississippi Goddam." 832 00:37:59,529 --> 00:38:02,197 ♪ Alabama's got me so upset ♪ 833 00:38:02,198 --> 00:38:05,075 ♪ Tennessee made me Lose my rest ♪ 834 00:38:05,076 --> 00:38:09,956 ♪ And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam ♪ 835 00:38:10,081 --> 00:38:11,583 [Patel] She's just channeling 836 00:38:11,708 --> 00:38:15,712 so much ancestral emotion, grief. 837 00:38:15,837 --> 00:38:19,173 ♪ I can't stand the pressure Much longer ♪ 838 00:38:19,174 --> 00:38:21,259 ♪ Somebody say a prayer ♪ 839 00:38:21,384 --> 00:38:24,636 [Patel] She's performing to largely white audiences, 840 00:38:24,637 --> 00:38:27,432 performing to people who might not want to hear it. 841 00:38:28,266 --> 00:38:31,978 [Simone] 842 00:38:32,437 --> 00:38:35,106 ...telling me that it was in bad taste. 843 00:38:35,231 --> 00:38:37,776 And, you know, how could I stoop to this? Et cetera. 844 00:38:37,901 --> 00:38:39,444 They missed the whole point. 845 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:44,698 I think she saw that all she could do 846 00:38:44,699 --> 00:38:45,866 was make art 847 00:38:45,867 --> 00:38:48,786 and try to speak on behalf of others. 848 00:38:48,787 --> 00:38:51,080 ♪ Alabama's got me so upset ♪ 849 00:38:51,081 --> 00:38:54,416 ♪ And Governor Wallace Has made me lose my rest ♪ 850 00:38:54,417 --> 00:38:59,506 ♪ Everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam ♪ 851 00:39:00,006 --> 00:39:01,132 That's it! 852 00:39:01,257 --> 00:39:03,510 [applause] 853 00:39:05,095 --> 00:39:07,514 [Gonzalez] And then she's done, and she bows, 854 00:39:07,639 --> 00:39:09,349 you know, gracefully. 855 00:39:10,100 --> 00:39:12,226 And I love that. That just shows everything. 856 00:39:12,227 --> 00:39:14,479 She's a genius. 857 00:39:14,604 --> 00:39:17,272 She was good friends with James Baldwin 858 00:39:17,273 --> 00:39:19,942 and other artists of the time. 859 00:39:19,943 --> 00:39:22,194 They were part of a greater community 860 00:39:22,195 --> 00:39:24,947 of artists, writers, activists 861 00:39:24,948 --> 00:39:28,660 that were coming together for a common cause, 862 00:39:28,785 --> 00:39:30,203 equality. 863 00:39:30,995 --> 00:39:33,080 It's important to know how much power you have 864 00:39:33,081 --> 00:39:35,875 and utilize it in ways that will outlive you. 865 00:39:37,335 --> 00:39:42,089 [Simone] When I'm finished working, as tired as I am, 866 00:39:42,090 --> 00:39:45,759 when there are kids who come backstage afterwards 867 00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:48,722 who want to talk, or who are moved to the point, 868 00:39:48,847 --> 00:39:50,598 sometimes they're moved to tears, 869 00:39:51,182 --> 00:39:54,894 I find the time to do so as much as I can. 870 00:39:55,020 --> 00:39:57,147 They are our future. 871 00:39:57,981 --> 00:40:01,108 I never intend for my children to look at me and be ashamed 872 00:40:01,109 --> 00:40:03,194 and say, "Mama, why didn't you do something?" 873 00:40:03,319 --> 00:40:05,280 I will have done mine. 874 00:40:06,156 --> 00:40:09,825 [Abrams] We continue to benefit from the stand that Nina took, 875 00:40:09,826 --> 00:40:12,953 though I would imagine she'd still have a lot to say 876 00:40:12,954 --> 00:40:16,041 if she saw the division that's in music today. 877 00:40:19,377 --> 00:40:21,086 Hope y'all feeling good. 878 00:40:21,087 --> 00:40:22,881 Give it up for the Dixie Chicks. 879 00:40:23,006 --> 00:40:26,300 [Exposito] I remember the uproar over Beyoncé 880 00:40:26,301 --> 00:40:28,093 at the Country Music Awards, 881 00:40:28,094 --> 00:40:30,471 performing with the Dixie Chicks. 882 00:40:30,472 --> 00:40:33,182 Dixie Chicks got in a lot of trouble 883 00:40:33,183 --> 00:40:35,392 standing up against the war in Iraq. 884 00:40:35,393 --> 00:40:38,897 ♪ Daddy made a soldier Out of me ♪ 885 00:40:39,022 --> 00:40:42,275 [Exposito] There were a lot of sour faces in that audience. 886 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:45,027 What she walked away with was the impression 887 00:40:45,028 --> 00:40:46,362 that she wasn't welcome. 888 00:40:46,363 --> 00:40:49,449 I think that people painting 889 00:40:49,574 --> 00:40:52,577 country music as this, like, white utopia, 890 00:40:52,702 --> 00:40:56,247 it's... pure fabrication. 891 00:40:56,915 --> 00:40:59,918 For Beyoncé, she grew up in Texas. 