America's civil rights movement ushered in an era of a cultural revolution in
the United States. It was a great unifying time and I'll fight for freedom,
justice and equality that brought together young white people and older
whites and African Americans that was for freedom. We got involved because we
knew that right is might and wrong is very strong. The legacy of slavery
continued to define the collective consciousness of blacks and whites. Jim
Crow laws and customs outraged many who demanded that the United States live up
to the ideals established in its constitution. Action they believed was
necessary to correct these wrongs. Well you know we were always stereotyped you
know we're less intelligent we're not as smart our black rubs off we stick. They
call the slaves we went really slaves from Africa maintenance of slaves they
called us Negroes they call it's black they call us Coon boot and shoe and a
lot of the names. From the abyss of southern plantations, the slaves Weldon
shouted songs it made bearable the sweat from their Brown the cut of the lash as
they laboured from sunup to sundown rooted and Biblical Testament the lyrics
and rhythm of early spiritual and gospel songs changed over time but their
essence remained the same to express the changing needs and hardships of the
black experience. See the church played such a dominant role within civil rights
the church back in the civil rights movement and that error back in the 50s
and 60s during the movement that was the plate that was the only secured
place that african-americans had this little light of mine I'm gonna let it
shine yes the light of mine I'm gonna let it shine all in my home I'm gonna
let it shine let it shine let it shine let it shine so that was the only hope
that we had was this light during the 1900s many religious songs were modified
and adapted to the changing conditions in America among these were Charles
Albert Tinley song I'll overcome someday which has been credited by some as
shaping the civil rights movements anthem we shall overcome. Pete Seeger
died Kara won and some others got together and recomposed
I'll overcome someday which probably was already in the public domain by that
time and they published it popularized it within the civil rights movement as
we shall overcome and of course with direct pertinence to the movement not
overcoming sin but overcoming segregation.
Pete Seeger believed the conditions of poor whites and segregated black sprang
from common roots like the spiritual and gospel songs that sustain blacks through
slavery and Jim Crow we shall overcome served as both the food and armor of the
movement Bob Dylan was the troubadour for these college students from the
north that would come down to the south for the Freedom Rides the sit-ins and
different things many songs that the young White's Bob Dylan and others began
to create songs related to freedom and justice and equality. Bob Dylan's 1964
song the Lonesome death of Hattie Carroll told the story of William Billy
zette singer a white man and son of a wealthy Baltimore farmer who on February
9th 1963 killed Hattie Carol a black woman who was working as a barmaid at
Baltimore hotel that singer six-month sentence for killing Carol enraged
communities throughout the nation this injustice found its way into Dylan's
music.The folk music was an important soundtrack you might say to the civil
rights movement especially in the 1950s and 1960s. Dr. Martin Luther King jr.
recognized a central role music played in the movement in 1967 King praised
those who used R&B music as a cross over bridge to support strengthen and give
expression to the movements ideals of non-violent social action. The songs I
just stood out especially during the movement would be Sam Cooke in 1963 had
written a song a change is gonna come he gave us that hope you know that a change
is gonna come up born by the river in a little tent so they talked about all of
the everybody's experience hard rocking and hard talking James Brown knits no
words when in 1968 he told African Americans to take pride in their racial
identity I'm black and I'm proud that that was huge for me just to be
able to hear those words being spoken with such conviction made me myself
growing up in the 70s and 80s black and proud James Brown made clear that racial
equality meant giving blacks access to education and jobs which would empower
them he's saying I don't want to know about it it gives me nothing open up the
door but this point was all I need is the
door to be open you'll have to give it to me I'll get it. Jazz and classical
pianist Nina Simone proclaimed her opposition to white supremacy with the
release of her 1964 album Nina Simone and concert that album contained the
song Mississippi goddamn which Simone wrote to condemn the assassination of
civil rights leader Medgar Evers and the Birmingham church bombing Nina Simone
and a lot of her songs little girl blue four women she really talked about the
strength of African Americans she did not victimize african-americans
who were either oppressed a repressed or depressed she really said despite our
struggles and hardships we are strong. In 1967 when Aretha Franklin released her
song respect her rendition of Otis Redding's original recording was seen by
some as an anthem for the movement RESPECT and that was not only for just
a female but to respect female but to respect us as people
fashion became emblematic of the pride and aspirations of civil rights
activists the press suits colorful dresses and polished shoes were worn not
for entertainment but as a means of combating damaging racial stereotypes.
