The Importance of Freedom Songs to the Motivation of African Americans

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According to Kerran L. Sanger, “The success or failure of the civil rights movement depended on the drawing together of African Americans in support of the cause.” This meant that unity is key, and in order for African Americans to gain their rights through the civil rights movement, they needed to work together. One of the most important means of drawing activists who were already part of the movement together as well as recruiting more protesters was through freedom songs. Songs such as “We Shall Overcome,” “Keep Your Eyes one the Prize,” and “Oh Freedom” were important freedom songs that emphasized the importance of unity in order to reach freedom and equality. Freedom songs, during the civil rights movemen, were very important in uniting activists as well as motivating protestors to keep on pushing towards freedom and equality. Freedom songs are transformations of traditional and popular black music. Music of the civil rights movement was molded based on classic African American music brought to the new world by slave trade. The words and melodies of these traditional songs were altered to fit the circumstances of the time, and through this, songs for liberation were formed and activists were given the ability to tell their stories through music. Spiritual, gospel, and popular songs have been adapted into freedom songs in order to fit the circumstances of the times during the civil rights movement. Music was crucial to the movement. Although each song had its own impact and importance, “We Shall Overcome” stood out to be recognized as one of the most influential song of the civil rights movement. This song came to be known as the anthem of the civil rights movement according to numerous sources. The origins of freedom ... ... middle of paper ... ...erefore, without freedom songs, it would have been difficult for the protesters to win their battle for civil rights. Bibliography Appleton, Clyde R. "Singing in the Streets of Raleigh, 1963: Some Recollections." Foundation for Research in the Afro-American Creative Arts 3, no. 3 (1975): 243-52. Accessed January 21, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1214010 . Denisoff, Serge. "Protest Songs: Those on the Top Forty and Those of the Streets." American Quarterly 22, no. 4 (1970): 807-23. Accessed January 21, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2711871 . Reagon, Bernice Johnson. "Let the Church Sing 'Freedom.'" Black Music Research Journal 7 (1987): 105-18. Accessed January 21, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/779452 . Sanger, Kerran L. When the Spirit Says Sing!: The Role of Freedom Songs in the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Garland, 1995.

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