John Mellencamp supported BLM during FarmAid performance. Some viewers weren't happy
You know you hit a nerve with people when they want to take back money donated during an online fundraiser.
John Mellencamp sparked this level of YouTube griping Saturday night, when he promoted the Black Lives Matter movement as part of the all-star Farm Aid concert.
The Indiana music icon performed “Easy Target,” a bleakly sarcastic song that refers to Black Americans as being “created equal, equally beneath me and you,” and he ended the tune by kneeling and raising his right fist.
Variations of “Why bring politics to Farm Aid?” and “Can I rescind my donation?” scrolled by in the real-time comments posted during the online event.
To some, Mellencamp may defy expectations of what a classic rocker in a red state is supposed to be. But for anyone paying attention, he stayed true to his track record of opposing racial injustice.
From showcasing an interracial couple in the 1987 video for his song "Cherry Bomb" to collaborating with Public Enemy rapper Chuck D in 2001, Mellencamp strives for equity and inclusion in his art.
Despite YouTube detractors, there’s no chance Mellencamp, who turns 69 next month, will back down from his “Crumblin’ Down” persona: “I’m the same old trouble you’ve been having for years.”
BLM shirts and pandemic masks
Because the coronavirus pandemic made this year's Farm Aid an online streaming event, performers were allowed to get creative with their recorded performances. Neil Young, who co-founded the benefit for independent farmers with Willie Nelson and Mellencamp in 1985, sent in footage of chickens and ducks at his feet during renditions of “Homegrown” and “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.”
Mellencamp was the only one of 21 acts to record in front of a live human audience.
He made it a timely and topical gathering, playing with guitarist Andy York in woodsy Indiana for a dozen socially distanced people wearing Black Lives Matter shirts and pandemic face coverings. Ironically, though, no one in the audience was Black.
Missing the point
Online viewers who complained about Farm Aid being too political should know the event's entire purpose has been political for 35 years.
Famous musicians, including Dave Matthews, who became a member of the nonprofit’s board of directors when the concert came to Ruoff Music Center in 2001, work to leverage their influence to help underdog farmers survive in the era of corporate agriculture.
Videos between Saturday’s performances highlighted challenges faced by Black farmers, whose numbers have decreased from nearly 1 million in 1920 to 45,000 today, and Native American farmers. “We’ve been farming out here for well over 2,000 years,” one Native American farmer said.
Unearthed video: See Lou Reed and John Mellencamp onstage in Indiana in 1987
Mellencamp performed four songs: “Longest Days,” “Jack & Diane,” “Easy Target” and unofficial Farm Aid anthem “Rain on the Scarecrow.”
“Easy Target” features the lines, “So, Black lives matter? Who we trying to kid? They’re just easy targets. Don't matter, never did.”
Although the song may sound new in the year of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Jacob Blake, Mellencamp recorded “Easy Target” for his 2017 album “Sad Clowns & Hillbillies.”
In February 2018, Mellencamp performed “Easy Target” on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Similar to Saturday’s Farm Aid, he “took a knee” on the “Late Show” telecast and raised a Black Power fist in the tradition of athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics.
Looking for understanding
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has something in common with Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich, whose streak of kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner” extended to three weeks on Sunday.
When Mellencamp’s fans wear Black Lives Matters shirts and Colts players do the same during pre-game warmups, their hope is that people consider what’s being requested: a decrease in the disproportionate shooting of Black Americans by the police.
Regrettably, some observers sidestep the sentiment and shift focus to the Black Lives Matter Global Network they label as a “Marxist front organization.”
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With no Black audience members among the 12 gathered for Mellencamp’s Farm Aid performance, the singer might be criticized for being overly calculated and performative.
But he’s no newcomer to singing about race relations. Mellencamp’s catalog includes:
"Jena,” a 2007 song inspired by the Jena Six case in which six Black high school students in Louisiana were charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white student. "Jena, take your nooses down," Mellencamp sang in the chorus.
"Jim Crow," a 2007 duet with Joan Baez.
"Peaceful World," a 2001 single featuring the lines, "Racism lives in the U.S.A. today, better get hip to what Martin Luther King had to say." R&B singer India Arie appeared as guest vocalist on "Peaceful World."
"Cuttin' Heads," title track of Mellencamp's 2001 album. "Poppi had a wife," Mellencamp sang. "And she was Black and Poppi was white. Everything was rolling great, until some man called her race a disgrace." Public Enemy rapper Chuck D contributes a verse to "Cuttin' Heads," saying, "Die, 'N' word, die."
You can watch the entire Farm Aid concert at YouTube. Mellencamp’s four-song performance begins at the 90-minute mark.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at dave.lindquist@indystar.com or 317-444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: John Mellencamp supported BLM during FarmAid performance
