One of the most influential songs of the 1960s/1970s, To Be Young Gifted and Black is merely one of Nina Simone's political contributions in the 1960s and 1970s. Her Mississippi Goddamn, Backlash Blues, and Four Women are also remarkable songs for justice. To Be Young, Gifted and Black was written in remembrance of Simone's close friend Lorraine Hansberry. The song became one of her biggest hits, and one of her most recorded. Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, and Donny Hathaway all recorded versions of To Be Young, Gifted and Black.