Editing Curtis Mayfield (section)

==Social activism==
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| quote = "His most affecting songs carried the optimism and conviction of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s most celebrated sermons. His music was a major influence on many of today's most influential rap and hip-hop stars, from Lauryn Hill to Public Enemy."
| source = — ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' Pop Music Critic [[Robert Hilburn]] (1999)<ref name="Thurber-1999"/>
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Mayfield sang openly about civil rights and black pride,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/dancing-in-the-street-detroits-radical-anthem|title="Dancing in the Street": Detroit's Radical Anthem|first=Rollo|last=Romig|date=July 22, 2013|website=New Yorker|access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref> and was known for introducing social consciousness into [[African-American music]].<ref name="Thurber-1999" /> Having been raised in the Cabrini-Green projects of Chicago, he witnessed many of the tragedies of the urban ghetto first hand, and was quoted saying "With everything I saw on the streets as a young black kid, it wasn't hard during the later fifties and sixties for me to write my heartfelt way of how I visualized things, how I thought things ought to be."

Following the passing of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], his group the Impressions produced music that became the soundtrack to a summer of revolution. It is even said that "Keep On Pushing" became the number one sing along during the Freedom Rides.<ref name="curtismayfield">{{cite web|title = Curtis Mayfield :: Civil Rights {{!}} Curtis Mayfield|url = http://www.curtismayfield.com/civil-rights.html#sthash.ntkRZJP1.dpuf|website = www.curtismayfield.com|access-date =October 22, 2015}}</ref> Black students sang their songs as they marched to jail or protested outside their universities, while King often used "Keep On Pushing", "People Get Ready" and "We're A Winner" because of their ability to motivate and inspire marchers. Mayfield had quickly become a civil rights hero with his ability to inspire hope and courage.<ref name="Freeland">{{cite journal|last=Freeland|first=Gregory|title='We're a Winner': Popular Music and the Black Power Movement|journal=Social Movement Studies|year=2009|volume=8|issue=3|pages=261–288|doi=10.1080/14742830903024358|s2cid=144486183}}<!--|access-date=13 October 2011--></ref>

Mayfield was unique in his ability to fuse relevant social commentary with melodies and lyrics that instilled a hopefulness for a better future in his listeners. He wrote and recorded the soundtrack to the 1972 [[blaxploitation]] film ''Super Fly'' with the help of producer Johnny Pate. The soundtrack for ''Super Fly'' is regarded as an all-time great body of work that captured the essence of life in the ghetto while criticizing the tendency of young people to glorify the "glamorous" lifestyles of drug dealers and pimps, and illuminating the dark realities of drugs, addiction, and exploitation.<ref>{{cite web|title= Curtis Mayfield – 10 of the best|url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/aug/05/curtis-mayfield-10-best-soul-funk|website= The Guardian|access-date=October 27, 2015|first = Stevie|last = Chick|date= August 5, 2015}}</ref>

Mayfield, along with several other soul and funk musicians, spread messages of hope in the face of oppression, pride in being a member of the black race and gave courage to a generation of people who were demanding their human rights. He has been compared to Martin Luther King Jr. for making a lasting impact in the civil rights struggle with his inspirational music.<ref name="Thurber-1999" /><ref name="curtismayfield" /> By the end of the decade Mayfield was a pioneering voice in the black pride movement, along with James Brown and Sly Stone. Paving the way for a future generation of rebel thinkers, Mayfield paid the price, artistically and commercially, for his politically charged music. Mayfield's "Keep On Pushing" was actually banned from several radio stations, including [[WLS-FM|WLS]] in his hometown of Chicago.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/nation-now/2018/02/22/black-history-curtis-mayfield-voice-civil-rights/1005396001/|title=In 1968, Curtis Mayfield was the voice of victory for civil rights|last=Scruggs|first=Afi-Odelia|date=February 22, 2018|work=USA Today}}</ref> Regardless of the persistent radio bans and loss of revenue, he continued his quest for equality right until his death.

Mayfield was also a descriptive social commentator. As the influx of drugs ravaged through black America in the late 1960s and 1970s his bittersweet descriptions of the ghetto would serve as warnings to the impressionable. "Freddie's Dead" is a graphic tale of street life,<ref name="Freeland" /> while "Pusherman" revealed the role of drug dealers in the urban ghettos.