Timeline

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Let Freedom Sing: Songs from the Movement

If you missed the live 2010 White House Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement, here’s the next best thing.

In January, 2009, Time Life released Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement.

The outstanding 3 CD box set includes 2 pages of provocative liner notes written by Public Enemy front man Chuck D.

His comments are part of a large, colorful, 40 page booklet that includes lots of facts about all the songs.

Chuck says “there’s a reason why listening to the past 100 years of black music can bring a sense of voice, sound, meaning, joy, and pain...as well as a historical timeline."

He adds “way before an iPod, these songs rang in my head as they navigated me through my near half a century of life."

What’s great about this collection is the representation of each of the post 1930 - 20th century decades.

Historical facts acknowledging key years pertaining to the civil rights movement are also included in their own highlighted paragraphs weaved between the elaborate music notes.

The Southern Sons kick things off on disc one with “Go Down Moses,” recorded in 1941.

Six of the tracks are from the 1930’s and 1940’s.  Four are from the 1950’s, including Nat King Cole’s stirring 1956 classic “We Are Americans Too."

As you’ll see from the track list below, no decade is left out. The best songs from the civil rights movement are included.

There are some excellent alternative versions rather than hits you might expect.

Otis Redding, not Sam Cooke sings “A Change is Gonna Come.” Bob & Marcia, not Nina Simone sings “Young, Gifted, and Black."

The liner notes have all the back-stories about why these versions were selected.

Watch our 90 second video to hear clips of 3 of the songs.

Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement:


    Disc One
  1. “Go Down Moses” - The Southern Sons, 1941
  2. “Strange Fruit” - Billie Holiday, 1939
  3. “Uncle Sam Says” - Josh White, 1941
  4. “ No Restricted Signs” - The Golden Gate Quartet, 1947
  5. “Black, Brown, and White” - Brownie McGhee, 1947
  6. “The Hammer Song (If I Had a Hammer)” - The Weavers, 1949
  7. “The Death of Emmett Till” parts 1 & 2 - The Ramparts, 1955,
  8. “When Do I Get To Be Called A Man” - Big Bill Broonzy, 1955
  9. “The Alabama Bus” - Brother Will Hairston, 1956
  10. “We Are Americans Too” - Nat King Cole, 1956
  11. “Why Am I Treated So Bad” - The Staple Singers, 1966
  12. “I Shall Not Be Moved” - The Harmonizing Four, 1959
  13. “Oh Freedom” - Harry Belafonte, 1959
  14. “Ride On, Red, Ride On” - Louisiana Red, 1962
  15. “Mississippi Goddam” - Nina Simone, 1964
  16. “ Blowin’ In The Wind” - Bob Dylan, 1962
  17. “We Shall Overcome” - Mahalia Jackson, 1963
  18. “Too Many Martyrs” - Phil Ochs, 1964
  19. “Alabama Blues” - J. B. Lenoir, 1965
  20. “Our Freedom Song” - The Jubilee Hummingbirds, 1965
  21. “A Change Is Gonna Come” - Otis Redding, 1965


    Disc Two
  1. “Forty Acres and A Mule” - Oscar Brown Jr., 1965
  2. “People Get Ready” - The Impressions, 1965
  3. “Nobody Can Turn Me Around” - The Mighty Clouds of Joy, 1966
  4. “I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)” - Solomon Burke, 1968
  5. “Respect” - Aretha Franklin, 1967
  6. “The Motor City is Burning” - John Lee Hooker, 1967
  7. “Cryin In The Streets” part 1 - George Perkins & The Silver Stars, 1968
  8. “Abraham, Martin, and John” - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, 1969
  9. “The Prayer” Ray Scott, 1970
  10. “Say It Loud - I’m Black and I’m Proud” part 1 - James Brown, 1968
  11. “And Black is Beautiful” - Nickie Lee, 1968
  12. “Sock It To ‘Em Soul Brother” - Bill Moss, 1969
  13. “Why I Sing The Blues” part 1 - B.B. King, 1969
  14. “I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothin (Open Up The Door, I’ll Get It Myself)” part 1 - James Brown, 1969
  15. “Stand!” - Sly & The Family Stone, 1969
  16. “Message From A Black Man” - The Temptations, 1969
  17. “Is It Because I’m Black” - Sly Johnson, 1969
  18. “I Was Born Blue” - Swamp Dogg, 1970
  19. “Yes, We Can” part 1 - Lee Dorsey, 1970
  20. “We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue” - Curtis Mayfield, 1970
  21. “Young, Gifted, and Black” - Bob & Marcia, 1970


    Disc Three
  1. “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” - Gil Scott-Heron, 1971
  2. “(For God’s Sake) Give More Power To The People” - The Chi-Lites, 1971
  3. “Smiling Faces Sometimes” - Undisputed Truth, 1971
  4. “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” - Marvin Gaye, 1971
  5. “Hercules” - Aaron Neville, 1973
  6. “Get Up, Stand Up” - Bob Marley and The Wailers, 1973
  7. “Fight The Power” part 1 - Isley Brothers, 1975
  8. “Give The People What They Want” - O’Jays, 1975
  9. “Black Is Black” - Jungle Brothers, 1988
  10. “Sister Rosa” - The Neville Brothers, 1989
  11. “The Pride” - Chuck D., 1996
  12. “Unity” - Sounds of Blackness, 2005
  13. “None of Us Are Free” - Solomon Burke, 2002
  14. “Eyes On The Prize” - The Sojourners, 2007
  15. “Down In Mississippi” - Mavis Staples, 2007
  16. “Free At Last” - The Blind Boys of Alabama, 2008

As you can see, this 3-disc box set is excellent.  Don’t know some of the artists?  Discover the songs by checking out Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/24 at 07:00 PM
Audio • Music • Civil Rights • Timeline • Video • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Nelson Mandela Marks a Milestone

On February 11, 2010, it will be 20 years since Nelson Mandela was released from a South African prison.

