ELVIS Respected The ROOTS : Elvis Presley & The Black Community REACTION 

Elvis was born in poverty. He had a twin brother that died at birth. They were so poor, he was buried in a shoebox in an unmarked grave. He was only 1 out of 4 families living in a predominantly black neighborhood in awful times of segregation. He didn't see color, he saw humans helping humans. His mama took him to church and taught him to be respectful. She did a good job, because he NEVER forgot where he came from and always remained humble. He was very generous and gave. You should definitely check out the short version of Elvis...A Generous Heart and Elvis...King of Kindness. Thank you for learning about Elvis. Unfortunately there's mean rumors about him, that were were just that!! Ya can't help where you grew up and what you know. He loved all people and gospel, rhythm and blues. ❤ TCB ⚡👑

Thank you for taking time to learn who Elvis really was from a third generation Elvis fan thank you for keeping Elvis alive

Elvis is the G.O.A.T!❤❤❤❤❤ Your reaction!

Elvis did things his way, treating everyone equally, showing love to family, friends, and fans. The only person he hurt was himself. His heart was as pure as his singing voice. 👑🎶⚡

Elvis the goat❤😭

You’re an intelligent young man. I’m a lifelong Elvis fan. Thanks for your reaction.😎🕺

You are very mature. I am 80 and saw him in 1956 on the Sullivan show when I was 12. He went thru a lot to sing. He grew up with black people he was so poor the black folks felt sorry for him. He loved everybody he tried to elevate many black singers like James Brown, who sat by Elvis casket when he died. Thanks for the the great reaction. I subbed. Be Blessed

Awesome reaction bro👍 there is a part 2 as well, “Elvis and his generous heart” is also one you’ll appreciate ❤️👍

You seem like a great young man. Ty for giving Elvis a chance. Great reaction

Thanks for your reaction. Elvis was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a 2 room shack of a house his dad built with money he borrowed from his boss. That's how dirt poor they were. He was one half of identical twins; the other boy - Jesse Garon - was stillborn. They were so poor, that Jesse Garon was buried in a shoebox in an unmarked grave. At Graceland they have a plaque with his name on it in his memory. Elvis always got along with the black community and learned a lot about music from his friends of color. Also, according to the one drop rule, Elvis would not be considered white, since he has Cherokee ancestors on both the Smith (his mother) and the Presley (his father) sides of the family. His paternal grandfather, Jesse Dunning Presley, was not happy that his two sons, Elvis' father Vernon and his brother Vester, married two sisters, Gladys and Clettes who were known to have Cherokee blood in their family tree. J.D. Presley was quite the racist a-hole, often drunk and a philandering husband to Minnie Mae (they were actually separated long before they finally divorced in 1954) who was always competing with his sons Vester and Vernon and who was known to abuse his kids when drunk. J.D. was was publicly against race mixing and was in denial about the Cherokee blood in his own family tree. It was more publicly known that the Smith family had Native blood in their family tree, so when both his sons fell for 2 Smith sisters and Vernon, on top of that, was still a minor at 17 when he eloped with Gladys who was 4 years older than him, Jesse was totally pissed off. As a child, Elvis already had many friends in the black community at the time his family was one of 4 "white" families that lived in the predominantly black neighborhood The Hill, just across from Shake Rag. His childhood friend Sam Bell said that some of the (black) kids in that neighborhood had lighter skin than Elvis (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LrFCyNMvZWk.html). One of Elvis' bodyguards once said that he thought it was a miracle Elvis got into Humes High School in Memphis, because it was "lily white". Elvis wanted to be more open about his Native ancestry, but his manager "colonel" Tom Parker (real name Andreas van Kuijk) was against it because he was afraid it might cost Elvis fans (and himself money). They did have Elvis play characters in his movies though where he had Native American blood (Flaming Star, G.I. Blues, Stay Away Joe). Once Elvis had his own (apprentice) job learning to be an electrician, he saved up his money and bought his clothes in the same style that many of his friends of color wore. He was called a (forgive me, just stating facts here) "n-lover" and got beaten up several times too. Later, when he was an established star, he would not perform at places where the members of color of his back-up band/orchestra weren't allowed.

Great reaction! During "In the Ghetto" you were singing and missed the part where Elvis said, "Help your brother along the way no matter where he starts, for the same god that made you made him too, these men with broken hearts." THAT says everything about who Elvis was. Btw: PART-2 shows how generous Elvis was, even to people he didn't know.

If you watch Baz Luhrmann's 2022 biopic called "ELVIS", you'll find yourself transported back to that time period in such a way that you'll begin to understand what it was really like. It was a VERY different world in ways you can't possibly comprehend. But if you watch that movie, it'll all start to make sense.

When someone called him the King; he said there is one King and that is our Lord Jesus Christ!

Thank you for learning the truth about Elvis ... pass it on ! TCB forever !

Whitney Houston Mom was a backup singer with Elvis for over 6 years. Thank you young-man for posting. God Bless you. (I am senior citizen over 75 years old.)

Fascinating reaction!☀️ We are all humans and we should start to solve problems without weapons.💚

Elvis was great friends with Mahammad Ali. James Brown. Eddie Murphy is a Big fan of Elvis. Elvis cook a Black lady is on here talking about the House and car Elvis bought her. And so much more. By far!!

