Tillman, The Musical - Understanding the Tillman Era Through Hip-Hop

Lesson Overview

Every day we are all bombarded with events, that together, form our daily lives. These events affect our lives in small and large ways. Often, simultaneous events overlap, which compound the effect of independent events making the effect more devastating. In South Carolina OVERPRODUCTION and NATURAL DISASTERS combined, during the Tillman Era, to devastate agriculture and the families who depended on farming to feed and support their families. Tillman was also a person who believed strongly in segregation and disenfranchising African-Americans. His influence in the South Carolina Constitution of 1895 changed many of the gains won by Africans Americans during Reconstruction and reinforced many policies that created a pre-Civil War society for blacks in South Carolina.

When hurtful things happen individuals often express their sorrow through song and music. Music that expresses the emotion of individuals and the effects of individual events is called folk music. Folk music is diverse and varied and can include blues, gospel, spirituals, traditional country, European inspired folk, Native American pow-wow, zydeco, tejano, and even hip-hop music. Despite the culture or era it was written, folk music tells a story and can give a glimpse of a time or event. Follow each step, and in doing so, complete the challenge question.

Create a Hip-Hop song that expresses the struggle of the small farmer in South Carolina who is dealing with the combined devastating effects of overproduction, and natural disasters, or . . . tell the story of an African-American forced to deal with the segregation policies of the SC Constitution of 1895.