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, freedom songs, 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.

• 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.