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Injustice often inspires art. When the Ohio National Guard killed four college students protesting the Vietnam War in 1970 at Kent State, Neil Young penned Ohio.

The counterculture anthem is one of the greatest protest songs written: Tin soldiers and Nixons coming / Were finally on our own / This summer I hear the drumming / Four dead in Ohio.

Keeping Nixon in the lyrics was one of the bravest things Neil has ever done, former Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young vocalist-guitarist David Crosby said during a 2018 interview.

Protest songs take courage. Say It Loud, Im Black and Im Proud by James Brown and Get Up, Stand Up by the Wailers are examples of powerful protest songs that have endured.

In recent years, protest songs inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement have made quite an impact.

When Janelle Monae was asked about her powerful BLM protest song Hell You Talmbout, the vocalist-actress gasped.

When you have a platform like I do, you have to make an impact, Monae said during a 2018 telephone interview. Its our responsibility. I really believe that silence is our enemy, and sound is our weapon.

Monae namechecks several Black victims of police brutality throughout Hell You Talmbout such as Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland and Freddie Gray.

One of Monaes musical heroes, Prince, was inspired to write Baltimore, one of his final singles, because of the death of Gray, a 25-year-old man who died in police custody five years ago in Baltimore.

Last June, Princes estate released his handwritten note on intolerance. Nothing more ugly in the whole wide world than INTOLERANCE (between) Black, white, red, yellow, boy or girl, INTOLERANCE.

2020 Riots: How Many Times, by Trey Songz, could be the theme of the BLM movement during the coronavirus. The R&B singer, who was inspired to write the compelling tune after Floyds murder, focuses on the injustices.

With the words in this song, I just wanted to speak to everyones hearts and acknowledge the pain and anguish everyone is going through right now, Songz said via a statement.

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Leon Bridges was also moved to write after Floyds tragic death. Bridges responded by crafting Sweeter, about a Black man being denied the freedom to breathe.

It was the first time I wept for a man I never met, Bridges said courtesy of a statement. I am George Floyd, my brothers are George Floyd, and my sisters are George Floyd. I cannot and will not be silent any longer. Just as Abels blood was crying out to God, George Floyd is crying out to me. So, I present to you, Sweeter.

One of the most moving BLM anthems is I Cant Breathe, written and recorded by H.E.R., aka Gabriella Wilson.

The catchy blues song with a memorable vocal hook features some jarring lyrics:

Starting a war, screaming peace at the same time? All the corruption, injustice, the same crimes? Always a problem if we do or dont fight / And we die we dont have the same rights / What is a gun to a man that surrenders / What its gonna take for someone to defend us? If we all agree that were equal as people / Then why cant we see what is evil.

Kendrick Lamars Alright was featured at a number of BLM protests throughout the country. Its not surprising since Alright exudes determination and persistence, and its relentlessly positive.

We gon be alright, a backing vocal by Grammy winner Pharrell, who produced the track, is a phrase that is a beacon of hope in a sea of darkness courtesy of this 2015 number.

Ushers I Cry, also released in 2015, is one of the most beautiful BLM tunes. The piano ballad is deep, emotional and catchy.

Free was written and recorded by J. Cole not long after Ferguson police killed Michael Brown in 2014. Cole makes his statement during the chorus: All we want to do is take the chains off / All we want to do is be free.

Black Thought tipped his cap to Martin in 2018 with Rest in Power. One killer, one child, one weapon / The shooter was unthreatened / 71 seconds / So many unanswered questions / If the wounds heal, the memories never fade / I wonder if youre in heavens 11th grade / Six thousand, two hundred and 30 days / Too young of an early age / Such evil and worldly ways.

The video features the Roots frontman rapping next to an American flag and a brick wall with the projected images of Martin, BLM protests and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron was written and recorded long before the BLM movement, but it fits. The cut, which is a poem and a song, is a clever and provocative piece that doesnt sound as if its been around for a half-century.

But the song was at the forefront of the Black Power movement. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was released less than a year after Ohio. 1970-71 was a good period for protest songs. Perhaps the same will be said for 2020-21 a half-century from now.

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Black Lives Matter protest songs: 'Silence is our enemy, and sound is our weapon' - The Spokesman-Review