In History: Nina Simone on how racial injustice fuelled her songs

In History: Nina Simone on how racial injustice fuelled her songs Getty Images Nina Simone looking forward In these exclusive BBC archive clips, Nina Simone describes how racism robbed her of her dream of being a classical pianist, and how in the 1960s she used her remarkable voice to demand equality for black Americans. "I must say that Martin Luther King didn't win too much with his non-violence," Nina Simone told the BBC's David Upshal on the Late Show in 1991. I wanted to be the world's first black concert pianist for 22 years – Nina Simone The song Four Women, written in 1966, portrayed the struggles and resilience of black women in the US, while 1969's To Be Young, Gifted, and Black was a message to young people to take pride and joy in their identity and potential. It's a combination of gospel, pop, love songs, political songs, so it is black-oriented classical music, that's what it is," she told BBC Breakfast Time.