In this project, I
will investigate the role that music played in the civil rights movement. I
will be examining why music was such a powerful medium in securing justice for
African Americans, I will discuss a number of famous events which involved
music during the civil rights movement and study four songs from the period in
detail.
Why Music?
It stems from the 1800s, when black slaves sung together
while they worked and night.
In a country so oppressed,
where black people didn't have the right to vote, couldn't go to the same
schools as white people or couldn't use the same means of transport as whites, African
Americans were demoralized. Singing provided a happiness, a safe haven away
from the violence, a feeling of community. Music gave black people the voice
that they didn't have.
Black people sung in groups. Communities were united. Each
person was reminded that they were not alone, they stood together in the fight
against injustice and inequality. This gave them hope. Equally, it also showed
the powers that be in government that American citizens were not willing to
tolerate any racist policies. The songs were weapons, tools against oppression.
Politicians recognised this.
Songs are populist. Enjoyed
by both races, it was hoped that the white people would be exposed to these
songs enough in order that they recognise the true pleas hidden among the
lyrics. The songs were thought-provoking, and encouraged white people to fight
against the injustices in their own nation. As a result, it became an extremely
powerful tool against oppression. In some cases, music was the catalyst for
change. It showed white people the
The call and response style of singing was common at the
time. It involved a lead singer singing a line, followed by a group of singers
singing a response to that line. While each singer may have felt afraid, sad, pitiful,
this arrangement.
Rhythm and Blues was an up-and-coming genre in the 1950s.
Pioneered by African American's , it showcased the hurt and fear among the
black community across the United States.
Notable
events in the Civil Rights Movement involving Music
March on Washington - African Americans from
all over the country unite in Washington to protest. They ask the government
for change, for rights and for. Martin Luther King delivers his powerful 'I
Have a Dream' speech. The soundtrack for the day was performed by Joan Baez, Bob
Dylan and Mahalia Jackson, among others. The crowds chant, cheer and cry at the
moving scenes of the day. They are united in song, bringing them hope and
Montgomery Bus Boycott -
After the simple, yet remarkable act of Rosa Parks, the city of
Montgomery was in protest. African Americans would gather together and sing for
equality, sing to see the end of segregation, sing in hope that the situation
would change. One of the songs that they chanted together was 'We are Soldiers
in the Army'. This was a church hymn which was adapted for the purpose of political
protest. The powerful lyrics referencing death and . It used the call and
response technique, meaning that the protesters followed a lead singer and
responded to their chants.
Funeral of Martin Luther
King - African Americans had lost their leader. He was their main
representative in the civil rights movement. They banded together for this
touching ceremony. Artists including Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson and -
sang to pay tribute to their inspirational peaceful leader.
Selma to Montgomery
Marches - Black people walked the 54 mile journey between Selma and
Montgomery, protesting for the right to vote. Musicians including Nina Simone,
Sammy Davis Jr. and Harry Belafonte accompanied the protesters. The marches led
to a landmark achievement in the civil rights movement, as the Voting Rights
Act was passed into law in 1965.
Bob Dylan -
Blowin' in the Wind
I will start with a
song written by a white singer-songwriter. I feel that a lot of the time, a
segregated America is presented to us in such a way that, it is almost as if
blacks and whites would not see eye-to-eye. This is definitely a
misinterpretation of the situation. This song proves it incorrectly. Bob Dylan,
a white musician, showed great concern towards the injustices faced by African
American's in his country. This song became an iconic part of the civil rights
movement.
Bob Dylan himself is cryptic when it comes to disclosing the
true meaning of the song. America, many black people in 1960s America would
have felt it was written for them. The opening line reads:
"How many roads
must a man walk down, before you can call him a man?"
This lends itself to
those suffering injustices, the victims of racial inequality and those seeking
equal rights. Yet it was not necessarily written about the civil rights
movement in the states, more so about the world's problems. Nonetheless, it was
adopted by African Americans searching for equitability, and became symbolic of
the civil rights movement.
"How many years can some people exist, Before
they're allowed to be free?"
This line may be
referring to the freedom marches across America. Where black people, young and
old, had gathered together to protest for their rights. Songs similar to this
were chanted at these marches.
"How many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?"
It is possible that
this line may be referring to the ignorance of America. This line suggests that
Americans were aware of their ignorance and wrongdoing, but preferred to pay
little heed to the problem. It is only when a person stands out from the crowd
with the courage to acknowledge this wrongdoing, that change will come. Dylan
uttered those powerful words in order to do so.
"How many deaths will it take till he knows, That
too many people have died?"
It is possible that
this line is also referring to the ignorance of the nation. Questioning and
recognising the injustices, this song and others like it were the catalyst for
change. White people heard the lyrics; they confessed their iniquity and felt
the pain of their black.
