I can only say that, in the dark times we find ourselves in, we are seeing an increasing number of protest songs entering the public domain. It is also a sign that artists are remembering the power of the platform they are afforded as performers, as their words become increasingly poignant and purposeful. But if you’ve got something to say, now is the time to say it.
Although Doug Mishkin has always been someone willing to put a loud and unabashed public voice to his beliefs and opinions, and his latest song, “If They’d Been Black,” is the most powerful yet.
The song clearly points out the inherent racism and double standards based on skin colour in America today. It reminds us that despite the Civil War, protests, racial activism, and even the (admittedly glacial pace of) change in legislation, it remains a country of inequality. Specifically, it points out that had the almost exclusively white January 6th Capitol rioters been Black, they would not have been afforded the same lenient response. If they had not been white conservatives, it would probably have been a massacre.
Mishkin follows in the footsteps of the likes of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Tom Paxton, weilding a deftly picked acoustic guitar, decorated with a few sonic motifs around the edges, and a singular voice, but one speaking in a way that could only be found in the world today. Its stark honesty and ability to prick the bubble of political spin are the only proper responses to what is happening on the streets of the United States right now.
Songwriting, from medieval troubadours to 60’s protest singers to the sonic creators of today, has always been a powerful tool: messages need spreading, opinions need hearing, dialog needs starting. And it speaks volumes that Doug Mishkin is anything but a voice in the wilderness, but rather one of a growing number of dissenters writing a soundtrack for change. And those voices are, thankfully, just getting louder.
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