The track begins with a spoken dedication to "all my ancestors who were raped, who were killed and hung because of their plight for freedom and for dignity." Aerle Taree takes the first verse, rapping, "I have marched until my feet have bled/And I have rioted until they called the feds/'What's left?,' my conscience said." What's left is revolution. These alternative hip-hop heavyweights recorded "Revolution" for use in the Spike Lee biopic on Malcolm X, who earns a shout-out here alongside Marcus Garvey and Harriet Tubman, among other social activists. Arrested Development, 'Revolution' (1992) Here's a look at 20 of the most enduring civil rights songs, from the song known as the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," and Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" to Lamar's "Alright."īest music of 2021: The top 20 albums that should be in every fan's collection 25. Many of the songs that people marched to in the '60s have retained their relevance, with people singing "We Shall Overcome" in the streets as recently as 2020.Īnd people are still adding new songs to that folk tradition, from Lauryn Hill's "Black Rage," to Kendrick Lamar's "Alright," a hip-hop song that emerged as a popular choice for people marching for their rights at Black Lives Matter protests. King considered the Impressions' song "People Get Ready" the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement.
Motown and civil rights: The Temptations Otis Williams reflects on life in the most successful singing group People marched to freedom songs while artists from Sam Cooke to Dylan took the message to the masses in recordings as enduring as "A Change is Gonna Come" and "Blowin' in the Wind." Music clearly played a starring role in the civil rights movement. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create, and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations." "God has wrought many things out of oppression. In a piece he wrote for the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival, King had this to say about the role of music in our lives: The March on Washington in 1963, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, featured live performances by Peter, Paul and Mary, Harry Belafonte, Marian Anderson, Mahalia Jackson, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, just to name a few.
had a deep respect for music as an instrument of change. View Gallery: Gallery: Best civil rights songs from 1939 to the present