This song was just one of a number that Bob Dylan composed
highlighting the injustices faced by black people.
In 1973, following what he believed to be the wrongful
conviction of black boxer Rubin Carter. Carter was jailed for shooting a number
of customers in a bar in 1966. Dylan released 'The Hurricane' nine years later,
protesting the boxers' innocence. Carter, who passed away last April, was
eventually freed by petition in 1985.
Dylan released the album 'The Times they are A-changin'. It
compiled eight ballads dealing with the themes of poverty, social divide and
racism.
Sam Cooke was a black gospel
singer. After hearing Bob Dylan's 'Blowin' in The Wind' he was inspired to
write a song about racial segregation in America, and so, 'A Change is Gonna
Come' was born. Cooke was amazed that Dylan, a white songwriter, could capture
the emotions of black people so perfectly in writing 'Blowin' in the Wind'.
Based on Cooke's impression of white people being ignorant and racist, he could
not understand how someone like Dylan would be so empathetic and understanding
to African Americans.
This heartfelt masterpiece became one of the most iconic
songs of the civil rights movement.
The song is emotive. Cooke is speaking on behalf of all black
people. The singer himself had been denied access to a room in a motel on the
basis that he was black. He felt the pain of his African American counterparts,
day-by-day he had experienced injustices. This enables him to compose such an
impassioned song.
Cooke was taking a completely different tone when writing
this track. A gospel singer, a number of his singles had peaked in the pop
charts. But it was in 1964 that he wrote a political ballad. He was addressing
social issues in a clear-cut manner. This was a brave and courageous move to
do, and came as a shock to many of his fans, some of whom would have been
white.
"Oh there been times that I thought I couldn't
last for long, But now I think I'm able to carry on"
This line is
significant. It marks the perseverance of African Americans. Their triumph over
hardship. It is celebrating the fact that black people are uniting together,
which is marking the start of a social revolution.
"But
I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will"
Though the song is
dealing with a massive social problem, it manages to maintain a positive tone.
In this line, Cooke is certain that change beckons, it is only but a matter of
time. This hopeful attitude makes the song quite remarkable.
We Shall Overcome
This is probably the
most iconic protest song of all time. After being chanted at numerous marches
across the nation, it became the anthem of the civil rights movement.
Originally a song sung by black slaves, it was titled
"I'll be alright someday". This was sung at churches under the title
of "I'll Overcome Someday". From the church pews to picket lines, the
song began being used at political rallies. The lyric soon morphed into 'We
Shall Overcome'. The plural 'we' represented black, and white people coming
together to fight injustice.
We shall overcome has become iconic of the American civil
rights movement. But there are few tracks that can boast to have featured in liberation
movements around the globe. This is quite possibly, the world's best well-known
protest song.
It has a universal meaning. The simple, yet poignant lyrics
can be understood by everyone, and it can be used in numerous contexts. For
example, it became used during the Northern Irish peace process.
Joan Baez recorded a version of 'We shall overcome'. She
performed an iconic rendition of the song at the March on Washington in August
1963. Both blacks and whites were united in song to tackle inequality.
In a presentation to congress, American president Lyndon
Johnson quoted the protest song:
"Their cause must be our cause too. Because it is
not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling
legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome."
This represented the influence that the music
of the time had on politics during the civil rights movement. Lyndon Johnson
was to issue the Civil Rights Act 1964, banning segregation and giving black
people the right to vote.
Billy
Holiday - Strange Fruit
It was originally a poem, but Holiday set it to music in
1939. It was a brave move for her to do
so. The song refers the mass-lynching of black people in southern America. The
dead black bodies are compared to fruit hanging from trees in an horrific
metaphor.
"Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the
leaves and blood at the root, Black body swinging in the Southern breeze"
Though it is only three verses long, the song is haunting.
The gruesome lyrics portray the emotion. The dead bodies are compared to fruit,
as they hang from a tree.
"Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh, And the sudden
smell of burning flesh!"
The exotic trees and aromatic landscape is used as a contrast
to the grim, lifeless bodies.
This is possibly one of the most macabre songs of the time.
It deals with a serious theme, and presents it to us in a frightful manner.
The track has since been covered numerous times. My favourite
cover version is that of Nina Simone. A black jazz artist, she had a unique
style of singing in which she conveyed great emotion and sentiment through her
voice.
Simone wrote 'Mississippi Goddam' , an upbeat track
describing the issues of the . The song itself makes reference to the 16th
street church bombings in Birmingham, in which four young girls were killed.
There was outrage at the time, as church was seen as a sacred oasis, free from
violence. Nina Simone captured peoples emotion and anger when she composed the
song.