A political prison for over 25 years, a social activist for a lifetime, Nelson Mandela represents the very concept of liberation over oppression.

He worked in the gold mines of Johannesburg, South Africa, before earning a law degree from the University of South Africa in 1942.

Nelson Mandela timeline:

  1. 1944 - Joined the African National Congress.
  2. 1944 - Becomes secretary and president of the Congress Youth League.
  3. 1951 - Youth League President.
  4. 1955 - Helps to draft the ANC Freedom Charter.
  5. 1961 - Becomes honorary secretary of the All African National Action Council.
  6. 1961 - Becomes the leader of Umkonto, ANC’s underground paramilitary faction.
  7. 1962 - Sentenced to 5 years in prison for leaving South Africa without travel documents (and inciting riots).
  8. 1964 - Sentenced to life in prison for sabotage and treason.
  9. 1990 - Released from prison, February 11.
  10. 1991 - Elected ANC president.
  11. 1994 - Elected President of South Africa, April 27.
  12. 1994 - Inaugurated as President, May 12.
  13. 1999 - Leaves office, June.

Invictus, the 2009 film starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, dramatizes how the president used a 1995 Rugby match to unite South Africans.

Watch the promotional movie trailer for Invictus.

Look for more Mandela slices of life on the big screen.  Jennifer Hudson is scheduled to star as Winnie Mandela, his ex-wife in a forthcoming film.

Nelson Mandela’s life struggle has been to secure equal rights for black South Africans.  He’s been awarded numerous honors, including the Nobel Peace Prize (along with former South African President F.W. de Klerk) in 1993.

Check out Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 12/02 at 07:00 PM
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Tuesday, February 03, 2009

100 Years of the NAACP 1909 - 2009

The birthday party will last one year, and it starts on Thursday, February 12, 2009.

1,700 chapters across the USA will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NAACP through February 12, 2010.

Here is the official NAACP 1909 - 2009 timeline prepared by the National Associated for the Advancement of Colored People.

A century of tenure is behind their 100 year advocacy as a leader in the fight for civil rights, dignity, and equality.

Check out our own BlackHistoryPeople.com timeline featuring 15 NAACP facts (from Empower Encyclopedia):

  1. W.E.B. Du Bois was a co-founder of the NAACP in 1909.

  2. James Weldon Johnson, (1871-1938), wrote the famous poem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” - now known as the Negro National Anthem.  He joined the NAACP in 1916, and became Executive Secretary of the organization in 1920.

  3. Mary McLeod Bethune (1875 - 1955) was a champion for education, civil rights, and women’s rights.  She worked closely with the NAACP, and founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935.

  4. An activist for civil rights and education, Daisy Bates co-founded Arkansas’ State-Press Newspaper.  In 1953, she was elected President of the Arkansas Conference of NAACP branches.

  5. Dr. Joel E. Spingarn introduced the Spingarn Gold Medal in 1914 while he was Chairman of the Board of the NAACP.  The Spingarn award represented the highest of African American achievement, (similar to the NAACP Image Awards today).

  6. Attorney Constance Baker Motley, (1921 - 2005), started her brilliant civil rights career with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 1945 as a law clerk.

  7. Daisy Lampkin, (1883-1965), increased the visibility and membership of the NAACP through her fund raising leadership. She was involved in Pennsylvania State politics (1928) becoming the first African American woman from the commonwealth elected as a delegate at large to the GOP convention.  Lampkin began her career with the NAACP in 1929, serving the organization in numerous leadership roles.

  8. Thurgood Marshall, (1908-1993), became assistant special counsel for the NAACP in 1936, then chief counsel in 1938.

  9. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., (1929 - 1968), organized the Montgomery bus boycott with Rev. Ralph David Abernathy and the NAACP in 1955 after Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to whites.

  10. In the 1960’s Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was quite involved with civil rights as Field Secretary for Georgia’s NAACP.

  11. Margaret Bush Wilson was elected Chairman of the Board of the NAACP in 1975.

  12. Benjamin L. Hooks, in 1977, succeeded Roy Wilkins to become Executive Director of the nation’s top civil rights organization, the NAACP.

  13. Kweisi Mfume entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1987. He served until the end of the 104th Congress.  After Congress, Mfume accepted the position of President and CEO of the NAACP.

  14. An outspoken critic of offensive lyrics by music industry artists, Philadelphia native C. Delores Tucker, (1927 - 2005), served as Vice President of the Pennsylvania NAACP.

  15. Dr. Fredda Witherspoon, Ph.D., was President of the Missouri NAACP.

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Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/03 at 12:00 AM
Civil Rights • History • Timeline • (0) Comments • Permalink