892 00:41:00,043 --> 00:41:02,336 You know, this is her culture too. 893 00:41:02,337 --> 00:41:04,838 Like, she's gonna claim it. 894 00:41:04,839 --> 00:41:06,674 [reporter] Global superstar Beyoncé 895 00:41:06,675 --> 00:41:07,926 reveals the cover art 896 00:41:08,051 --> 00:41:10,261 for her next album, Cowboy Carter. 897 00:41:10,387 --> 00:41:12,346 ♪ This ain't Texas ♪ 898 00:41:12,347 --> 00:41:14,473 - ♪ Woo ♪ - ♪ Ain't no hold 'em ♪ 899 00:41:14,474 --> 00:41:16,350 "Texas Hold 'Em," which made her 900 00:41:16,351 --> 00:41:18,977 the first Black female artist to reach the top 901 00:41:18,978 --> 00:41:22,440 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. 902 00:41:22,565 --> 00:41:24,566 [reporter] Her Instagram reading... 903 00:41:24,567 --> 00:41:26,277 [reporter reading text] 904 00:41:33,451 --> 00:41:35,494 [reporter 2] Rhiannon Giddens. Her banjo 905 00:41:35,495 --> 00:41:38,623 is the first thing you hear on "Texas Hold 'Em." 906 00:41:38,748 --> 00:41:40,416 The "Stay in your lane," 907 00:41:40,417 --> 00:41:42,584 the "Well, that's not real country," 908 00:41:42,585 --> 00:41:44,004 that's just racism. 909 00:41:44,129 --> 00:41:45,713 Americana, country. 910 00:41:45,714 --> 00:41:48,842 All of it comes out of cross-cultural collaboration. 911 00:41:48,967 --> 00:41:51,010 But if you don't know that Black people 912 00:41:51,011 --> 00:41:53,178 were a huge part of that collaboration, 913 00:41:53,179 --> 00:41:56,557 you get a really skewed picture of what America is. 914 00:41:56,558 --> 00:41:58,977 [Guyton] When I first started singing country music, 915 00:41:59,102 --> 00:42:01,146 I was like, scared. I was like, 916 00:42:01,271 --> 00:42:04,273 "There aren't really any Black people in country music." 917 00:42:04,274 --> 00:42:07,568 And I Googled "Black female country singers." 918 00:42:07,569 --> 00:42:09,446 I found a woman named Linda Martell. 919 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:13,033 [Patel] Linda Martell's first single in 1969 920 00:42:13,158 --> 00:42:14,826 was a huge hit. 921 00:42:14,951 --> 00:42:18,078 She performed on popular TV shows like Hee Haw 922 00:42:18,079 --> 00:42:20,414 and at venues like the Grand Ole Opry. 923 00:42:20,415 --> 00:42:23,335 And before Beyoncé, Martell was the highest slotting 924 00:42:23,460 --> 00:42:26,128 Black female singer on the country charts. 925 00:42:26,129 --> 00:42:29,549 Martell later revealed a dispiriting story 926 00:42:29,674 --> 00:42:32,385 about that period of her life. 927 00:42:32,510 --> 00:42:35,013 She had originally signed with a label called 928 00:42:35,138 --> 00:42:37,931 SSS International Records 929 00:42:37,932 --> 00:42:39,517 and was totally unaware 930 00:42:39,642 --> 00:42:41,643 that they had decided to release her music 931 00:42:41,644 --> 00:42:43,270 on their sister label 932 00:42:43,271 --> 00:42:45,065 called Plantation. 933 00:42:45,648 --> 00:42:48,150 Feeling rightfully misled and disrespected, 934 00:42:48,151 --> 00:42:49,610 she left the label, 935 00:42:49,611 --> 00:42:52,112 and when she tried to take her music elsewhere, 936 00:42:52,113 --> 00:42:54,281 Plantation threatened to sue any company 937 00:42:54,282 --> 00:42:55,700 that released a song with her. 938 00:42:55,825 --> 00:42:58,078 She ended up leaving the music industry 939 00:42:58,203 --> 00:43:01,790 and ultimately supported herself as a school bus driver. 940 00:43:02,499 --> 00:43:05,710 I think of music as a matter of historical record 941 00:43:05,835 --> 00:43:08,462 and a matter of history keeping, 942 00:43:08,463 --> 00:43:10,882 and that particular example, 943 00:43:11,007 --> 00:43:12,884 I think, was representative 944 00:43:13,009 --> 00:43:15,344 of the state of the country. 945 00:43:15,345 --> 00:43:17,680 [Wortham] I think her story is all too common. 946 00:43:17,681 --> 00:43:20,558 That is actually more of the refrain of women, 947 00:43:20,684 --> 00:43:22,727 and especially Black women in the music industry, 948 00:43:22,852 --> 00:43:25,270 not just like they flamed out or they weren't good enough 949 00:43:25,271 --> 00:43:27,356 or they couldn't hack it. 950 00:43:27,357 --> 00:43:30,610 It's like, actually, they were kind of set up for failure. 951 00:43:32,821 --> 00:43:35,698 [Guyton] When I first started going to record labels, 952 00:43:35,699 --> 00:43:36,865 there was a president. 