Product Description
The May 17, 1963, issue of Life Magazine featured a photo essay of
appalling images taken by the American photographer Charles Moore. The opening
paragraph bluntly stated that "The pictures on these 11 pages are frightening.
They are frightening because of the brutal methods being used by white
policemen in Birmingham, Alabama, against Negro demonstrators . . . And they
are especially frightening because the gulf between black and white is here
visibly deepened." Known as the Birmingham campaign, Moores photographs of
this senseless brutality sent shockwaves throughout the country and the world
of the deeply embedded social and institutional racism and segregation of the
South.
On May 2, 1963, under direct orders from Birminghams then
Commissioner of Public Safety, Eugene "Bull" Connor, all African Americans
participating in a nonviolent demonstration organized by the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference were to be subdued with high-pressure water blasts from
fire hoses and violently attacked and taunted by police dogs.
After seeing Moores photos in Life, Andy Warhol created a series
of Race Riot paintings using a terrifying image of Moores of a man being
attacked by a German shepherd in his trademark acrylic and silkscreen process.
Interestingly, the title Race Riot is a contradiction because it was in fact a
peaceful protest interrupted by the violence of the police.
There is a menacing quality to the music that I hope conveys both
Moores original photo and Warhols appropriation.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.