Editing James Brown (section)

==Social activism==
===Education advocacy and humanitarianism===
Brown's main social activism was in preserving the need for education among youths, influenced by his own troubled childhood and his being forced to drop out of the seventh grade for wearing "insufficient clothes". Due to heavy dropout rates in the 1960s, Brown released the pro-education song, "[[Don't Be a Drop-Out]]". Royalties of the song were donated to dropout-prevention charity programs. The success of this led to Brown meeting with President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] at the [[White House]]. Johnson cited Brown for being a positive role model to the youth. In 1968 James Brown endorsed Hubert Humphrey.<ref>[https://www.3blmedia.com/news/james-brown-and-super-bad-stakeholder-engagement James Brown and Super Bad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303083509/https://www.3blmedia.com/news/james-brown-and-super-bad-stakeholder-engagement |date=March 3, 2022 }} Retrieved March 3, 2022</ref> Later, Brown gained the confidence of President Richard Nixon, to whom he found he had to explain the plight of Black Americans.<ref>{{YouTube|MBKz8pDNuto}}</ref>

Throughout the remainder of his life, Brown made public speeches in schools and continued to advocate the importance of education in school. Upon filing his will in 2002, Brown advised that most of the money in his estate go into creating the ''I Feel Good, Inc. Trust'' to benefit disadvantaged children and provide scholarships for his grandchildren. His final single, "Killing Is Out, School Is In", advocated against murders of young children in the streets. Brown often gave out money and other items to children while traveling to his childhood hometown of Augusta. A week before his death, while looking gravely ill, Brown gave out toys and turkeys to kids at an Atlanta orphanage, something he had done several times over the years.

===Civil rights and self-reliance===
Though Brown performed at benefit rallies for civil rights organizations in the mid-1960s, Brown often shied away from discussing civil rights in his songs in fear of alienating his crossover audience. In 1968, in response to a growing urge of [[Opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-war advocacy during the Vietnam War]], Brown recorded the song, "[[America Is My Home]]". In the song, Brown performed a [[rapping|rap]], advocating patriotism and exhorting listeners to "stop pitying yoursel[ves] and get up and fight". At the time of the song's release, Brown had been performing for troops stationed in Vietnam.

====The Boston Garden concert====
On April 5, 1968, a day after the [[assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.]] in Memphis, Tennessee, Brown provided a free citywide televised concert at the [[Boston Garden]] to maintain public order and calm concerned Boston residents, over the objections of the police chief, who wanted to call off the concert, which he thought would incite violence.<ref name="pc51" /> The show was later released on DVD as ''[[Live at the Boston Garden: April 5, 1968]]''. According to the documentary ''The Night James Brown Saved Boston'', then-mayor [[Kevin White (mayor)|Kevin White]] had strongly restrained the Boston police from cracking down on minor violence and protests after the assassination, while religious and community leaders worked to keep tempers from flaring.<ref name="vh1nightjbsavedbos">[http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/vh1_rock_docs/134183/episode_about.jhtml "The Night James Brown Saved Boston"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310185153/http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/vh1_rock_docs/134183/episode_about.jhtml |date=March 10, 2009 }}. ''VH1 rockDocs''.</ref> 

White arranged to have Brown's performance broadcast multiple times on Boston's public television station, [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]], thus keeping potential rioters off the streets, watching the concert for free.<ref name="vh1nightjbsavedbos" /> Angered by not being told of this, Brown demanded $60,000 for "gate" fees, money he thought would be lost from ticket sales on account of the concert being broadcast for free, and then threatened to go public about the secret arrangement when the city balked at paying up afterwards, news of which would have been a political death blow to White and spark riots of its own.<ref name="vh1nightjbsavedbos" /> White eventually lobbied a behind-the-scenes power-brokering group known as "The Vault" to come up with money for Brown's gate fee and other social programs, contributing $100,000. Brown received $15,000 from them via the city. White also persuaded management at the Garden to give up their share of receipts to make up the differences.<ref name="vh1nightjbsavedbos" /> Following this successful performance, Brown was counseled by President Johnson to urge cities ravaged from riots following King's assassination to not resort to violence, telling them to "cool it, there's another way".{{sfn|''Jet''|1971|p=54}}

Responding to pressure from black activists, including [[H. Rap Brown]], to take a bigger stance on their issues and from footage of [[black on black crime]] committed in inner cities, Brown wrote the lyrics to the song "[[Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud]]", which his bandleader [[Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis]] accompanied with a musical composition. Released late that summer, the song's lyrics helped to make it an anthem for the civil rights movement. Brown only performed the song sporadically following its initial release, and later stated he had regrets about recording it, saying in 1984, "Now 'Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud' has done more for the black race than any other record, but if I had my choice, I wouldn't have done it, because I don't like defining anyone by race. To teach race is to teach separatism."{{sfn|Rhodes|2008|p=95}} In his autobiography he stated:

<blockquote>The song is obsolete now ... But it was necessary to teach pride then, and I think the song did a lot of good for a lot of people ... People called "Black and Proud" militant and angry – maybe because of the line about dying on your feet instead of living on your knees. But really, if you listen to it, it sounds like a children's song. That's why I had children in it, so children who heard it could grow up feeling pride ... The song cost me a lot of my crossover audience. The racial makeup at my concerts was mostly black after that. I don't regret it, though, even if it was misunderstood.{{sfn|Brown|Tucker|1986|p=280}}</blockquote>

In 1969, Brown recorded two more songs of social commentary, "[[World (James Brown song)|World]]" and "[[I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing]]", the latter song pleading for equal opportunity and self-reliance rather than entitlement. In 1970, in response to some black leaders for not being outspoken enough, he recorded "[[Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved]]" and "[[Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing]]". In 1971, he began touring Africa, including Zambia and Nigeria. He was made "freeman of the city" in [[Lagos, Nigeria]], by Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, for his "influence on black people all over the world".{{sfn|''Jet'' |1971|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=e7EDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}} With his company, James Brown Enterprises, Brown helped to provide jobs for blacks in business in the communities.{{sfn|''Jet'' |1971|p=60}} As the 1970s continued, Brown continued to record songs of social commentary, most prominently 1972's "[[King Heroin]]" and the two-part ballad "Public Enemy", which dealt with drug addiction.