953 00:43:36,866 --> 00:43:39,703 He was questioning if I was authentic. 954 00:43:40,245 --> 00:43:43,415 He was questioning where I was from and questioning who I was. 955 00:43:43,540 --> 00:43:46,542 And I'm like, I grew up in Crawford, Texas. 956 00:43:46,543 --> 00:43:49,003 It doesn't get any countrier than that. 957 00:43:49,004 --> 00:43:50,422 And then he said, 958 00:43:50,547 --> 00:43:53,382 "Can you take those songs that you're writing 959 00:43:53,383 --> 00:43:55,093 and put a smile on it?" 960 00:43:55,635 --> 00:43:58,972 I needed to downplay everything that I was, 961 00:43:59,097 --> 00:44:00,514 and I lost myself. 962 00:44:00,515 --> 00:44:03,559 ♪ When I first saw That bikini top on her ♪ 963 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:06,478 ♪ She's popping right out Of the south Georgia water ♪ 964 00:44:06,479 --> 00:44:08,481 [Guyton] There was a movement that had happened 965 00:44:08,606 --> 00:44:09,816 when I was first coming up 966 00:44:09,941 --> 00:44:11,525 called the bro-country movement. 967 00:44:11,526 --> 00:44:14,069 Everybody had trap beats in their songs, 968 00:44:14,070 --> 00:44:16,238 and they were all going like this in their songs 969 00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:18,532 and like going like this in their songs, 970 00:44:18,533 --> 00:44:19,951 calling it country. 971 00:44:20,076 --> 00:44:22,995 And then I was turning in songs and they were like, 972 00:44:22,996 --> 00:44:25,372 "Mm, you need to make sure that sounds more country, 973 00:44:25,373 --> 00:44:28,001 because people are gonna think that you're not authentic." 974 00:44:28,126 --> 00:44:31,837 I was watching myself struggling as a Black woman, 975 00:44:31,838 --> 00:44:36,216 and, um, I sat with my husband and I asked him, 976 00:44:36,217 --> 00:44:39,804 "Why do you think country music isn't working for me?" 977 00:44:40,263 --> 00:44:42,765 And he says, "Because you're running away from your Blackness 978 00:44:42,766 --> 00:44:44,391 and you're running away from everything 979 00:44:44,392 --> 00:44:45,559 that makes you different." 980 00:44:45,560 --> 00:44:47,061 And he said, "You know, 981 00:44:47,062 --> 00:44:49,063 country music is three chords and the truth. 982 00:44:49,064 --> 00:44:50,857 So why aren't you writing country music 983 00:44:50,982 --> 00:44:52,441 from your perspective?" 984 00:44:52,442 --> 00:44:55,320 I was like, "Hm, why am I not?" 985 00:44:56,279 --> 00:44:58,656 So I wrote a song called "Black Like Me." 986 00:44:58,782 --> 00:45:01,784 ♪ If you think we live ♪ 987 00:45:01,785 --> 00:45:04,329 ♪ In the land of the free ♪ 988 00:45:04,454 --> 00:45:09,625 ♪ You should try to be Black like me ♪ 989 00:45:09,626 --> 00:45:11,293 It got a lot of hate. 990 00:45:11,294 --> 00:45:12,671 People were pissed. 991 00:45:13,630 --> 00:45:15,589 It was at a time a country artist 992 00:45:15,590 --> 00:45:17,217 got caught saying the N-word. 993 00:45:18,218 --> 00:45:20,178 This is what's happening in this genre. 994 00:45:20,303 --> 00:45:23,181 Like, you think I'm lying? Like, this is what's happening. 995 00:45:23,306 --> 00:45:25,850 And the things people said to me, 996 00:45:25,975 --> 00:45:28,353 "Get your ghetto ass out of country music. 997 00:45:28,478 --> 00:45:29,812 Effing N-Word." 998 00:45:29,813 --> 00:45:31,523 ["Black Like Me" playing] 999 00:45:31,648 --> 00:45:34,651 ♪ Oh, now ♪ 1000 00:45:34,776 --> 00:45:39,698 ♪ Now I'm all grown up And nothing has changed ♪ 1001 00:45:40,323 --> 00:45:42,616 ♪ Yeah, it's still the same ♪ 1002 00:45:42,617 --> 00:45:46,662 You can't truly see change until you start helping 1003 00:45:46,663 --> 00:45:48,581 other artists that are coming after you. 1004 00:45:48,707 --> 00:45:50,083 [shrieking excitedly] 1005 00:45:50,208 --> 00:45:51,959 My God! No! 1006 00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,254 Are you Mickey? Hello. 1007 00:45:54,379 --> 00:45:57,382 [Guyton] I never thought that I would be able to have 1008 00:45:57,507 --> 00:45:59,299 these types of possibilities 1009 00:45:59,300 --> 00:46:02,011 all because I just stood up and said, "No." 1010 00:46:02,012 --> 00:46:07,600 ♪ And I'm proud to be Black like me ♪ 1011 00:46:08,351 --> 00:46:13,273 ♪ Proud to be Black like me ♪ 1012 00:46:14,065 --> 00:46:16,735 [Abrams] The storytelling can cut across genre, 1013 00:46:16,860 --> 00:46:20,612 but it carries a through line of refusal 1014 00:46:20,613 --> 00:46:24,491 to be crushed by what seems to be a system 1015 00:46:24,492 --> 00:46:26,911 that does not care for your existence. 