This is a lovely response which really emphasizes the notion of musical culture as not only a general voice for the disenfranchised, but as a platform of resistance. You’ve brought up several examples of black artists expressing their thoughts through music, and connected it to Apess and Emerson extremely well. I also believe that many of Apess’s arguments and concerns are also applicable to the African-American community.
As you've stated, a combined reading of both Looking Glass and Self-Reliance suggests that the ability to be self-sufficient is more of a luxury than a given as Emerson suggests, and is actually highly determinant on social privilege. I believe that it can be said without a doubt that both Native Americans and Black Americans have had their “skin [taken] as a pretext” to deny their “unalienable and lawful rights” (Apess, Looking Glass). Indeed, both African-Americans and Native Americans have consistently been denied “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” by the American Government in various ways throughout the history of the United States (Jefferson, Declaration of Independence).
Native Americans experienced forced removal from their land, religious and cultural assimilation, and broken treaties, to name only a few of the egregious offenses perpetrated by the American Government against Native Americans.
In recent memory, African-Americans have also experienced calculated oppression at the hands of the American government, to say nothing of the perversion of justice that was the entrenched system of slavery in America.
For example, in 1964, the FBI attempted to coerce Martin Luther King Jr. into committing suicide by sending him an extremely disturbing letter threatening to reveal his sexual habits, in order to weaken the civil rights movement.
Here's a New York Times Magazine article discussing this, for those interested (you may need to right-click, and select "open in new tab" for it to work):
The many examples of policy brutality toward African-American represents a still more recent attempt of American authorities to keep the African-American community isolated. It also serves as proof that sentiments of white supremacy still linger to this day.
It seems that Native-Americans and African-Americans share a long history of oppression by the very government that should protect them and furnish them with equal rights, both in theory and in practice. A positive sentiment that can be gained from this discussion is that the potential for solidarity between these two communities exists, something that can perhaps help drive America toward a better future.
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