The experience of the minority in American culture has always been illustrated in literature. From the lilting language of Mark Twain's southern black culture to the more modern song lyrics pouring rapid-fire rap out of any modern radio. The changing faces of what is considered "literature," however, give the air of drastic contrast between stories that are otherwise similar in their philosophy. As literature becomes more a facet of mainstream entertainment, the lyrics of such songs really are the main outlet for morals and ideas to be pleaded towards society. The themes of the book The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson and the lyrics of "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley speak of many the same themes.
In Johnson's novel, the central character functions without an identity. While he has a story, he remains without a name. It allows for an excellent allowance in the mind to reflect the events upon an entire experience by an entire group. The inability to fit into any society is the true struggle of the character. His pale skin allows him to pass for an African-American, although his race is marked as "less." He discovers instead a wealth of culture within his own individuality as a sort of exception to race. While the study of the Civil War seemed a mundane thing to the other students, the protagonist was able to see the flaws in the line of study and supplement it with "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to understand his own race's involvement in the history of the country.
Even as declared in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, "music is a universal art; anybody's music belongs to everybody" and (Johnson 67). The lyrics of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" are easily applicable to the African-American experience, but speak as well towards a higher level of individualism that transcends race. The lyrics speak of a need to become free from "mental slavery" and become individuals. While the language choices of the song ("emancipate" and "slavery") stress the messages towards African-Americans, the song is truly universal, and encourages all people of any race to think for themselves and not limit their minds to the boundaries social concepts of race impose. The "songs of freedom" which the lyrics call for are truly just calls for individual thought, free from prejudices. Prejudices that aren't in the eyes of others looking in at a race but those concepts that members of a minority race have imposed upon them and begin to believe are a part of their own mind.
The importance of music as a turning point in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is almost ironic, as music is the very medium that continues expressing the same message. The blending of white and black in the keys of the piano that allow the nameless hero of the novel to accept himself as an individual evolves into many complex harmonies and society blend around them towards eventual acceptance of such variations itself. Like a fine concerto, it is the harmony that allows things to run smoothly, rather than any superior portion of it all. The same blending allows for these two pieces of "literature" to work together in presenting some sort of clear philosophy on life in the melting pot state of the world. Although the two are strikingly different, a reggae song and a 1912 novel, they present a spectacular lesson: that above all, everyone is an individual before they are a representation of their race no matter what that race may be.
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