1016 00:46:27,787 --> 00:46:32,917 Tracy Chapman was one of those fantastic storytellers. 1017 00:46:33,043 --> 00:46:35,669 She talks about working-class challenges 1018 00:46:35,670 --> 00:46:39,340 in a way that is universal but so specific. 1019 00:46:39,341 --> 00:46:41,175 ♪ Don't you know ♪ 1020 00:46:41,176 --> 00:46:44,596 ♪ They're talking About a revolution? ♪ 1021 00:46:44,721 --> 00:46:46,973 ♪ It sounds like a whisper ♪ 1022 00:46:47,098 --> 00:46:49,476 I wrote the song, "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution," 1023 00:46:49,601 --> 00:46:51,894 when I was 16. 1024 00:46:51,895 --> 00:46:54,773 I received a scholarship to go to boarding school, 1025 00:46:55,273 --> 00:46:58,650 and it was a really difficult transition for me. 1026 00:46:58,651 --> 00:47:01,112 I found that people at the school 1027 00:47:01,237 --> 00:47:03,405 really didn't have a sense of where 1028 00:47:03,406 --> 00:47:06,785 the scholarship students like myself, where we come from, 1029 00:47:06,910 --> 00:47:09,162 and they also really didn't have much interest. 1030 00:47:09,287 --> 00:47:12,414 And, uh, I was really angry about that. 1031 00:47:12,415 --> 00:47:14,793 ♪ Poor people gonna rise up ♪ 1032 00:47:15,669 --> 00:47:17,503 ♪ And get their share ♪ 1033 00:47:17,504 --> 00:47:20,131 [Abrams] As a teenager, I discovered her music. 1034 00:47:20,256 --> 00:47:22,841 And for me, that was this moment 1035 00:47:22,842 --> 00:47:26,595 where all of the pent-up and sort of burgeoning, 1036 00:47:26,596 --> 00:47:29,974 you know, righteous indignation found a voice. 1037 00:47:30,100 --> 00:47:32,393 What was I upset about? What could I do? 1038 00:47:32,394 --> 00:47:34,770 Those songs really told me, 1039 00:47:34,771 --> 00:47:36,605 "These are the things you should demand." 1040 00:47:36,606 --> 00:47:40,151 And today I come to you as a young person, 1041 00:47:40,276 --> 00:47:41,528 as a young woman, 1042 00:47:41,653 --> 00:47:43,237 as a young Black woman, 1043 00:47:43,238 --> 00:47:45,198 to ask you to use us. 1044 00:47:45,323 --> 00:47:48,326 Use the young people of the United States of America 1045 00:47:48,451 --> 00:47:50,662 to pave a road that will last forever. 1046 00:47:51,246 --> 00:47:52,913 [Abrams] Tracy gave words to it 1047 00:47:52,914 --> 00:47:55,500 in such lyrical and beautiful fashion 1048 00:47:55,625 --> 00:47:57,669 that I carry it with me to this day. 1049 00:47:57,794 --> 00:48:00,295 ♪ You got a fast car ♪ 1050 00:48:00,296 --> 00:48:03,008 ♪ And I want a ticket To anywhere ♪ 1051 00:48:03,133 --> 00:48:05,634 ♪ Maybe we make a deal ♪ 1052 00:48:05,635 --> 00:48:08,846 ♪ Maybe together We can get somewhere ♪ 1053 00:48:08,847 --> 00:48:11,850 [Gonzalez] "Fast Car" is talking about not just poverty, 1054 00:48:11,975 --> 00:48:15,562 but the cycles of violence that are more relevant today. 1055 00:48:16,479 --> 00:48:18,523 [Wortham] It's a song about someone trying to break 1056 00:48:18,648 --> 00:48:20,107 intergenerational patterns, 1057 00:48:20,108 --> 00:48:23,110 and I just feel like it's such a classic narrative, 1058 00:48:23,111 --> 00:48:26,488 needing to carve out an identity for yourself. 1059 00:48:26,489 --> 00:48:28,700 There was something about the small-town angst 1060 00:48:28,825 --> 00:48:30,617 and desire to go somewhere else. 1061 00:48:30,618 --> 00:48:32,995 ♪ You got a fast car ♪ 1062 00:48:32,996 --> 00:48:35,456 ♪ Is it fast enough So you can fly away? ♪ 1063 00:48:35,457 --> 00:48:37,624 [Wortham] That moment, her at the Grammys, 1064 00:48:37,625 --> 00:48:39,210 there was something really remarkable 1065 00:48:39,336 --> 00:48:40,712 about how they shared the stage. 1066 00:48:40,837 --> 00:48:43,088 Like, we saw Tracy first. 1067 00:48:43,089 --> 00:48:45,007 She was glowing. 1068 00:48:45,008 --> 00:48:47,968 And Luke's relationship to her on stage 1069 00:48:47,969 --> 00:48:51,890 was of such reverence and respect. 1070 00:48:52,432 --> 00:48:55,434 Even the way he sings the song. He doesn't change the pronouns. 