Others have asked this and I have no answer.
If the protest and leftist themes were prevalent in the folk songs why can’t there be songs celebrating American values, freedoms and achievements? M
Maybe the Christian youth songs (never popular-—such as Up With People) or a few country songs (God Bless the USA
Song by Lee Greenwood and the new one being suppressed).
Are they really that powerful? I mean sure people sing them. And maybe have big emotions during them. But when was the last time you saw what a protest song was calling for actually come to pass? They mostly just make the audience feel seen. Then they go home.
The article is selective history at its best. The Church and Church activists were always the base of the protests. The dominant music ... in the protests... was church music. Equating the 1900s to the Children of God fleeing Egypt and wandering in the desert.
The article is selective in touching politics but not enlightening on it. Machine Democrat Woodrow Wilson and populist Democrat Wm Jennings Bryan were racist..pro-KKK and allowing lynching in the norm. It was Democrats who lynched Republicans back in those 1920 struggles.
The “struggle” is really between collectivism and individualism. Collectivist judges a man by the color of skin...both when the judgment appears positive and negative
The individualist judges a man by the content of character.
This individualism has its roots in the Judeo/Christian tradition. In this tradition God judges the individual most but not all of the time. Sodom and Gommorrah were so bad that the collective was wiped out. But escape was provided to the individual.
In the current 2023-24 struggle. Some misguided friends seem to think that collectivism and labeling groups is the way to win...Blacks always vote Black is an example.
When we try to become Collectivists to beat other Collectivists we lose. We win by recognizing individuals...whether Biden or Trump or the individual voter who is a neighbor.
Pete Seeger and THE WEAVERS never left being stinking COMMIES!
And Woody Guthrie was a SOCIALIST/COMMIE as well.
And what about the popular songs of the '30s, like THE FORGOTTEN MAN and BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv91X9eLIhM
This protest song kept a Subway restaurant out of northern Door County, Wisconsin.