User:Heruiter21/The Freedom Singers

Lead
The Freedom Singers originated as a quartet formed in 1962 at Albany State College in Albany, Georgia. After folk singer Pete Seeger witnessed the power of their congregational-style of singing, which fused black Baptist a cappella church singing with popular music at the time, as well as protest songs and chants. Churches were considered to be safe spaces, acting as a shelter from the racism of the outside world. As a result, churches paved the way for the creation of the freedom song. After witnessing the influence of freedom songs, Seeger suggested The Freedom Singers as a touring group to the SNCC executive secretary James Forman as a way to fuel future campaigns. Intrinsically connected, their performances drew aid and support to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the emerging civil rights movement. As a result, communal song became essential to empowering and educating audiences about civil rights issues and a powerful social weapon of influence in the fight against Jim Crow segregation. Their most notable song “We Shall Not Be Moved” translated from the original Freedom Singers to the second generation of Freedom Singers, and finally to the Freedom Voices, made up of field secretaries from SNCC. "We Shall Not Be Moved" is considered by many to be the "face" of the Civil Rights movement. Rutha Mae Harris, a former freedom singer, speculated that without the music force of broad communal singing, the civil rights movement may not have resonated beyond of the struggles of the Jim Crow South. Since the Freedom Singers were so successful, a second group was created called the Freedom Voices.

Connection of Churches to The Freedom Singers
Churches played a crucial role in the Civil Rights movement, often times hosting gatherings to mobilize people and offering a safe space from racist intimidation. It was at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church on November 25, 1961, that the Freedom Song made its debut at a mass gathering. Freedom songs were drawn from both popular music in Black culture at the time, and from church hymns. As author, Richard King, notes, "freedom songs were particularly striking ways of making a presence known to the hostile whites and to the nation- and to the participants themselves." It was the church environment, where tradition met current culture, that shaped the style of the Freedom Singers. According to original Freedom Singer Rutha Mae Harris, "It was the only place we could congregate as blacks, were our churches". During early demonstrations, music was not a part of the organizing strategy. These gatherings were usually silent out of fear of being charged with rowdiness. After the first initial meeting, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) leaders realized very quickly the power that Freedom Songs had on the movement. They knew that "humble people who would never speak out in public were not afraid to raise their voices in songs." It was this idea that prompted them to create the Freedom Singers.

Freedom Singers' Connection to SNCC
The Albany Movement brought the original Freedom Singers, then the second group of Freedom Singers, which still included Charles Neblett of the original group. Finally, came the Freedom Voices, made up of field secretaries from SNCC.

Notable Songs
"We Shall Not Be Moved" was another gospel song that served as a staple for the Freedom Singers. As a gospel song, the song produced both a "religious experience and a sense of community." The song was performed frequently across many notable venues, including Carnegie Hall. One of their most famous performances of the song took place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington in 1963. The song was sung from the same podium that Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, prompting many of the marchers to join in song. "We Shall Not Be Moved," among other freedom songs, were also sang in moments of defeat. As a result, "We Shall Not Be Moved" is considered by many to be the "face" of the Civil Rights movement.