Sing for Freedom: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Its Songs

by Candie Carawan (Editor), Guy Carawan (Editor), Julian Bond (Foreword by)

Overview

Two classic collections of freedom songs, We Shall Overcome (1963) and Freedom Is A Constant Struggle (1968), are reprinted here in a single edition which includes a major new introduction by the editors, words and music to songs, important documentary photographs, and scores of firsthand accounts by participants in this key movement which reshaped U.S. history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781588381934
Publisher:	University of Georgia Press
Publication date:	04/01/2007
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

CANDIE CARAWAN, with her husband Guy Carawan, compiled We Shall Overcome: Songs of the Southern Freedom Movement and contributed to Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: An Anthology of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. They have been associated with the Highlander Research and Education Center for more than forty years. Throughout the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, the Carawans organized cultural workshops at Highlander and in the field, focused on civil rights, citizenship education in the Sea Islands, and coalfield and environmental organizing in Appalachia.

GUY CARAWAN (1927–2015) was an educator, writer, musician, and collector who dedicated himself to preserving the culture of the South and fighting for the civil rights of its common people. He and his spouse, Candie Carawan, had a decades-long association with the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. The Carawans served as consultants to the public television productions of "Eyes on the Prize" and "History of the Song 'We Shall Overcome.'" Their books include Ain't You Got a Right to the Tree of Life? (Georgia), We Shall Overcome, and Freedom Is a Constant Struggle.

JULIAN BOND has been chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors since February 1998. He is a Distinguished Scholar in the School of Government at American University in Washington, D.C., and a professor in the Department of History at the University of Virginia.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Julian Bond     ix
Editor's Note on Style and Organization     xi
Preface to the 2007 Edition   Guy and Candie Carawan     xiii
Preface to the 1992 Edition   Guy and Candie Carawan     xvii
We Shall Overcome     3
Introduction [from the 1963 edition]     5
1960: Sit-Ins, Stand-Ins, Wade-Ins, Kneel-Ins, Etc.     7
1961: Freedom Rides     37
1961-62: Albany, Georgia     53
1962-63: Voter Registration     71
1963: Greenwood, Birmingham     89
Freedom Is A Constant Struggle     101
Introduction [from the 1968 edition]     103
1963-64: I Got On My Traveling Shoes     105
1964: Freedom Is A Constant Struggle     147
I Been in the Storm So Long     185
1963-65: Oh, Wallace, You Never Can Jail Us All     207
1966-68: We Got the Whole World Shakin'     225
Bibliography     254
Photograph Credits     255
Index of Song Titles     256
General Index     259

Editorial Reviews

Music is powerful; it can bring joy, laughter, sadness, and most importantly, change. Sing for Freedom: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Its Songs is a look at music and its impact on the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Packed with sheet music, lyrics, and information on various major songs and how they pushed progress in history, Sing for Freedom is enhanced with black and white photographs. A fresh perspective on the period, Sing for Freedom is highly recommended for community library black studies and music collections.

The Midwest Book Review

If it hadn't been for Guy and Candie Carawan, many of these songs might have been lost to history. How lucky America is that these priceless collections are now in print again. Freedom-loving people around the world and in future centuries will continue to be inspired by these songs, learn from them, and use them in their own struggles for a better world.

Pete Seeger

More than a songbook, this collection places the important repertoire of the civil rights movement in historical perspective with photographs, interviews, and oral histories of activists. Guy and Candie Carawan traveled throughout the South in the early 1960s with tape recorder, guitar, and banjo in hand—taking part, joining in the music, and collecting the songs and experiences of those making history. This book breathes with the spirit of those exciting times.

Harry Belafonte

In Sing for Freedom, Guy and Candie Carawan have crafted an invaluable and indispensable guide to the songs that illuminated the soul and spirit of our freedom struggle. This richly illustrated and beautifully written book reveals the inspiring, healing, and liberating power of song in social struggle. It is a major contribution to our heritage and it should be read and treasured by freedom- and justice-loving people everywhere.

Coretta Scott King

In Sing for Freedom, Guy and Candie Carawan have crafted an invaluable and indispensable guide to the songs that illuminated the soul and spirit of our freedom struggle. This richly illustrated and beautifully written book reveals the inspiring, healing, and liberating power of song in social struggle. It is a major contribution to our heritage and it should be read and treasured by freedom- and justice-loving people everywhere. — Coretta Scott King

Source

Music is powerful; it can bring joy, laughter, sadness, and most importantly, change. Sing for Freedom: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Its Songs is a look at music and its impact on the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Packed with sheet music, lyrics, and information on various major songs and how they pushed progress in history, Sing for Freedom is enhanced with black and white photographs. A fresh perspective on the period, Sing for Freedom is highly recommended for community library black studies and music collections. — The Midwest Book Review

In Sing for Freedom, Guy and Candie Carawan have crafted an invaluable and indispensable guide to the songs that illuminated the soul and spirit of our freedom struggle. This richly illustrated and beautifully written book reveals the inspiring, healing, and liberating power of song in social struggle. It is a major contribution to our heritage and it should be read and treasured by freedom- and justice-loving people everywhere. — Coretta Scott King

If it hadn't been for Guy and Candie Carawan, many of these songs might have been lost to history. How lucky America is that these priceless collections are now in print again. Freedom-loving people around the world and in future centuries will continue to be inspired by these songs, learn from them, and use them in their own struggles for a better world. — Pete Seeger

More than a songbook, this collection places the important repertoire of the civil rights movement in historical perspective with photographs, interviews, and oral histories of activists. Guy and Candie Carawan traveled throughout the South in the early 1960s with tape recorder, guitar, and banjo in hand—taking part, joining in the music, and collecting the songs and experiences of those making history. This book breathes with the spirit of those exciting times. — Harry Belafonte

From the Publisher