“We stayed true to who we were at Motown, and the world moved on…” Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, said at the 125th anniversary ceremony. he opening of Occidental College in 2007. Motown was “the new voice of America” because of its great impact and influence on the music industry and society. Many events were happening in America at this time and Berry Gordy identified several of these factors to specifically target Motown music and its artists to young audiences. There were various social, musical and cultural factors that were of crucial importance and among these factors, Gordy identified segregation and the civil rights movement, music and cultural aspects of the black community at that time. These factors have had enormous impacts. Segregation and discrimination in America was a serious social problem that affected the lifestyle of African Americans in the 1960s and the civil rights movement was a social movement that aimed to end racial inequality. Due to the segregation between these two cultures, there was a sharp rise in racial tensions which led to the culmination of race riots. The social issues of the time played a large role in Gordy's success in producing Motown, as he wanted to produce the "sound of young America", regardless of one's color or race, and broadcast that its to a wider audience, including baby boomers. “Motown was music for everyone – whites and blacks, blues and greens, cops and robbers…I was reluctant to let our music alienate anyone…” (Gordy, 2011). According to Boyce (2008), Motown's image and sound was focused on promoting "crossover" music without political involvement, but Gordy eventually showed some support for the civil rights movement by recording and releasing distributing Martin Luther King. Jr.'s speech "The Great March to Freedom" in 1963, later founding a Black Forum. Religion, particularly Christianity, played a huge role in the lives of black people at the time, leading to the expansion of black churches in South America. In the 1960s, the proportion of blacks attending church increased as segregation and racial discrimination divided the two cultures in America. This aspect of culture was very important because black people were taught that everyone was equal in the eyes of God. In these churches, the introduction of gospel music generated self-expression and these black churches were therefore a representation of social cohesion among black people. Gordy established this aspect of the culture and incorporated gospel music from the churches into the soul sound that Motown was successful at. Additionally, the formation of African American neighborhoods was a very important aspect of their culture because of its connection to the history of segregation. Although many associated these black neighborhoods or "ghettos" with negative connotations, for black people it meant "home", a place that showed a representation of black identity, also including the passion and emotion linked to being to overcome the struggle and pain of being black. “The buildings of Harlem are brick and stone…and the streets are long and wide…but Harlem is much more than that…Harlem is what’s inside…” (Hughes , 1945). Gordy realized that neighborhoods also represented cultural cohesion where they could communicate with each other. According to