The Anthem For The Civil Rights Movement

During this call to action, people had different ideas on how to respond to the events surrounding the bombing on 16th street Baptist church. The response ranged from marching, protests, and most importantly, music. During the Civil Rights movement, music allowed artists to express their dissent through a medium in which their message could reach a plethora of peoples. Music during this time was also akin to the music effect of “work songs” sang during slavery as well as songs such as “we shall overcome” which draws parallels to songs sang as slaves attempted to escape to the north. Music also helped those involved in the civil

The rise of Soul music was a product of the particular environment of that time in which the musicians who created it lived, a period much paralleled with the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) and Black Power Movement (BPM) (Maultsby, 1983, 54). The objective of this research was to examine any existence of political and social messages delivered in Soul music around the civil rights movement era in America, which would lead to a better understanding of the role of Soul music having served in the process of political and social changes in the country.

The protests in Albany, Georgia, proved an important training ground in which to learn the techniques for mobilizing the dormant black populace of the Deep South. Perhaps of greatest importance, they became more aware of the cultural dimensions of the black struggle, quickly recognizing the value of freedom songs to convey the ideas of the southern movement and to sustain morale. (Stanford

Since the Constitution of the United States was written, Americans have practiced their right to freedom of speech as a way to express their point of view on issues facing the country. Over time, voicing one’s opinion went from outspoken newspaper articles to large rallies, and during the Vietnam War, music was a prevalent tool in aiding the protests. Allowing political messages to be shared nationally, the music had touched the lives of the younger generation. Author Jerome L. Rodnitzky explains in his journal, “The Sixties between the Microgrooves: Using Folk and Protest Music to Understand American History, 1963-1973”, how music was “trying to be all things

International 4-8818 is a very interesting character in Ayn Rand’s Anthem, who is often torn between what is law and personal desires. He is described as having eyes like fireflies. He wasn’t liked in the home of the students because he made people smile without reason. International also was looked down upon for drawing pictures on the walls using coal. He is put down already for being different, but in chapter one, he seems to find himself caught between helping his friend, Equality, and following the laws of The Council. In chapter one, he and Equality come across a hole in the ground, leading into a room left from the Unmentionable times. Equality wants to go explore, but International 4-8818 is torn between following his friend, or the law. “Since the Council does not know

Theme of Anthem by Ayn Reed is not to think as a group but rather as individuals. The book clearly shows this through chapter 11 when Equality 7-2521 discovers the word I and thinking as an individual. Also in the introduction the reader sees that the book was first called Ego then later changed to Anthem the name Ego was a representation of the main point of her book. In this world an ego or selfishness would be frown upon be of the way of the time. After the unmentionable Years the world was rewritten and given a great amount of equality. An old saying Sums up this perfectly, " there can be to much of a good thing" and that is true of Anthem be chase with so much equality no one can be themselves and have their own thoughts. A quote that

In the song “Glory” sung by John Legend and Common is a powerful song inspired by the Civil Rights Movement. The theme of this song is that resistance enacts change. There are several literary devices that convey the importance and power of peaceful protest such as allusion, symbolism, and metaphors. These three literary devices help to illustrate the struggle, dedication, and triumphs of those involved in peaceful protest of the civil rights movement.

Meaning in music is derived from parenthetical analysis of several technical aspects including lyrics, form, historical context, emotional content, and personal connection. A hermeneutical approach to the Star-Spangled Banner can yield only interpretational results. Therefore, we must examine the more concrete details of the work, and how the music relates to the meaning of the protests as stated by Colin Kaepernick in August of 2016.

It’s Friday night and the stands of the football stadium are full. Everyone is packed together like sardines in a can. The moment comes to rise for the National anthem of the United States. Everyone is on their feet ready to listen or sing along, and some have their hand on their chest. Looking through the crowd it is obvious to onlookers that these people love their country or are at the very least, are respectful of this practice of standing for the Star Spangled Banner. Surprisingly, there is a break in the crowd with one man sitting through it all. Colin Kaepernick has chosen to sit through the anthem in protest of police brutality. Some people believe that he has the freedom of his actions and does not have to stand for the national anthem because they think he has the right to follow his beliefs because we live in a free country. However, I think that he is a citizen of the United States of America and he is lucky to be a citizen so he should show respect to the country he lives in.

