You got to fight for quality art and equality and all the things

When Christopher Cross declared, “You got to fight for quality art and equality and all the things that we're fighting for, the things we believe in. Choice and preference and all those things that we support. We don't want to give up that fight. You got to keep doing it,” he spoke with the voice of one who knows that culture, justice, and human dignity are not handed down easily, but must be defended, preserved, and carried forward by each generation. His words are not idle sentiment, but a clarion call, reminding us that the treasures of the spirit—art, equality, choice, belief—are never safe from neglect or oppression unless we guard them with our lives.

The meaning of this quote lies in its union of two struggles: the struggle for art and the struggle for equality. Cross recognizes that both spring from the same root—the human soul’s hunger for freedom. Quality art is the language of the heart, the mirror of society’s triumphs and wounds, the timeless cry that connects the living to those yet unborn. But without equality, art becomes chained, stifled, or silenced. Without freedom of choice and preference, the artist cannot speak, and the people cannot listen. Thus, to fight for art is also to fight for justice, for only in the soil of liberty can art bloom fully.

The origin of these words is found in the lifelong journey of artists like Cross himself, who came of age in a world where music was not merely entertainment but the sound of change. The late twentieth century bore witness to movements that sought not only to entertain the ear but to awaken the conscience—voices rising against war, against segregation, against silencing. In that crucible, many discovered that to defend art was also to defend truth, and that to surrender the fight was to allow both beauty and justice to fade into silence.

Consider the story of the Harlem Renaissance. In the early twentieth century, African American poets, painters, and musicians rose against a tide of prejudice and marginalization. They fought not with swords, but with canvases and verses, with jazz rhythms and novels that declared: We are here. We are human. We will not be silenced. Figures like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston wove quality art with the struggle for equality, and through their work reshaped the very soul of America. Their battle was not only for beauty, but for justice, and it reminds us that every brushstroke, every note, every word can be a weapon against despair.

The wisdom in Cross’s words is this: the fight is unending. Each generation must rise anew to defend what is sacred. The moment we lay down the struggle, apathy creeps in, and what was once vibrant withers away. The ancients knew this truth well; they built monuments not only of stone, but of song, drama, and philosophy. And yet, even they saw their treasures fall when societies ceased to guard them. So it is with us. To stop fighting for art, for equality, for freedom of choice, is to allow them to slip like sand through our fingers.

The lesson is clear: never think the fight is won forever. Art must be nurtured, or it becomes hollow spectacle. Equality must be renewed, or it decays under the weight of complacency. Choice must be protected, or it is stripped away by those who fear freedom. And above all, we must never surrender the things we believe in, for beliefs untended become forgotten, and forgotten beliefs leave us vulnerable to tyranny of spirit and law alike.

What, then, should the listener do? Support the artists whose work brings light into dark places. Stand with the oppressed who seek equality, for their fight is also yours. Defend choice, even when it is not your own, for without the liberty of others, your own liberty is fragile. Speak, create, vote, protect, and above all, keep faith with the truth that beauty and justice are worth fighting for.

So let these words echo as both command and encouragement: You got to keep doing it. Do not weary of the struggle, for from your hands will flow the art, the freedom, and the justice that future generations will inherit. Be steadfast, be unyielding, and know that in fighting for beauty and equality, you fight for the very essence of what it means to be human.