Pete Seeger We Shall Overcome Analysis

The evolution of popular music themes in the black freedom struggle parallel the evolution of the movement itself.

There is no American social movement of the 20th century more closely connected to music than the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. The movement was a national effort made by African Americans and their supporters to eliminate racial segregation and secure citizenship rights specified in the constitution. African Americans wanted and were fighting to have the same rights as white people. They wanted to be able to eat in the same places, use the same buses, use the same restrooms, use the same water fountains, and have the opportunity to vote without taxes and reading tests. Civil rights activists used nonviolent protests

and civil disobedience, like music and singing, to bring about change. Although their freedom songs were harmless, they faced the wrath of being beaten, burning, and even jail terms. Through the battle for their rights, African Americans were continually undeterred by mistreatment.
Most people of color could not get good jobs or housing and they had a far less chance of a good education than white Americans. In 1914, with the Jim Crow laws in effect, the black and the white became two separate societies though, still, blacks did not have equal rights. They could not ride together in the same railcar, attend the same school, sit in the same waiting room or theatre, or eat in the same restaurants as white americans. African Americans were also not allowed to share a taxi with whites or enter a building through the same entrance. They were forced to drink from separate water fountains, attend separate schools, use separate restrooms, be buried in separate cemeteries, and swear on separate Bibles. Likewise, they were excluded from public libraries, beaches, swimming pools, parks, picnic areas, and many hospitals as well.
The etiquette of racial segregation was also harsher, particularly in the South. African Americans were expected to step aside to let a white person pass, and colored men did not dare to look any white woman in the eye. Instead of "Mr." or "Miss" or "Mrs,” black men and women were often addressed as "Tom" or "Jane" and african americans of any age were referred to as "boy" or "girl.” Similarly, both were often called by labels such as "colored."
Getting in trouble was far from their minds as they were courageous and let their hearts sing their feelings. Singing motivated them to push forward, sensitized others to join them, and uplifted those about to give up. Through music, the people were brought together for one common cause and together they were able to keep hopeful and have faith that one day they would share equal rights with the whites and live peacefully as one society. Popular music and singing gave the people a voice during the struggle to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans.
Music has always inspired people to think for themselves and find meanings within deep and confusing lyrics, giving them new perspective. Musicians used personal experience as inspiration for their work making their songs more relatable to the listeners and adding a bit of personality to the music. The songs they wrote stimulated people to gather together and demand change allowing them to spread a message of racial equality to their listeners. Many musical artists played a key role during the movement by sending messages to listeners and being an icon to many African Americans.
Bob Dylan was one musician during the civil rights era that used real experiences and feelings in his songs to inspire and motivate those struggling to push forward. On May 24, 1941 he was born as Robert Allen Zimmerman though, when he began to perform in college, he adopted the stage name that he is known for today, Bob Dylan. Dylan wrote mostly songs of politics, racism, and real occurrences like “The Murder of Emmett Till” and “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” which both referred to specific events and murders of the time. Another one of his songs, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” asks a series of questions about what makes something what it is. It starts off questioning “How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?” and ends with “the answer is blowin’ in the wind”. This song was Dylan’s most covered song and it made such an impact that even Pope John Paul II commented on it. No doubt, it quickly became another anthem for the civil rights movement as people started asking themselves those questions. His lyrics and song writing continually inspired and moved many struggling people all across the country and throughout his musical career, he was given many awards. He was also an active member of the protest community and would avidly participate in sit-ins and marches like the “March on Washington” which is where he gained most of his musical fame from the African American community. As his devoted fans saw his views on the civil rights, slowly their own started to change.
Another artist who was tremendously influential during this era was a white singer named Joan Baez. She was born on January 9, 1941 in Staten Island, New York and she became interested in the genre of folk music two years prior to her family moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Folk music happened to be very popular during this time period but, she was also famous for popularizing the work of Bob Dylan. Baez often performed with Dylan as they would sing songs about civil rights and peace. One of her most famous performances was during the march on Washington, where she played the song, “We Shall Overcome.” In the meaningful slow song Joan Baez expressed her wanting for equality and freedom. It opened the eyes of many to see how depressing America was becoming due to segregation and discrimination. She was known for her passion for freedom due to her performance that day as this helped her become more famous over time and continue on with her folk career. Later, she became a very avid activist by refusing to pay taxes and even going so far as to blocking an armed forces induction center in Oakland, California which ended up getting her arrested.
The music that they played was built on the very same foundation that the Civil Rights Movement itself was founded on; soul, emotion, and a yearning for change. Through their music, these famous artists of the time were able to spread messages of change to their listeners. Their words and ideas were spread across the U.S. which helped make the movement bigger than it ever could have been without these musicians.
Pete Seeger’s “We Shall Overcome” was a classic example of an inspiring song that explains his prayer for uniting the two races to peace.

It was one of the most powerful pieces of the 20th century as it quickly became a key anthem of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. The song is most commonly attributed as having descended lyrically from "I'll Overcome Someday", a 19th-century African-American Gospel song by Charles Albert Tindley. The modern version of the song was first said to have been a protest song sung by tobacco workers led by Lucille Simmons in 1945. They then performed it to the Highlander Folk School during the labor struggles of the 1940s. It turn, the song was introduced to white folk singer and political activist Pete Seeger and Highlander’s musical director, Guy Carawan, where they then added various lines to create a version focusing on nonviolent civil rights activism. By the 1950s, the song had been discovered by the young activists of the African American civil rights movement when it quickly became a ubiquitous sing-along anthem that crowds of activists embraced, often swaying side to side, arm in arm. Since its rise to prominence, the song, and songs based on it, have been used in a variety of protests worldwide. Seeger and other famous folksingers in the early 1960s, such as Joan Baez, sang the song at rallies, folk festivals, and concerts in the North and helped make it widely known. Verses were also sung on protest marches and in sit-ins, through clouds of tear gas, and under rows of police batons. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. even recited the words from "We Shall Overcome" in his final sermon delivered in Memphis on Sunday, March 31, 1968, before his assassination. Days later, "We Shall Overcome" was sung by over fifty thousand attendees at Dr. King’s

funeral.
Many different artists over the years have put their own personal spin on the song, but the song remains to be about the struggles of the African American people throughout their years in America, from their slave days to through the civil rights struggles of the 1960s and 1970s. In his song, Pete Seeger is expressing his belief and hope that he will overcome the obstacles stopping him from gaining freedom. The song brought courage and comfort to bruised, frightened activists as they waited in jail cells, wondering if they would survive the night. "We Shall Overcome" inspired both the short and long term goals of the era and still inspires people today.