The History of "We Shall Overcome" in the Civil Rights Movement

Music had an important role in the Civil Rights Movement. It brought people together, calmed their nerves against threats of violence, and strengthened their resolve. Let's explore it. The song "We Shall Overcome" was one of the movement's anthems. The origins of the song are unclear, but it is likely based on a hymn by Charles Albert Tindley, an African-American minister. In the 1940s and 1950s, a few activist singers, including Pete Seeger, started playing the song. In 1959, folk musician Guy Carawan reintroduced the song to the Highlander Folk School, a social justice leadership school. Young student-activists at the school took the song to heart and gave it its current lyrics and rhythm. The students sang the song during police raids on their school and during their time in jail in 1959-1960. In 1960, Carawan taught the song to students at the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee meeting. In 1963, during the history March on Washington, folksinger Joan Baez led the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in singing the song. After the Bloody Sunday attacks on peaceful protesters during the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson used the phrase "we shall overcome" during his address to Congress. This speech, called the "We Shall Overcome" speech, led to Congress passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, in his final sermon in 1968, recited words from the song: "We shall overcome. We shall overcome. Deep in my heart I do believe we shall overcome. And I believe it because somehow the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." "We Shall Overcome" was sung by over 50,000 attendees at Dr. King's funeral. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 0:24 - Charles Albert Tindley 0:36 - Pete Seeger (1940s-50s) 0:48 - Guy Carawan, Highlander (1959) 1:20 - SNCC (1960) 1:31 - Joan Baez (1963) 1:48 - President Lyndon Johnson (1965) 2:17 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1968) Contains: "We Shall Overcome" by The Montgomery Gospel Trio, The Nashville Quartet and Guy Carawan, used with permission. Video/audio are from archive.org, Public Domain Mark 1.0 (PDM 1.0) archive.org/details/HDHistoricStockFootageMARCHONWASHINGTONMARTINLUTHERKING/Selma+-+Montgomery+March%2C+1965+-+p2.mp4