The Role of Music in the Civil Rights Movement

 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 - A Change is Gonna Come

 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.