1071 00:48:55,435 --> 00:48:57,811 He doesn't do the things that men in general might do 1072 00:48:57,812 --> 00:49:00,147 to feel like, "Oh, I have to de-feminize the song." 1073 00:49:00,148 --> 00:49:02,400 [Luke Combs singing] 1074 00:49:05,362 --> 00:49:09,740 ♪ I-I had a feeling I could be someone ♪ 1075 00:49:09,741 --> 00:49:12,077 [Abrams] The power of music 1076 00:49:12,202 --> 00:49:15,954 comes from its ability to change its shape over time. 1077 00:49:15,955 --> 00:49:18,791 What began as a song about urban poverty 1078 00:49:18,792 --> 00:49:21,502 could, four decades later, be transformed 1079 00:49:21,503 --> 00:49:24,047 into a modern country anthem. 1080 00:49:24,631 --> 00:49:28,050 Any time a marginalized group finds itself alone, 1081 00:49:28,051 --> 00:49:30,844 without power, un-listened to, 1082 00:49:30,845 --> 00:49:33,640 you can bet it has a song to sing. 1083 00:49:34,224 --> 00:49:37,352 And it's only a matter of time until a voice emerges. 1084 00:49:40,438 --> 00:49:42,440 [Etheridge] My name is Melissa Etheridge. 1085 00:49:42,565 --> 00:49:47,362 I am a mother and a wife and a rock star. 1086 00:49:49,072 --> 00:49:50,864 When I turned 21, 1087 00:49:50,865 --> 00:49:54,910 I knew that Los Angeles was where the record industry was. 1088 00:49:54,911 --> 00:49:57,122 This was 1982. 1089 00:49:57,247 --> 00:50:01,083 I had just come out of the glorious '70s of folk rock. 1090 00:50:01,084 --> 00:50:04,212 [upbeat folk music playing] 1091 00:50:05,422 --> 00:50:07,423 The Eagles and Jackson Browne 1092 00:50:07,424 --> 00:50:09,258 and-and Fleetwood Mac. 1093 00:50:09,259 --> 00:50:12,261 So I travel out to California. 1094 00:50:12,262 --> 00:50:14,013 I'm like, "Here I am," you know. 1095 00:50:14,014 --> 00:50:17,099 And I realized what's happening in Los Angeles 1096 00:50:17,100 --> 00:50:19,393 is a lot of hair 1097 00:50:19,394 --> 00:50:20,979 and a lot of spandex, 1098 00:50:21,104 --> 00:50:24,149 and there's no acoustic guitars anymore. 1099 00:50:26,443 --> 00:50:29,487 As the weeks went by, my money was running out, 1100 00:50:29,612 --> 00:50:31,364 and I'm like, "What am I gonna do?" 1101 00:50:32,991 --> 00:50:34,450 I was a lesbian 1102 00:50:34,451 --> 00:50:38,245 and I went to some bars in Los Angeles 1103 00:50:38,246 --> 00:50:40,080 and I met some ladies. 1104 00:50:40,081 --> 00:50:43,125 And one of them, I went on a date down in Long Beach. 1105 00:50:43,126 --> 00:50:45,086 [music fading] 1106 00:50:46,338 --> 00:50:47,629 She took me to a club. 1107 00:50:47,630 --> 00:50:49,298 It was called the Executive Suite. 1108 00:50:49,299 --> 00:50:51,133 It used to be a steakhouse, 1109 00:50:51,134 --> 00:50:52,968 and the Russian mob had bought it, 1110 00:50:52,969 --> 00:50:55,055 and it was now a, uh, lesbian bar. 1111 00:50:56,181 --> 00:50:57,639 They had a piano in the corner. 1112 00:50:57,640 --> 00:50:59,933 I said, "Hey, do you have live music?" And... 1113 00:50:59,934 --> 00:51:01,435 I auditioned, got the job. 1114 00:51:01,436 --> 00:51:03,938 ♪ Yeah, just like a movie ♪ 1115 00:51:04,898 --> 00:51:07,983 And it put me in an atmosphere 1116 00:51:07,984 --> 00:51:11,196 of the lesbian movement of 1982. 1117 00:51:12,989 --> 00:51:15,491 These women were coming into the bars that I played at. 1118 00:51:15,492 --> 00:51:18,870 They were signing people up, registering them to vote. 1119 00:51:18,995 --> 00:51:22,707 So I was slowly being... 1120 00:51:23,917 --> 00:51:26,752 taught, really, about politics, 1121 00:51:26,753 --> 00:51:29,923 and we were in the midst of a huge backlash. 1122 00:51:30,048 --> 00:51:32,341 [man] There is so much hatred and persecution 1123 00:51:32,342 --> 00:51:34,219 of gay people in our society. 1124 00:51:34,344 --> 00:51:37,722 [Patel] In the '80s with HIV/AIDS, 1125 00:51:37,847 --> 00:51:39,891 there was just rampant homophobia. 1126 00:51:40,016 --> 00:51:42,560 [reporter] Ambulance drivers have refused to take 1127 00:51:42,686 --> 00:51:44,478 AIDS patients on occasion. 1128 00:51:44,479 --> 00:51:47,815 He asked one of the attendants, he told them I had AIDS. 1129 00:51:47,816 --> 00:51:52,070 And the person said, outright, "I'm not touching him." 1130 00:51:52,779 --> 00:51:54,113 Just like that. 1131 00:51:54,114 --> 00:51:56,198 [soft music playing] 1132 00:51:56,199 --> 00:51:58,410 I am not HIV positive. 