A graphic novel contextualizes the role of African American music in the fight against segregation in the United States 

Music is akin to a mighty river, blending everything, making its value and impact hard to define. In 1946, black people’s music in the United States was categorized as «racial music,» until Jerry Wexler from Atlantic Records rebranded it as rhythm & blues. The emergence of soul music is traced back to a summer day in 1954 when Ray Charles, inspired by The Southern Tones‘ song «It Must Be Jesus,» recreated it into «I Got a Woman.» This transformation shocked religious congregations in the African-American community, as they saw Charles as «adulterating» a sacred sentiment. This cultural shift coincided with the societal changes that began 13 years prior when President Roosevelt abolished factory segregation to boost wartime production. This led to the Great Migration, a mass movement of African-American communities from rural southern states to cities like Chicago, Detroit, New York, and Philadelphia, sparking a social and cultural revolution. The early stages of this revolution saw the birth of soul music, which became the «soundtrack of the civil rights struggle,» as author Manuel López Poy notes. He and illustrator Pau Marfà have published a graphic novel called «Soul», which narrates the birth challenges, and triumphs of this music genre in its tumultuous cultural, political, and social context. Soul music gave everyone the ability to express vulnerability and emotions intertwined with political events. As Peter Guralnick writes in his book «Sweet Soul Music,» soul music transformed the bitter fruit of segregation into a statement of pride and warm, human affirmation. The novel features famous musicians like Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Etta James, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Sam and Dave, and Curtis Mayfield. It also highlights the significant recording studios and record labels that made the nation vibrate with music. Notable figures like Martin Luther King Jr, Jim Brown, the Black Panthers, Malcolm X, and Mohammed Ali also feature, highlighting their fight for equality and against segregation and other forms of violence, such as the Vietnam War. Soul music evolved from singing about love’s pleasures and devastations to voicing more political sentiments, reflecting the feelings and anger in homes and streets. This evolution is seen in songs like Aretha Franklin’s «Respect,» James Brown’s «Said it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud,» and Edwin Starr’s «War.» The daring move by Ray Charles in 1954 can be seen as the seed of soul music, with its commitment to social issues becoming prominent in 1963. This was when Bob Dylan’s «Blowin in the Wind» inspired Sam Cooke to compose «A Change is Gonna Come» after a racial altercation at a hotel in Shreveport, Louisiana. This incident sparked numerous protests and demonstrations, leading to the approval of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, which officially banned discriminatory practices and ended segregation. The songs by Dylan and Cooke united a generation of young people, regardless of their race, to fight against brutal political violence. However, this era also witnessed the assassinations of prominent figures like Medgar Evers, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, and Robert Kennedy. These successive assassinations led to further protests and riots, and the deployment of the U.S. Army on the streets of cities like Chicago, Washington, and Detroit.