Songs+of+the+Civil+Rights+Movement

The power of music has assisted humankind through all stages in life. Throughout the civil rights movement, music was an essential element providing hope for the soul and acting as a conduit for individuality. Music offered a people with no freedom a voice. The following is a list of songs that encouraged black Americans to keep the civil rights movement thriving:

=** __1. "We Shall Overcome"__ **= "We Shall Overcome" was originally called "I Shall Overcome," but when Pete Seeger learned it from Zilphia Horton and started spreading it around, the "I" became "We." This song has since been sung during many struggles at a time when people have stood up for their rights, but it was particularly inspirational during the civil rights movement because of its deep roots in the African-American community.

//Deep in my heart, I do believe / We shall overcome some day// This Staple Singers classic brings to light the entirety of African-American history to the point of the civil rights movement, including slavery, the construction of the railroads and highways, and the demands for the payment and reparations for the horrors and exploitation of the working class African Americans.
 * 2. __"When Will We Be Paid For the Work We've Done?"__ **

//"We fought in your wars ... to keep this country free for women, children, man ... When will we be paid for the work we've done?"// "Oh Freedom" also has very deep roots with the African-American community, as it was sung by slaves dreaming of a time when there would be an end to slavery. On the morning preceding Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C., Joan Baez started the day's events with her rendition of this tune, and it quickly became an anthem of the movement.
 * 3. __"Oh Freedom"__ **

//"Oh, Freedom! Oh, Freedom over me! Before I'll be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave ..."//

"I Shall Not Be Moved" was adapted to an anthem fashion during the antebellum slave liberation movement, and again during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and '60s. Like many of the period's great protest songs, it sings of the refusal to bow to the powers that be, and the importance of standing up for what you believe in.
 * 4. __"I Shall Not Be Moved"__ **

//"Like a tree planted by the water, I shall not be moved."//

"This Little Light of Mine" talks about the importance of unity in the face of adversity. Its refrain sings of the light in each individual and how, whether standing up alone or joining together, each little bit of light can break the darkness. The song has since been applied to many struggles, but was an anthem of the civil rights movement at the time. This song in particular reminded me of Eldridge Cleaver and the journey he took to discover his own light; his own individuality to share with America.
 * 6. __"This Little Light of Mine"__ **

//"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine ... let it shine over the whole wide world, I'm gonna let it shine."//

When Billie Holiday premiered "Strange Fruit" in a New York club in 1938, the civil rights movement hadn't approached its ultimate velocity. The song was so controversial that Billie's record company wouldn't release it. Luckily, it was picked up by a smaller label and preserved to this day.
 * 9. ** “** Strange Fruit" **

//"Strange trees bear strange fruit. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, black bodies swinging in the southern breeze. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees."// This song set to the tune of the old folk song "Hold On" voicing out to endure any struggle for the sake of the ultimate objective: freedom.
 * 10. __"Keep Your Eyes on the Prize"__ **

//"The only chain that a man can stand is the chain of hand in hand. Keep your eyes on the prize and hold on."//


 * Much of this information was obtained with the help of http://folkmusic.about.com/od/toptens/tp/CivilRightsSong.htm

=**11. "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan**= The song, from the album "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" was definitely associated with the Civil Rights Movement, but also was used by protesters of the Vietnam War. The song poses questions regarding social questions- war, civil rights, discriminations, violence... and the song's title is where the answers are found. Some of the key lines (questions) in the song regarding the Civil Rights Movement are: //"How many years can some man exist/ before they're allowed to be free? Yes, how many times can a man turn his head/ pretending he just doesn't see?"// This information was found on http://protest-roots-music.suite101.com and on []