1133 00:51:59,744 --> 00:52:01,162 But what if I were? 1134 00:52:02,455 --> 00:52:05,165 I would be more afraid of how society would treat me 1135 00:52:05,166 --> 00:52:08,336 for having the disease than the actual disease itself. 1136 00:52:09,295 --> 00:52:14,883 Madonna was extremely vocal during the AIDS crisis. 1137 00:52:14,884 --> 00:52:17,553 She turned out to take part in a charity dance marathon 1138 00:52:17,554 --> 00:52:18,930 to benefit AIDS victims. 1139 00:52:19,055 --> 00:52:20,514 I'm really here for two reasons. 1140 00:52:20,515 --> 00:52:24,059 Number one is because I really believe in AIDS Project LA. 1141 00:52:24,060 --> 00:52:26,980 And the second reason I'm here is 'cause I love to dance. 1142 00:52:27,105 --> 00:52:30,482 [upbeat dance music playing] 1143 00:52:30,483 --> 00:52:32,444 [Patel] When she released Like a Prayer, 1144 00:52:32,569 --> 00:52:35,154 the album had an insert 1145 00:52:35,155 --> 00:52:37,991 to inform people about HIV/AIDS. 1146 00:52:38,575 --> 00:52:40,492 So if you bought a Madonna record, 1147 00:52:40,493 --> 00:52:43,412 you were getting an informational booklet, 1148 00:52:43,413 --> 00:52:45,247 and it essentially read, 1149 00:52:45,248 --> 00:52:47,959 "Here are some basic facts you should know about it," 1150 00:52:48,084 --> 00:52:51,003 and you bought it whether you wanted it or not, 1151 00:52:51,004 --> 00:52:53,631 because it was in your Madonna record. 1152 00:52:54,507 --> 00:52:56,216 And then, of course, after that we saw 1153 00:52:56,217 --> 00:52:59,596 that she went on to become like a huge activist. 1154 00:53:00,263 --> 00:53:02,431 I deal with a lot of topical issues, 1155 00:53:02,432 --> 00:53:05,643 family issues, and, you know, 1156 00:53:05,769 --> 00:53:07,269 what I think to be a big problem 1157 00:53:07,270 --> 00:53:09,355 in the United States, and that's homophobia. 1158 00:53:09,356 --> 00:53:11,649 If you keep putting something in somebody's face, 1159 00:53:11,775 --> 00:53:13,233 eventually, you know, 1160 00:53:13,234 --> 00:53:15,070 maybe they can come to terms with it. 1161 00:53:15,612 --> 00:53:18,781 [Exposito] She was just, like, so in your face 1162 00:53:18,782 --> 00:53:21,868 because it's like, you know, her entire-- her dance crew, 1163 00:53:21,993 --> 00:53:24,286 her makeup artists, her hairstylists. 1164 00:53:24,287 --> 00:53:27,373 She is flanked by queer people. 1165 00:53:27,374 --> 00:53:30,377 And she stood up for them, which is everything. 1166 00:53:31,127 --> 00:53:33,295 Her boldness was part of a push 1167 00:53:33,296 --> 00:53:36,382 towards more visibility for queer people. 1168 00:53:36,383 --> 00:53:38,885 She helped destigmatize people in the community 1169 00:53:39,010 --> 00:53:41,012 and encouraged them to come out. 1170 00:53:41,971 --> 00:53:43,931 Gays need to have more role models, 1171 00:53:43,932 --> 00:53:46,059 people who-who are in powerful positions 1172 00:53:46,184 --> 00:53:47,643 coming out and saying, "I'm gay." 1173 00:53:47,644 --> 00:53:49,395 I think that would be very helpful. 1174 00:53:49,396 --> 00:53:51,605 [soft piano music playing] 1175 00:53:51,606 --> 00:53:53,982 [Etheridge] I had released three records, 1176 00:53:53,983 --> 00:53:56,235 and, um, I would do interviews 1177 00:53:56,236 --> 00:53:58,278 and I did, you know, Letterman, 1178 00:53:58,279 --> 00:54:01,782 and I did one interview where the guy asked me 1179 00:54:01,783 --> 00:54:04,077 personal questions about the songs, 1180 00:54:04,202 --> 00:54:08,873 and I always gave my answers in very general terms. 1181 00:54:08,998 --> 00:54:11,166 They were not gender-specific, ever. 1182 00:54:11,167 --> 00:54:13,502 When the article came out, he had changed 1183 00:54:13,503 --> 00:54:16,548 every "us," "them," "you," to a boy. 1184 00:54:17,382 --> 00:54:20,885 And it made me look like I was, like, totally lying 1185 00:54:21,011 --> 00:54:23,512 out of my teeth talking about my boyfriend. 1186 00:54:23,513 --> 00:54:26,558 And, um, I said, "I just gotta come out." 1187 00:54:26,683 --> 00:54:29,561 I thought I would maybe come out on Arsenio Hall. 1188 00:54:29,686 --> 00:54:31,938 But before I ever had that opportunity, 1189 00:54:32,063 --> 00:54:34,189 I really got politically involved 1190 00:54:34,190 --> 00:54:36,483 with the Clinton and Gore campaign, 1191 00:54:36,484 --> 00:54:38,611 helping get him elected. 