Yes,elvis the goat

Segregation was segregation. White radio stations. Black radio stations. The thought was that Elvis was introducing “race” music to white teenagers. What would happen next.😱

----------- Elvis, as well as Rock & Roll also had Country roots. This has been omitted from this documentary. Blues music & Rock & Roll are not always identical, and often sounded different when folks like Elvis, Bill Hailey, Carl Perkins & Jerry Lee all entered the scene. It morphed. Even Chuck Berry had country influences, so while this documentary does a good job to show how receptive elvis was to the community, it paints him as a only a blues artist. Very far from the truth, Elvis desperately wanted to be another crooner like his biggest idol, Dean Martin, as well as Bing Crosby. He also loved Bluegrass, Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe, etc. We also cannot forget Country greats like Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Edy Arnold.

🙌

It’s like Elvis has recorded in several of his songs if you’ve never walked in that man shoes you don’t know because the same God that made you made him too

I really enjoyed your reaction of Elvis. Love it! You should react to Elvis in Vegas Live 1970 videos, "Suspicious Mind" Live in Las Vegas 1970, "Love Me Tender" Live in Las Vegas 1970 and "Polk Salad Annie" Live in Vegas 1970.

We're all one race, the human race

THERE IS A PART 2 OF THIS ALSO BUT I REALLY KNOW U SHOULD REACT TO HIS MOVIE SCENE FROM KING CREOLE THE SONG NEW ORLEANS I PROMISE U WILL LOVE IT I LOVE UR REACTIONS OF ELVIS THANKS!

I grew up in government housing like Elvis did. When you live like that you don't look at color, you just want to play and have friends. I had friends of every color. My mom took care of the other kids and their moms did the same with us. We looked out for each other. I knew if any other mom caught me acting a fool I was in trouble. She'd set me straight and then my mom would set me straight. It was poor and crappie but it was my community and I was theirs.

Your reactions are a whole bunch of awesome sauce! Yeah, for sure, find that song and do a reaction. I’d love to see it. As far as Elvis’s music, he was influenced by country, R&B, and gospel, all of which he grew up with. He smooshed it all together and you get his particular sound. And oh def…he caught hell for his music in the 50s and for hanging with the black community. I cannot imagine what it was like back then, how bad racism was. Unfortunately, we still need to be better today.

The king!

Watch interview with Elvis childhood friend Sam Bell about both of them growing up in the hood. Great first hand accounts of Elvis growing up

You are very special love your heart and reaction thank you

❤️👑❤️

I’m white and 71 and didn’t get it either. Look at history! They tear us apart, then push us together, tear us apart. Together we stand, divided we fall. We need to come together and fight together. Not what there’re doing today but together for love and justice for all.

Keep on rocking my friend. Tx. Good night Graceland

Known as the King of Rock 'n' Roll by some, and others consider him the King of music because he is the only artist to be inducted into more than two hall of fames. He has been inducted into the rock 'n' roll, pop, country, blues, and gospel halls of fame. His only two Grammy Awards, were for gospel music.

If Elvis didn't keep on doing what he wanted to do there would never have been black music played on national radio and television.

Great reaction! Please more Elvis there’s a part 2

You were not there in the '50's -- you have no clue as to what it was like then & you'll never be able to grasp how different that time period was. I grew up during that time so I know exactly what it was like. And it wasn't until the '60's when big changes began to happen. Unfortunately the '60's was a time of multiple assassinations & the Vietnam war, but also, Woodstock, free love, pot & mini skirts, totally contradictory of the '50's which was a very staid time. It was a time when adults had many hang-ups & saw certain things such as Elvis' performances as not nice. If you know anything about the great '50's music of the great doo-wop & girl groups, you will know that no one "moved" when they sang. The songs were amazing but they stood almost totally still. So too were individual performances of famous singers such as Perry Como, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Sinatra. Then came Elvis & it was a shock. You can read up on life in the '50's to learn how it was when we had only just come out of W.W. 11 a few short yrs. earlier. Elvis grew up in severe poverty in a mostly Black neighborhood & he & his family attended a Black church. Lots of documentaries about his life to see. Also "King of Kindness" & "A Generous Heart" about his huge charitable givings, i.e., getting the population to take the Polio vaccine, & his contribution towards getting St. Jude's established.

Thank you for this video and sharing it with us there is a part 2

I love your personality good vibe ty❤

Yeah, when Elvis was first heard on the radio before they actually saw him they thought he was black. He sang a lot of black music.

There is a part 2 you might want to check out.

Everybody back then was stuck on stupid .Elvis loved music 🎶

Great reaction! King of rock, or MJ being known as King of pop….what’s the problem for that guy who said it’s a slap in the face to black community ! . It’s called influenced not stealing . Every singer is influenced by those who came before.

Please do a reaction to the song that was written for him in his 1968 Comeback Special “If I Can Dream” it was sung after a few months of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy getting murdered. It’s so impactful and speakeasy volumes!

................... there's a PART 2 to this documentary.

Do a reaction to Run On by Elvis. It's close to rap before there was rap hip hop music.

Stevie Wonder never saw color.

They thought it was black music because Alan Feed Rock and Roll shows were basically black performers, Freed was white and co I Ned the phrase Rock and Roll

He never claimed the “King” position. He said there was only 1 king. Jesus. Not his fault people layed that on him. In a concert a lady gave him a crown. He said he couldn’t wear it

A lot of people died in the civil rights movement so you have the right to say the people were stupid.

actually it came from the black side is debateable ... because actually rockabilly was out at around the same time ... songs like blue suede shoes was actually rocabilly ... not rock and roll... and Elvis sung both rock and roll and rockabilly . one day it got mixed and so the music should bring whites and black together. My favorite music was black spirituals and blues and that is totally brought by black folks . nothing in this world was more soulful than black spirituals.Elvis ran around with black friends while growing up as his family lived in the same neighborhood which was mostly black folks.

STRAYCATS BE A GOOD A GO0D VIDE0 RECONMIDATION

This was during segregation

He liked carrying three guns too. LOL. 🥃