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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

Protest Songs (Continued)

As mentioned earlier, protest songs would address or oppose officials by calling out their names in the song. Although not in this recording, Ms. Fikes is known for incorporating names of officials who opposed Black people's freedoms. Some of these include "Tell Governor Wallace" (George Wallace of Alabama), "Tell Jim Clark" (sheriff of Selma, Alabama), and "Tell Al Lingo" (head of the Alabama State Troopers) (Hsiung 2005, n.p.).

A march in memory of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing victims on September 22, 1963

As revealed before, a number of songs could fit into either of the two sections in this lesson. For instance, the song "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round" could be considered either a spiritual or a protest song. However, it appears here because of its role in an important event in the civil rights movement and because it is a song in which the lyrics can easily be changed to suit the occasion. This video provides reasons for why this song was often needed:

The Freedom Singers Perform at the White House: 8 of 11 [ 00:00-00:00 ]

After hearing about the bombing on September 15, 1963, at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four African American girls (one eleven-year-old and three fourteen-year-olds), Nina Simone wrote her first activist song, "Mississippi Goddam"♫. The song protests the unsafe, unequal, and civil and social injustices many African American people experienced on a daily basis, especially in Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. The song begins at a fast tempo The speed of the rhythm of a composition, measured according to beats per minute. which gives the impression of a happy and cheerful song. However, the listener soon hears phrases such as, "hound dogs on the trail," "children sitting in jail," "desegregation," "equality," and society telling Black people to "go slow" with regard to gaining equality, and recognizes it as a protest song. Below is another live video recording of Nina Simone's "Mississippi Goddam:"

Nina Simone: Mississippi Goddam [ 00:00-00:00 ]

We Shall Not Be Moved

Oh I, shall not
I shall not be moved I shall not
I shall not be moved
Just like a tree planted by the water
I shall not be moved

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.