1192 00:54:39,279 --> 00:54:41,906 And so I was invited to the inauguration. 1193 00:54:42,032 --> 00:54:44,325 [crowd cheering] 1194 00:54:45,285 --> 00:54:47,036 I was up there with all my gay friends, 1195 00:54:47,037 --> 00:54:49,414 and I just said, "Ooh, I'm a lesbian." 1196 00:54:50,040 --> 00:54:51,498 And I'm proud to say right here, 1197 00:54:51,499 --> 00:54:54,209 I'm very proud to have been a lesbian all my life. 1198 00:54:54,210 --> 00:54:57,296 [crowd cheering] 1199 00:54:57,297 --> 00:54:59,882 I-I could have thought of something much more eloquent, 1200 00:54:59,883 --> 00:55:02,217 had I knew that I was going to come out, 1201 00:55:02,218 --> 00:55:05,054 but, uh, it just, boom, it just happened like that. 1202 00:55:05,055 --> 00:55:09,558 I came out and people start to do interviews with me. 1203 00:55:09,559 --> 00:55:12,479 Um, let me just talk about the album a little bit. 1204 00:55:12,604 --> 00:55:14,021 Uh, Yes I Am. 1205 00:55:14,022 --> 00:55:16,023 Everybody's talked about, well, "Yes, I am..." 1206 00:55:16,024 --> 00:55:17,358 Does it have any connotation? 1207 00:55:17,359 --> 00:55:19,319 - "Yes, I am what?" - "Yes, I am what?" 1208 00:55:19,444 --> 00:55:22,696 [Etheridge] Each of them would ask me over and over, 1209 00:55:22,697 --> 00:55:25,283 all year long, day after day, 1210 00:55:25,408 --> 00:55:27,493 I would answer questions about being gay. 1211 00:55:27,494 --> 00:55:29,829 I guess you came out at the inaugural ball? 1212 00:55:29,954 --> 00:55:31,413 Yeah, in '92, I-I came out. 1213 00:55:31,414 --> 00:55:34,125 It was like they'd never known anyone gay. 1214 00:55:34,250 --> 00:55:36,002 And I realized at the time, "You know, I... 1215 00:55:36,127 --> 00:55:37,962 I want to be real thoughtful about what I say 1216 00:55:38,088 --> 00:55:40,047 'cause I think this is the first time 1217 00:55:40,048 --> 00:55:43,592 that they've really ever spoke to someone who was openly gay." 1218 00:55:43,593 --> 00:55:47,221 The first time I kissed a girl, it was like... 1219 00:55:47,222 --> 00:55:51,017 I've been out to family and friends since I was 17. 1220 00:55:51,142 --> 00:55:54,436 I've always been very upfront about my sexuality. 1221 00:55:54,437 --> 00:55:58,400 I didn't understand, but I knew that I was on a different path. 1222 00:55:59,317 --> 00:56:03,029 Man, I talked a lot about being gay for a long time, 1223 00:56:03,154 --> 00:56:05,156 and slowly... 1224 00:56:06,783 --> 00:56:09,910 just saying it and then being in the media, 1225 00:56:09,911 --> 00:56:12,372 just being on a cover of a magazine, 1226 00:56:12,956 --> 00:56:14,248 it was big. 1227 00:56:14,249 --> 00:56:18,336 ["I'm the Only One" by Melissa Etheridge playing] 1228 00:56:19,963 --> 00:56:22,173 When we made the video for "I'm the Only One," 1229 00:56:22,298 --> 00:56:24,175 I thought it would be scandalous 1230 00:56:25,844 --> 00:56:28,929 because it was the first sexy, sexy video 1231 00:56:28,930 --> 00:56:30,515 that had two women. 1232 00:56:30,640 --> 00:56:33,184 They were dancing with each other, looking at each other, 1233 00:56:33,309 --> 00:56:34,935 and I'm like, "Oh my God, I can't wait 1234 00:56:34,936 --> 00:56:36,855 till they say they're not gonna play it." 1235 00:56:37,480 --> 00:56:38,939 Not a word! 1236 00:56:38,940 --> 00:56:40,107 Nothing. 1237 00:56:40,108 --> 00:56:42,402 It was a huge video, and I was like... 1238 00:56:42,861 --> 00:56:44,529 [song continues] 1239 00:56:50,326 --> 00:56:53,829 "Oh, that's gonna be okay. All right." 1240 00:56:53,830 --> 00:56:58,710 ♪ I'm the only one ♪ 1241 00:56:58,835 --> 00:56:59,878 [song fades] 1242 00:57:01,171 --> 00:57:04,758 The 30 years that I have traveled since I came out 1243 00:57:05,842 --> 00:57:07,843 have been amazing... 1244 00:57:07,844 --> 00:57:09,346 I'm gay. 1245 00:57:10,013 --> 00:57:13,557 [Etheridge] ...as I have seen the world change and grow. 1246 00:57:13,558 --> 00:57:15,560 [reporter] Same-sex marriage, legal in this country 1247 00:57:15,685 --> 00:57:17,853 across every state in this nation. 1248 00:57:17,854 --> 00:57:21,690 The first, uh, transgender woman to win this award. 1249 00:57:21,691 --> 00:57:22,983 [cheering] 1250 00:57:22,984 --> 00:57:24,944 But today, it seems like 1251 00:57:25,070 --> 00:57:26,612 things are going backwards. 