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World War II to the Civil Rights Movement

Overview

By the end of World War II, the character of North American society had greatly changed. The country experienced new levels of economic prosperity and women were voicing their opinions on gender roles, resulting from their newfound skills and work experiences during the war. At the same time, race relations began to deteriorate. In the 1950s and through the grassroots activities that led to the modern civil rights movement, the nation, and the world became exposed to racial inequalities such as fair job pay, fair housing, and voter registration, to name a few, that adversely affected African Americans and hindered their artistic expression. As is often the case, artists regularly express their opinion about such social, cultural, and political disparities. Moreover, African Americans continued to use songs, in this case, , as a powerful medium to inform, educate, and offer a call to action against social injustice. In general, freedom songs are those lyrics that reflect African Americans' perseverance towards "acquiring" their desired goals whereas protest songs identify these goals, for example, equality, fair pay for work, fair housing, non-discriminatory voter registration, and social justice.

Be ready to:

Identify notable events that led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act on July 2, 1964.

Identify song titles and event-related songs and understand the processes by which their lyrics change to fit the occasion.

Identify the processes involved in singing in a congregational or group setting.

Understand the origin of freedom songs and identify the names of people who influenced the development of these songs.

Understand the history of the song "We Shall Overcome" - noted as one of the most significant freedom songs.

Identify and discuss the difference between freedom and protest songs.

Identify specific titles and noted performers of protest songs.

Understand that a protest song can also be expressed instrumentally.

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Keywords

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References

Civil Rights

On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law. With bipartisan support from both the Senate and House, the law "…prohibited discrimination in the workplace, public accommodations, public facilities, and agencies receiving federal funds, and strengthened prohibitions on school segregation and discrimination in voter registration" (The Library of Congress, n.d.).

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Civil rights march on Washington, D.C. Steps

As with all social advancements, the conditions that led to the signing of this monumental legislation were, in some ways, just as important as the signing of the bill itself. Though African Americans experienced a disproportionate amount of racist tactics and discriminatory actions, women and the LGBTQ community also experienced discrimination. As a result, this era saw massive protests, demonstrations, marches, foundations combating discrimination, and other events. Some of the most significant historical events in American history as they relate to the civil rights movement fall under these categories.

Racist Tactics and Discriminatory Events

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Florida Secretary Harry T. Moore and wife Harriett were killed on Christmas night by a bomb placed under their home by the Ku Klux Klan.

Fourteen-year-old Emmitt Till was murdered in Mississippi.

"Southern Manifesto" signed to resist the U.S. Supreme Court's decision regarding Brown v. Board of Education

Autherine Lucy was expelled after four days of attendance at the University of Alabama.

President Eisenhower sent U.S. troops to protect Black children entering an all-White high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

President Kennedy sent U.S. troops to stop rioting because of a Black student, James Meredith, entering the University of Mississippi.

Voter Registration Drive in Greenwood, Mississippi, resulted in a number of African American arrests.

Governor George Wallace failed in his attempt to block African American students from entering the University of Alabama.

Four African American girls were killed at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Bloody Sunday-March 7 in Selma, Alabama-involved some 600 African Americans marching to protest the murder, by police, of Jimmy Lee Jackson in Marion, Alabama. Police on horseback attacked the marchers while they were on the bridge.

Protests, Demonstrations, and Marches

Baton Rouge (Louisiana) Bus Boycott

White Citizens' Councils were formed to protest Brown v Board of Education.

The thirteen-month-long Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, protested segregation on city buses.

Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom to Washington, DC was held at the Lincoln Memorial.

Youth marches took place in Washington, DC, for school integration.

Four Black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, protested by sitting in at lunch counters.

Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for a sit-in at Rich's Department Store in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Freedom Riders, an integrated group of Black and White young adults, began travelling to the segregated southern part of the U.S. in an effort desegregate public places, such as lunch counters, parks, restaurants, restrooms, public transportation, and others.

A Freedom Ride tested the U.S. Supreme Court's Boynton v. Virginia decision.

Women Strike for Peace, a group of around 50,000 women, protested nuclear bombs and their effect on children's health, in particular the potential for radioactivity in milk.

Demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, protested segregation.

March on Washington, DC, protested inequities in freedom and jobs.

NAACP Mississippi Field Secretary Medgar Edwards was assassinated.

Foundations/Commissions Formed to Combat Discrimination

Occurrences That Addressed and Promoted Civil Rights, Social Justices, Racial Equality, and Other Non-discriminatory Actions

Kenneth Clark, PhD, and Mamie Phipps Clark, PhD, began their psychological work in identifying institutional racism.

Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Decision

The Albany Movement began in Albany, Georgia.

James Meredith, an African American man, attempted to enroll at the all-White University of Mississippi.

Voter Education Project began.

President John F. Kennedy asked Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act.

President Kennedy gave a speech on national TV about civil rights.

President Kennedy was assassinated.

Following President Kennedy's assassination, President Lyndon B. Johnson asked Congress for the earliest possible passage of the Civil Rights Act.

After reading the above lists, view the film Soundtrack for a Revolution (2009), a documentary that explores the civil rights movement through music. You can also read the transcript of the documentary here.

Steal Away

O, walk together children
"Steal away
steal away
steal away to Jesus
Steal away
steal away home
I ain't got long to stay here"

Donna M. Cox

"From the moment of capture, through the treacherous middle passage, after the final sale and throughout life in North America, the experience of enslaved Africans who first arrived at Jamestown, Virginia...was characterized by loss, terror, and abuse."