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“I’ve heard no too many times, because of my race / I’ve heard no too many times, but with every no, I grow in strength / That is why African-American woman, I stand tall with pride”
Jackson sings about her experience of being a Black woman and celebrates their accomplishments on her 1993 anthem “New Agenda,” an anthem that speaks to generations of Black women.
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“To get over, get better / Try to be the possessor of the one thing we all need in life / To succeed, take my advice”
Jackson’s album Rhythm Nation 1814 tackles social injustice on many songs, with “The Knowledge” placing an emphasis on the importance of education.
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“Everywhere I go, every smile I see, I know you are there smilin’ back at me / Dancin’ in moonlight, I know you are free, ’cause I can see your star shinin’ down on me”
Jackson wrote her 1997 No. 1 hit “Together Again” to celebrate the life of a friend who died of AIDS. The song has since become an anthem for the LGBTQ community.
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“Girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets cute girl back / Free to be who you really are / One rule, no rules”
Jackson’s sly nod to the LGBTQ community on her 1997 deep cut “Free Xone” proves that she was an ally when she was needed most.
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“The skin game is still around, but you can’t keep a good man down”
“The Skin Game,” a rare B-side from Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 album, analyzes what Black people must endure to simply live. “It’s about this race issue that we have, playing the skin game,” she told MTV in 2018. “You have to be very careful, and know how to play it to get through on a daily basis.”