The 1960’s in America was often referred to as an age of protest because of not only the social protests that have taken place, but also for the upbringing of protest music, which became very popular during that era. The roots of protest music were largely from folk music of American musicians during 1950’. Folk musicians, such as Joe Hill, composed labor union protest songs and distributed song booklets, hoping to “fan the flames of discontent.” (Rodnitzky pg. 6) Symbolically, this meant that the songs, the fan, would reduce the uncontrollable social protests that the United States government caused with the misleading information that they did not keep their word on, or the flames of discontent. Other folk musicians, such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, traveled around the United States spreading their “message music” and becoming involved in political movements. Guthrie and Seeger were the pioneers of protest music, bringing their folk music to New York City and merging it with urban music. Woody’s songs were about the masses, often identifying problems and offering solutions. While Seeger was cautious about referring to his music as folk music, preferring the term “people’s music,” meaning that not everyone may had the same thoughts, but they all expressed it in their own unique musical sense. For both Woody and Seeger, folk music was a necessity in these protests, when the needs

The star spangled banner song was originally a poem written by Francis Scott Key who was a lawyer and was given permission to negotiate with the British to let go of an American prisoner. Soon after they had agreed and let the American prisoner leave, but they believed that Francis overheard their plans of a sneak attack. Later on, in September 3, 1814 he had been released and had found out the Americans had won the battle of fort mchenry, Francis Scott was happy the Americans won, he decided to create a poem in honor of their victory, he then had published the poem. The poem he wrote was a big hit and became very popular and was known as the Star Spangled banner. As the years went by Congress had adopted the poem now a song as our National

Throughout all the anti-war protests and marches during the Vietnam War, it is interesting to note the changes in the music of that time. From the beginning of the war, where support and loyalty from Americans was present in songs, to the end of the war, where anger and distrust was evident in musical lyrics, American’s opinion changed about the war. This change in opinion was easily recognized by the altering of musical lyrics about the war when Americans grew tired of the constant sending of U.S. troops to Vietnam. The growing dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War led to increasing levels of anger and hostility in the popular music of the time.

Ingram’s journal focuses on songs of environmental protest. The piece discusses Pete Seeger's God Bless the Grass and how it was the first album entirely dedicated for the advocacy of the environment. During the sixties environmental protest started to change the ideologies of and corruptness of big business. They wanted advances in sewage treatment and the disposal of industrial wastes into the Hudson River. Therefore, protest songs like Seeger’s where fundamental in getting these advances and making the people of America more conscious of the environment. Finally, this source is important to my research since it discuss protest music around the environment. Most of my sources discuss how music changed the antiwar and civil rights movements

“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” by Pete Seeger became a popular anti-war protest song during the 1960s. This song did not only protest against the Vietnam War but also made their generation more aware about the global problems. Songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” by Dixie chicks about freedom of speech was written after they received death threats for singing against the Iraq war, protests against the violation of human rights. But music is not only used to protest, it is also used to give hope and optimism. “We Shall Overcome”, a song sung by Guy Carawan together with the Montgomery Gospel Trio and the Nashville Quartet, is perhaps the best known example of civil rights song. Instead of blaming the government, this song registered a feeling of hope and faith among African-Americans during the civil rights movement.

Exactly there Pete Seeger discovered the song and by phasing in some changes turned it to a most popular protest song. “Seeger’s influence on “We Shall Overcome” was not simply artistic – he also helped to direct the song toward the developing civil right movement where it would have a seismic impact on American culture as a whole” (Phull, H., 2008). The song has a perfect structure for a protest song, it has a simple melody that it is easy to everyone sing along and lyrics involves quite small amount of words which also repeats most of the time so it is easier to memorize and also create new verses. The climax for the song as a protest song was during civil war especially at ‘1963 when it was not only copyrighted but also became the most famous protest song in America. (Lynskey, D., 2010)’ The song was so powerful that it was translated to several other languages by customizing some lyrics to the happening issue and used in liberation movements around the world. Guy Carawan, a folksinger and one of the copyright owners for the song said: “As it passed through different campaigns it tended to take on the cultural flavour of each area. In Albany, Georgia, it took on a new beat and some additional decorations. In Birmingham it was given a gospel feeling. You ask about a “final version” and I don’t think actually think there is one.” (quoted by Lynskey,