Hear the stories of three people involved in the 1960s civil rights movement and how singing influenced their lives at the Marblehead Racial Justice Team meeting on Monday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m.
This meeeting, during Black History Month, will reveal ways that music played different roles at different times in the southern freedom movement. Music energized and motivated people, creating a “beloved community” of the protesters who demanded that all Americans have equal access to public venues and to voting and legal systems. Many of these college-age activists adapted popular songs, advertising jingles and ballads, as well as gospel songs and spirituals. In them, they expressed their hopes, fears and frustrations.
Some of the most iconic songs include “We Shall Overcome,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “This Little Light of Mine.” Whether walking picket lines in front of stores and businesses, trudging down highways at marches or during nightly “mass meetings” in churches, singers became revitalized for the difficult and dangerous days ahead.
People can attend the meeting via Zoom or in person at the Marblehead Museum, 170 Washington St., Marblehead.
Register HERE.
Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist who has written hundreds of stories for local newspapers, including the Marblehead Reporter. She also works as a PR specialist.