How Curtis Mayfield Views and Helps African American Society Through “little Child Running Wild”

Torrian Wynn

C. Liegh McInnis  

Eng 105-11

9/3/2016

How Curtis Mayfield views and helps African American society through “Little Child Running Wild”

        Curtis Mayfield released the song “Little Child Running Wild” on the soundtrack Super Fly in 1972. During this time Curtis Mayfield believes that when someone is born into an unstable environment, it will affect what individual the person will grow into. Through his music he is able to bring awareness to the African America community, with his rise in popularity. He tells what seems to be his life story, or a life that he has experienced before.  The purpose of this song is to display the lifestyle, or lifetime, that many African Americans will face in that day and age. Curtis Mayfield notices a pattern in African American households, that repeats itself in his current generation. One of the best ways to reach people emotionally is through music.

        Curtis Mayfield begins the song speaking about the adolescent African American. “Little Child/Runnin’ Wild/ Watch a while/ You see he never smiles”. This stanza represents the child’s emotion towards his current situation. “Broken home/ Father gone/ Mama tired/ so he’s all alone”. The child’s setting in this scenario is an unstable environment that children in the African American community face. “Kind of sad/ Kind of mad/ Ghetto child/ Thinkin’ he’s been had”. This phrase shows the child’s self-hatred toward himself. Feeling sad for the situation he’s in, while being mad at the fact, that he had no involvement in deciding what class he would be born into.  Towards the end of the song, he begins to say “Painful rip/in my upper lip / I guess it’s time/to take another trip”. This phrase shows his addiction to drugs. Being now that the child is an adult, the situations of his past have led him to an addiction of drugs. Setting the African American adult’s children into the same turmoil with the phrase “I got a jones/ Runnin’ through my bones/I’m sorry son/ all your money’s gone”. The pattern that is tking place in the African American community is; the child’s frustration with himself, causes the addiction of drugs in adulthood, effects the children of the now adult, causing a repeating cycle.  

        Curtis Mayfield bring awareness to the African American community through powerful media production of Super Fly. Curtis Mayfield is responsible for the soundtrack of the 1972 film Super Fly.  The movie catching success, propelling Curtis Mayfield’s soundtrack into its own attraction. Curtis Mayfield being extremely popular, was able to help bring the African American community into awareness of issues he experienced, through “Little Child, Running Wild”. Although the song is centrally based off of the cycle, Mayfield gives the African American parent insight into the state of mind, of their children. This perspective that Curtis presents, gives the parents better judgment, due to their awareness of their child’s state. The other issue that he addresses is the addiction to drugs. Once the child has grown tired of his situation, the need for an alternate reality becomes necessary. This is another reason why parents would be more protective and aware to their child’s experiences.