Music as Protest: “We Shall Overcome”
Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.
Suggested Sequencing
- Use this Primary Source after discussing various civil rights movements during the 1960s and 1970s, including African American, Latinx, LGBTQ, women, and American Indians.
Introduction
“We Shall Overcome” is believed to have its origin in the gospel song, “I’ll Overcome Someday” by African American minister and composer Charles Tindley. The song was popularized in the 1960s by folk singers and activists Pete Seeger and Joan Baez and became the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the song in March 1968, just days before his assassination:
“There’s a little song that we sing in our movement down in the South. . . I’ve joined hands so often with students and others behind jail bars singing it: ‘We shall overcome.’ Sometimes we’ve had tears in our eyes when we joined together to sing it, but we still decided to sing it: ‘We shall overcome.’ Oh, before this victory’s won, some will have to get thrown in jail some more, but we shall overcome.”
This version of the song was performed by Joan Baez in 2010 at the White House during a celebration of music from the civil rights movement. Read the lyrics before listening to Baez’s performance and consider the power of the song’s message.
Sourcing Questions
- The origins of “We Shall Overcome” are difficult for historians to pinpoint precisely. Why would song lyrics be difficult to trace in the historical record?
- What insight can folk song lyrics provide for historians that official documents cannot?
View Joan Baez’s performance of “We Shall Overcome” at the White House on February 9, 2010 to hear the song.
| Text |
|---|
| We shall overcome We shall overcome We shall overcome some day |
| CHORUS: Oh, deep in my heart I do believe We shall overcome some day |
| We’ll walk hand in hand We’ll walk hand in hand We’ll walk hand in hand some day [CHORUS] |
| We shall all be free We shall all be free We shall all be free some day [CHORUS] |
| We are not afraid We are not afraid We are not afraid some day [CHORUS] |
| We are not alone We are not alone We are not alone some day [CHORUS] |
| The whole wide world around The whole wide world around The whole wide world around some day [CHORUS] |
| We shall overcome We shall overcome We shall overcome some day [CHORUS] |
Comprehension Questions
- Why would protesters in the civil rights era be afraid?
- How do the simplicity and repetition in this song reinforce its message of struggle and ultimate victory?
Historical Reasoning Questions
- “We Shall Overcome” has been adopted by protesters in other countries and in various contexts. How is the message of this song universal?
- Compare this song with the Negro spirituals of the Civil War era (see the Chapter 7 Negro Spirituals Primary Source). How are their messages similar? Different?
“We Shall Overcome” (video) https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AJoan_Baez_performs_We_Shall_Overcome_Feb_09_2010.ogv
“We Shall Overcome” (lyrics) https://www.k-state.edu/english/nelp/american.studies.s98/we.shall.overcome.html