===Political views===
During the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential campaign]], Brown endorsed [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] presidential candidate [[Hubert Humphrey]] and appeared with Humphrey at political rallies. Brown was labeled an "Uncle Tom" for supporting Humphrey and also for releasing the pro-American funk song, "America Is My Home", in which Brown had lambasted [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|protesters of the Vietnam War]] as well as the politics of pro-black activists. Brown began supporting [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] president [[Richard Nixon]] after being invited to perform at Nixon's inaugural ball in January 1969.{{sfn|Brown|Tucker|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7KNUsxQPRB8C&pg=PA281 281]}} 

Brown's endorsement of Nixon's campaign during the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972 presidential election]] negatively impacted his career during that period with several national Black organizations boycotting his records and protesting at his concert shows; a November 1972 show in Cincinnati was picketed with signs saying, "James Brown: Nixon's Clown". Brown initially was invited to perform at a Youth Concert following Nixon's inauguration in January 1973 but bailed out due to the backlash he suffered from supporting Nixon. Brown joined fellow black entertainer [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], who faced similar backlash, to back out of the concert. Brown blamed it on "fatigue".<ref name=Robinson>{{cite web|last=Robinson|first=Eugene|title=SOUL BROTHER NO. 1 JAMES BROWN ENDORSES RICHARD NIXON? BELIEVE IT|url=https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/when-james-brown-jammed-for-richard-nixon/390790/|work=Eugene Robinson|publisher=OZY|access-date=November 23, 2020|date=October 18, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128113830/https://www.ozy.com/true-and-stories/when-james-brown-jammed-for-richard-nixon/390790/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Brown later reversed his support of Nixon and composed the song, "You Can Have Watergate (Just Gimme Some Bucks And I'll Be Straight)" as a result. After Nixon resigned from office, Brown composed the 1974 hit, "Funky President (People It's Bad)", right after [[Gerald Ford]] took Nixon's place. Brown later supported Democratic President [[Jimmy Carter]], attending one of Carter's inaugural balls in 1977.<ref name=Robinson/> Brown openly supported President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s reelection in [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Quoted: James Brown on Ronald Reagan|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2013/05/28/quoted-james-brown-on-ronald-reagan/|work=The Reliable Source|publisher=The Washington Post|access-date=November 23, 2020|date=May 28, 2013|archive-date=May 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520043121/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2013/05/28/quoted-james-brown-on-ronald-reagan/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Brown stated he was neither Democratic nor Republican despite his support of Republican presidents such as Nixon and Reagan as well as Democratic presidents [[John F. Kennedy]], [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], and [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB5pMBkjaZ4 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/pB5pMBkjaZ4| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=James Brown on Conviction, Respect and Reagan |work=YouTube |publisher=PBS |access-date=May 16, 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1999, when being interviewed by ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', the magazine asked him to name a hero in the 20th century. Brown mentioned John F. Kennedy and then-96-year-old U.S. Senator, and former [[Dixiecrat]], [[Strom Thurmond]], stating "when the young whippersnappers get out of line, whether Democratic or Republican, an old man can walk up and say 'Wait a minute, son, it goes this way.' And that's great for our country. He's like a grandfather to me."<ref>{{citation |author1=Hulse, Carl |author2=Loughlin, Sean |date=December 20, 1999 |title=Graham, Clinton agree to agree |work=Lakeland Ledger |page=A14 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19991220&id=Y1RIAAAAIBAJ&pg=6561,10663690 |access-date=March 31, 2020 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225190844/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19991220&id=Y1RIAAAAIBAJ&pg=6561,10663690 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In 2003, Brown was the featured attraction of a Washington, D.C., fundraiser for the [[National Republican Senatorial Committee]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Theimer |first=Sharon |date=March 26, 2003 |title=Gephardt Campaigns, Prays for Troops |work=Associated Press News |url=https://apnews.com/b2da5bfb3a3edbbad7c9965fe6023e1b |access-date=December 22, 2013 |archive-date=December 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203152152/https://apnews.com/b2da5bfb3a3edbbad7c9965fe6023e1b |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the deaths of Ronald Reagan and his friend [[Ray Charles]], Brown said to [[CNN]], "I'm kind of in an uproar. I love the country and I got – you know I've been around a long time, through many presidents and everything. So after losing Mr. Reagan, who I knew very well, then Mr. Ray Charles, who I worked with and lived with like, all our life, we had a show together in [[Oakland]] many, many years ago and it's like you found the placard."<ref>''[https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/acd/date/2004-06-10/segment/01 Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees] ''. CNN: June 10, 2004.</ref> Despite his contrarian political views, Brown mentored black activist [[Rev. Al Sharpton]] during the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|last=Feuer|first=Alan|title=Sharpton in Mourning, Like a Son Without a Father|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/nyregion/29sharpton.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 23, 2020|date=December 29, 2006|archive-date=January 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127100634/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/nyregion/29sharpton.html|url-status=live}}</ref>