Music During The Civil Rights Movement

Music has power. Rather, music is power. Music is expression. Music shows emotion. Music holds memories. History lives on, through music. From slave songs, to Civil Rights raps, the words strung together had a goal in mind. The goal? To ignite feelings within a pinpointed crowd. Whether it be feelings of grief, happiness, rebellion, or anger. There are many ways that music impacted history, specifically during the civil rights movement. It helped to spread the message of the movement and unite people against injustice. Music was a powerful tool for communication and expression. It was used to inspire and motivate people, to call for change, and to express the emotions and experiences of those involved in the movement. Music was a way to connect

To spread the message of justice and equality during the Civil Rights Movement, music was crucial due to the exposure to crowds all over America. Whether you supported the Civil Rights Movement or not, you still were exposed to a variety of music that surrounded the topic. Specifically during the 1960s, people accessed music through many ways such as on the radio, vinyl records, and live performances. The radio was a popular source of music and many people tuned in to hear the latest hits during this time period. Vinyl records were also a popular way to listen to music at home. Live performances were another way people accessed music, and many musicians performed at rallies and protests during the movement. Live performances that took place mainly in the South were very impactful and achieved the purpose of unifying big crowds towards one goal: regaining basic human rights. In St. Louis during a protest for the Civil Rights Movement, U.S. armed troops showed up with tanks and tear gassed massive crowds. Many phrases were publicized, such as “Missouri God Damn” and “South Carolina God Damn” and singer and songwriter, Nina Simone used these phrases to her advantage. In 1964, Nina Simone performed the song inspired by the brutality and it changed her career for the better. This allowed Simone to make her opinions available to the public,

Whether the structure of the music created a cognitive ease and psychologically induced the audience, or the lyrics presented complex concepts, the production of music during this time was revolutionary. It continued to shape the music industry in the future, and remained a staple mark during the movement when looking back in history. The lyrics provided inspiration that was hard to find during the time, it provided courage, and allowed for the crowds to have hope. Even when getting bombarded with discrimination. No matter what the protesters were going through at the time, music guided them through it. Music brought them back to their roots, and music kept them connected, when the world was trying to string them