Audience: Syl Johnson's "Is it because I'm black"

 The intended audience for this song would be anyone who had an active role in the Civil Rights movement: whether it was an opposing role or a supporting role.  Syl Johnson's "Is it because I'm black" was released in 1970, which was towards the end of the Civil Rights movement.  At this point, the movement was on its way out and had gained tremendous success.  As a song, the intent is that people will hear it, listen to it, and react to it.  As it extended its reach throughout the public, parents may have prevented their children from listening to it because these parents opposed the message that the song has and wanted to prevent their children from listening to the song, fearing that they might be influenced by Johnson's message.  The song lyrics contain many statements followed by the question that gives the song its title: "Is it because I'm black?"  These statements are reflections of what occurred leading up to, and during, the civil rights movement.  Lines like "Something is holding me back, is it because I'm black" and "Cause I wanna be somebody so bad,...But something is holding me back / Is it because I'm black?"  are direct references to the struggle that African Americans had to face during the Civil Rights movement.  These references act as pulls to the audience for the African American audience to listen to and to relate with to the message of the song.  For the white audience, these lines act to give attention to the struggles that African Americans faced before and during the civil rights movement.  While most of the prejudice that spawns from race is gone, it has not totally been eradicated just yet.  The contemporary relevance to this song is one that reminds any modern day listener to the the struggles that African Americans had to face before and during the Civil Rights movement.

-Louie