The Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, and Black Lives Matter [1]: political protest goes hand in hand with powerful music. The American songbook is rife with political messages, from antiwar rock songs of the 1960s to hip-hop anthems calling for racial equality. In recent years, we've seen political-message songs touching on everything from marriage equality to abortion rights.

This 24-song playlist spans causes and decades, and every track has a message and lyrics that we can learn from. If the outcome of the 2016 election is inspiring you to take action [2], allow this playlist to serve as your soundtrack.

1. "Fight the Power," Public Enemy
   Relevant lyric: "Our freedom of speech is freedom or death / We got to fight the powers that be."
2. "What's Going On," Marvin Gaye
   Relevant lyric: "You see, war is not the answer / For only love can conquer hate."
3. "Fortunate Son," Creedence Clearwater Revival
   Relevant lyric: "Some folks are born, silver spoon in hand / Lord, don't they help themselves."
4. "Same Love," Macklemore
   Relevant lyric: "The right-wing conservatives think it's a decision / And you can be cured with some treatment and religion."
5. "American Idiot," Green Day
   Relevant lyric: "Information age of hysteria / It's calling out to idiot America."
6. "Beautiful Struggle," Talib Kweli
   Relevant lyric: "All that folks want is safety, they goin' gun crazy / The same reason Reagan was playin' war games in the '80s."
7. "Eve of Destruction," Barry McGuire
   Relevant lyric: "I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation / Handful of senators don't pass legislation / And marches alone can't bring integration / When human respect is disintegratin'."
8. "Born in the USA," Bruce Springsteen
   Relevant lyric: "Come back home to the refinery / Hiring man said, 'son, if it was up to me' / Went down to see my VA man / He said, 'son, don't you understand.'"
9. "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," Gil Scott-Heron
   Relevant lyric: "NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32 / Or report from 29 districts / The revolution will not be televised."
10. "Only a Pawn in Their Game," Bob Dylan
    Relevant lyric: "But the poor white man's used in the hands of them all like a tool / He's taught in his school / From the start by the rule / That the laws are with him / To protect his white skin / To keep up his hate / So he never thinks straight."
11. "What It Means," Drive-By Truckers
    Relevant lyric: "I mean, Barack Obama won, and you can choose where to eat / But you don't see too many white kids lying bleeding in the street."
12. "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free," Nina Simone
    Relevant lyric: "I wish I could share / All the love that's in my heart / Remove all the bars / That keep us apart."
13. "Lost Woman Song," Ani DiFranco
    Relevant lyric: "The profile of our country looks a little less hard-nosed / But you know that picket line persisted and that clinic's since been closed."
14. "A Change Is Gonna Come," Sam Cooke
    Relevant lyric: "There have been times that I thought I couldn't last for long / But now I think I'm able to carry on / It's been a long, a long time coming / But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will."
15. "A Better Tomorrow," Wu-Tang Clan
    Relevant lyric: "We want justice, police supposed to protect and serve / And then they shoot us down like wild animals."
16. "People of the Sun," Rage Against the Machine
    Relevant lyric: "With their borders and boots on top of us / Pullin' knobs on the floor of their toxic metropolis / But how you gonna get what you need to get?"
17. "When the President Talks to God," Bright Eyes
    Relevant lyric: "When the president talks to God / Do they drink near beer and go play golf? / While they pick which countries to invade / Which Muslim souls still can be saved?"
18. "Ohio," Crosby Stills Nash and Young
    Relevant lyric: "What if you knew her / And found her dead on the ground / How can you run when you know?"
19. "Til It Happens to You," Lady Gaga [3]
    Relevant lyric: "Tell me how the hell could you talk, how could you talk? / 'Cause until you walk where I walk, this is no joke."
20. "Everyday People," Sly & the Family Stone
    Relevant lyric: "I am no better and neither are you / We are the same whatever we do."
21. "Why Is It So Hard," Charles Bradley
    Relevant lyric: "Why is it so hard / To make it in America / I try so hard / To make it in America."
22. "The People," Common
    Relevant lyric: "Sick and tired of punching it / I look on the bus at them / When I see them struggling / I think I'm touching them."
23. "Hurricane," Bob Dylan
    Relevant lyric: "When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road / Just like the time before and the time before that / In Paterson that's just the way things go / If you're black, you might as well not show up on the street / Unless you wanna draw the heat."
24. "We Shall Overcome," Mahalia Jackson
    Relevant lyric: "Oh, deep in my heart / I do believe / We shall overcome, some day."

Download the free Spotify [4] software or app to listen to the playlist on Spotify [5] or click on the widget below.