Doug Mishkin’s If They’d Been Black is a folk song that refuses to let listeners look away. From the opening lines, it confronts the listener with a question that is both immediate and uncomfortable: how differently might the January 6th insurrection have been treated if the participants had been Black? Mishkin’s delivery is measured but piercing, allowing the weight of each word to settle fully. There’s no embellishment, no distraction—the music serves the message, providing a steady, unadorned backdrop that lets the lyrics resonate with moral urgency. It’s a song that asks reflection, not applause.
The power of If They’d Been Black lies in its ability to fuse storytelling with historical and social consciousness. Mishkin chronicles the violence, chaos, and threats of that day with clarity, then juxtaposes it against America’s ongoing inequities in law enforcement and justice. Each line carries both indictment and invitation: a challenge to confront systemic bias while imagining a world where fairness is not selective. The refrain, stark and unforgettable—“If they’d been Black, they’d all be dead”—echoes like a moral bell, forcing the listener to grapple with a reality that is uncomfortable yet undeniably true. The song transforms anger and frustration into something contemplative, holding space for both grief and accountability.
Mishkin remains rooted in folk tradition, favoring simple arrangements and clear melodies that foreground the words. Guitar and subtle instrumentation support the vocals, never overshadowing them, ensuring that the song’s message is front and center. This approach ties the track to the legacies of Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, and other socially conscious folk artists, while feeling urgent and of its own time. If They’d Been Black is a searing, necessary work—protest, history lesson, and moral reckoning rolled into one—confirming Doug Mishkin’s enduring role as a chronicler of both the personal and the political through song.
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