1252 00:57:26,613 --> 00:57:28,448 [reporter] In the middle of what should be 1253 00:57:28,573 --> 00:57:30,408 a joyous month celebrating pride, 1254 00:57:30,533 --> 00:57:32,410 the Human Rights Campaign just issued 1255 00:57:32,535 --> 00:57:34,788 a first-of-its-kind emergency declaration 1256 00:57:34,913 --> 00:57:37,164 for the LGBTQ+ community. 1257 00:57:37,165 --> 00:57:39,792 Seventy-five laws in more than a dozen states 1258 00:57:39,793 --> 00:57:43,045 specifically targeting LGBTQ+ rights. 1259 00:57:43,046 --> 00:57:45,256 We're not doing the pronoun Olympics in Florida. 1260 00:57:45,382 --> 00:57:46,507 It's not happening here. 1261 00:57:46,508 --> 00:57:48,093 [reporter] A Tennessee bill that bans 1262 00:57:48,218 --> 00:57:50,552 gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 18 1263 00:57:50,553 --> 00:57:52,554 was signed by the state's governor today. 1264 00:57:52,555 --> 00:57:55,057 [Wortham] We're in the middle of one of the biggest rollbacks 1265 00:57:55,058 --> 00:57:56,558 of rights for everybody. 1266 00:57:56,559 --> 00:57:58,395 That is really disturbing. 1267 00:57:58,520 --> 00:58:00,646 [reporter] Movements to ban specific books 1268 00:58:00,647 --> 00:58:02,898 are increasing around the country. 1269 00:58:02,899 --> 00:58:05,192 [reporter] The New York Times now reporting 1270 00:58:05,193 --> 00:58:09,405 22 states ban abortion or restrict the procedure. 1271 00:58:09,406 --> 00:58:11,240 - What do we want? - More rights! 1272 00:58:11,241 --> 00:58:13,575 - When do we want it? - Now! 1273 00:58:13,576 --> 00:58:16,537 Brennan Center reporting that nearly 100 new restrictions 1274 00:58:16,538 --> 00:58:19,206 have impacted voting rights in the last 10 years. 1275 00:58:19,207 --> 00:58:20,625 These aren't single issues. 1276 00:58:20,750 --> 00:58:23,127 These are things that connect all of us. 1277 00:58:23,128 --> 00:58:25,630 [Gonzalez] These are fucked up times, 1278 00:58:25,755 --> 00:58:27,548 which is why I think it's important for us 1279 00:58:27,549 --> 00:58:28,967 to stick together. 1280 00:58:30,635 --> 00:58:33,888 [piano melody playing] 1281 00:58:38,101 --> 00:58:41,020 Bravery is easier when you know what you're fighting for. 1282 00:58:41,021 --> 00:58:42,688 You want a world 1283 00:58:42,689 --> 00:58:45,817 where we're all treated equally under the law. 1284 00:58:45,942 --> 00:58:48,444 [Gomez] When I'm surrounded by my peers, 1285 00:58:48,445 --> 00:58:51,823 it makes me feel like I'm a part of a movement. 1286 00:58:52,615 --> 00:58:55,660 ♪ I will stand for you ♪ 1287 00:58:55,785 --> 00:58:58,371 ♪ Would you stand for me ♪ 1288 00:58:58,496 --> 00:59:01,166 Young women are like such a vital part 1289 00:59:01,291 --> 00:59:02,499 of changing the world. 1290 00:59:02,500 --> 00:59:04,502 ♪ ...deserves to be free ♪ 1291 00:59:04,753 --> 00:59:08,255 ♪ I would lend A hand to you ♪ 1292 00:59:08,256 --> 00:59:11,426 ♪ Would you lend A hand to me ♪ 1293 00:59:12,594 --> 00:59:14,846 [H.E.R.] I was put on this earth to do music, 1294 00:59:14,971 --> 00:59:17,306 to inspire and empower little girls to do things 1295 00:59:17,307 --> 00:59:19,141 that we're not expected to do. 1296 00:59:19,142 --> 00:59:21,602 That fight that we had in us the summer of 2020, 1297 00:59:21,603 --> 00:59:22,854 keep that same energy. 1298 00:59:24,147 --> 00:59:27,692 Any great things that have come took a great deal of time, 1299 00:59:29,027 --> 00:59:30,195 and we still persist. 1300 00:59:31,154 --> 00:59:33,531 [Abrams] When women find their voices 1301 00:59:33,656 --> 00:59:36,201 and offer those voices to others, 1302 00:59:36,326 --> 00:59:38,786 we realize that not being silent, 1303 00:59:38,787 --> 00:59:41,873 it's about having the words to tell stories 1304 00:59:41,998 --> 00:59:44,209 that you didn't even know you were ready to tell. 1305 00:59:45,001 --> 00:59:48,380 Oh, I don't give a damn what people think. 1306 00:59:49,339 --> 00:59:50,590 This is what I am. 1307 00:59:50,715 --> 00:59:53,134 And this is the truth. My truth. 1308 00:59:54,344 --> 00:59:56,637 And I want to hear yours. [laughs] 1309 00:59:56,638 --> 01:00:00,392 ♪ Everybody ♪ 1310 01:00:01,267 --> 01:00:07,399 ♪ Deserves to be free ♪ 1311 01:00:07,524 --> 01:00:11,569 [drumline playing] 1312 01:00:59,784 --> 01:01:01,494 [music ends]