People who were involved in the movement wanted to make sure that they
represented and the way in which they represented was to dress in suits with
ties Sunday dresses John Lewis made the point to me once that Beverly the reason
we wore suits is because we didn't want them to disrespect and treat us like
second-class citizens. As the movement progressed so did cultural awareness
blacks adopted African dress and embraced natural hairstyles as an
outward expression of their shared African ancestry we hadn't wanted to
identify with a movement and we had to dress the pot we want to go back to
Africa and we want to put our dashikis on our khufu kind of hat that I have on
now fashion became a tool for visual communication whether it's the afros
that spoke to black power and black pride a sense of black
self-consciousness or the Kente cloth that people would wear was also a
statement of the fact that I'm conscious of who I am and and what I am and what I
believe kente cloth is a cloth that developed in
Africa and Ghana and Senegal symbolized all of brilliant colors in Africa. During
the mid-1960s the power of dress to affirm racial identity and pride moved
into the urban black communities of more overtly political overtones. In Oakland
California, the Black Panther Party was formed after the assassination of
Malcolm X in February 21st 1965. The BlackBerry's the black leather
jackets and the black pants of the Black Panthers epitomize strength. While many
rejected the Black Panther party's platform, the impact of their dress
resonated in the hearts and minds of many african-americans. We had on the
black teams the black leather jackets and as a symbol of a panther a slick
strong animal not a lion but a panther so it was black black symbolizing power.
Born in Birmingham Alabama in 1944 Angela Davis joined several radical
groups including the Communist Party and the Black Panthers. The natural afro
hairstyle worn by Davis was seen by some as a fashion statement and by others as
an act of rebellion. Just the image of Angela was recognized worldwide as a
rebellious and a stance for freedom and her hair was was part of that statement.
During the 1960's the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNICK) organized the famous Freedom Rides throughout the south to challenge legal
segregation but some members of SNICK became increasingly disenchanted with
Dr. King's philosophy of non-violent action.
Well Stokely Carmichael the leader of snick conducted a movement among young
people and he wasn't really opposed to Dr. King but he felt Dr. King's
nonviolent movement was too gradual too slow using moral suasion and he came up
with the concept of black power instead of soul power said black power and he he
balled fist up and he held that fists up as a symbol of power
what has scared white people of death because they thought was getting ready
to just attack them but it really wasn't about them it was about a clenched fist
symbolized power and it was solid black and strong and we were strong black
people. After Malcolm X's release from prison
and his ascension through the ranks of the Nation of Islam he became a
controversial advocate for black rights known for his forceful rhetoric Malcolm
X was also known for his sense of style wearing either a traditional black suit
and tie while at other times at Kris bowtie Malcolm X's persona became one of
the prominent images of the Nation of Islam while I'm not a Muslim I'm not a
member of the Nation of Islam there's still something in the bowtie there's
still something in that conservative dress that nice clean shirt not bold
lines and so on and so forth that affects me today just seeing that is
what a strong black man looks like and he wore demonstrators protest u.s.
involvement in the Vietnam War in the late 1960s the strategies of the
movement spilled over into the anti-vietnam War protests these young
men and women acquired many of their tactics from their observations of our
involvement in the civil rights movement the flower children is for speaking of
the beatniks they call them and young European people young Lacock said
European white people always want to be in the movement and they would come to
our meetings and when we've allowed them to be involved and they wanted to
integrate also so they wore blue jeans and different things and and met with
African Americans and it was a love children you call it we was pressing
that black and white can get together and wasn't afraid to show it. Dr. King
openly opposed the Vietnam War many civil rights activists believe that Dr.
King's opposition to the war with alienate president Lyndon B Johnson who
had aggressively push for the passage of the landmark civil rights acts of 1964
and 1965 Dr. King was a little disgusted of
course with the war and he called Stokely Carmichael and all the civil
rights movers together for his sermon at his
church to denounced the war in Vietnam in essence he said that there's a war on
poverty that need to be fought here. This was one instance where a large majority
of vast majority of people in American society was against the war and so
clothing became a symbol of that what we wore spoke to that we had blue jeans
that had peace signs on on the back of them. We thought we were changing the
world that was our goal was to change the way human beings treated each other
in the way government's treated their citizens. He estimated 125,000 Manhattan
marchers includes students pass wires beatnik poets doctors businessmen
teachers priests and nuns makeup and costumes were bizarre. Similar to the
songs that captured the spirit of those seeking racial equality many popular
musicians wrote songs in opposition to the Vietnam War in 1971
Marvin Gaye released what's going on I think those songs gave me a sense of
strength and a sense of pride and it also showed me how the arts in any genre
from music to fine art to theater can be used as a megaphone. The struggle for
civil rights transformed America this transformation took place alongside
fundamental political social and cultural changes while advocates for
racial equality had divergent philosophies on how to achieve their
goals their voices were united in the belief that two nations when suffering
under the vestiges of slavery inequality the other free could no longer coexist
in spite of the dangers in spite of the threats to their physical body or to
their lives they move forward because they knew that they were all unified for
the same cause and that was the cause of freedom justice and equality