We Shall Overcome is a protest song that became a key anthem of the US civil rights movement. A protest song is a song which protests problems in society such as injustice, racial discrimination, war, globalization, inflation, social inequalities, incarceration, and global warming. ... An anthem is a composition to an English religious text sung in the context of an Anglican service. ... The civil rights movement in the United States has been a long, primarily nonviolent struggle to bring full civil rights and equality under the law to all citizens of United States. ...

History

The phrase derives from a gospel song, possibly a 1903 song by Rev. Charles Tindley of Philadelphia containing the repeated line "I'll overcome some day", but more likely a later gospel song containing the line "Deep in my heart, I do believe / I'll overcome some day." However, there are also earlier acknowledgements of the song date, with Pete Seeger, one of the first artists to record the song, noting that various versions of it can be traced to integrated meetings of black and white coal miners in the early 1900s and to black churches in the 1800s.^[1] Gospel music is a musical genre characterized by dominant vocals (often with strong use of harmony) referencing lyrics of a religious nature, particularly Christian. ... Rev. ... Nickname: Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: , Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Government  - Mayor John F. Street (D) Area  - City 369. ... Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919), almost universally known as Pete Seeger, is a folk singer, political activist, and author. ...

In Charleston, South Carolina in 1946, striking employees of the American Tobacco Company, mostly African American women, were singing hymns on the picket line. A woman named Lucille Simmons sang a slow "long meter style" version of the song, as "We'll Overcome". Zilphia Horton, a white woman and the wife of the co-founder of the Highlander Folk School (later Highlander Research and Education Center) learned it from her. The next year she taught it to Pete Seeger.^[2] Nickname: Motto: Aedes Mores Juraque Curat (She cares for her temples, customs, and rights) Location of Charleston in South Carolina. ... The American Tobacco Company was founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke as a merger between a number of tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... The subject of this article may not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... In 1932, Myles Horton and Don West founded the Highlander Folk School (later changed to the Highlander Research and Education Center) outside the town of Mounteagle in Grundy County, Tennessee in order to provide an educational center in the South for the training of rural and industrial leaders, and for... Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919), almost universally known as Pete Seeger, is a folk singer, political activist, and author. ...

Pete Seeger (or someone else, he himself isn't sure and writes that it may have been Highlander's Septima Clark) changed "We will overcome" to "We shall overcome"; Seeger sang it with others at the founding meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh, N.C., in 1960. He added some verses ("We'll walk hand in hand", "The whole wide world around") and taught it to Californian singer Frank Hamilton, who taught it to Guy Carawan, who re-introduced it to Highlander in 1959. From there, it spread orally and became an anthem of southern African American labor union and civil rights activism. ^[3] Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919), almost universally known as Pete Seeger, is a folk singer, political activist, and author. ... Septima Poinsette Clark (May 3, 1898-1987) was an American educator and civil rights activist. ... The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (or SNCC, pronounced snick) was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Frank Hamilton is the name of: Frank Hastings Hamilton - was an U.S. surgeon Frank Fletcher Hamilton - was a Canadian P.C. M.P. Category: ... Guy Carawan (born July 27, 1927) is a folk musician and Music Director and Song Leader for the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. ... The U.S. Southern states or the South, also known colloquially as Dixie, constitute a distinctive region covering a large portion of the United States, with its own unique heritage, historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers...

From 1963 on, the song was associated with Joan Baez, who recorded it and performed it at a number of Civil Rights marches and years later at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Joan Chandos Baez (born January 9, 1941) is an American folk singer and songwriter known for her highly individual vocal style. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a historic event held at Max Yasgurs 600 acre (2. ...

On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson used the phrase "We shall overcome" in a speech before Congress.^[4] Only a few days before, "Bloody Sunday" had occurred on the Selma to Montgomery marches. is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908–January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. ... John Lewis (on right in trench coat) and Hosea Williams (on the left) lead marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, March 7, 1965 The Selma to Montgomery marches, which included Bloody Sunday, were three marches that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. ...

Farmworkers in the United States sang the song in Spanish during the strikes and grape boycotts of the late 1960s.

Bruce Springsteen re-interpreted the song, which has been included on Where Have All the Flowers Gone: A Tribute to Pete Seeger, and his 2006 album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an influential American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ... Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919), almost universally known as Pete Seeger, is a folk singer, political activist, and author. ...

In 1999, National Public Radio included this song in the "NPR 100," in which NPR's music editors sought to compile the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century. “NPR” redirects here. ...

The song later found its way to South Africa in the later years of the anti-apartheid movement.^[5] A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ...

It was also the song Abie Nathan chose to play as the Voice of Peace on October 1st 1993. Abie Nathan was born in Persia in 1927 and spent his adolescent years in Bombay. ... The Voice of Peace (Hebrew: קול השלום - Kol Hashalom) was a radio station that serviced Israel and the Middle East for 20 years. ...

In India, its literal translation in Hindi "Hum Honge Kaamyab / Ek Din" became a patriotic/spiritual song during the 1980s, particularly in schools, and the song's popularity has continued to endure.

In the Bengali-speaking region of India and in Bangladesh there are actually two versions, both of which are incredibly popular among school-children and political activists. "Amra Karbo Joy" (a literal translation) was translated by the Bengali folk singer Hemanga Biswas and re-recorded by Bhupen Hazarika. Another version, translated by Shibdas Bandyopadhyay, "Ek Din Surjyer Bhor" (literally translated as "One Day The Sun Will Rise") was recorded by the Calcutta Youth Choir arranged by Ruma Guha Thakurta during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence and became one of the largest selling Bengali records of all time. It was a particular favourite song of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and regularly sung at public events after Bangladesh gained independence. Bengali or Bangla (IPA: ) is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit, Pāli and Sanskrit languages. ... Bhupen Hazarika is a multi-faceted artist from Assam, a state in the north-eastern part of India. ... Calcutta Youth Choir (Bengali: ক্যালকাটা ইয়ুথ কয়্যার) was set up in 1958 by Ruma Guha Thakurta with Salil Chowdhury and Satyajit Ray. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... http://en. ... Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Bangla: শেখ মুজিবর রহমান Shekh Mujibur Rôhman) (March 17, 1920 – August 15, 1975) was a Bengali political leader in East Pakistan and the founding leader of Bangladesh. ...

In the Indian State of Kerala, the traditional Communist stronghold, the song became popular in college campuses in late 1970s. It was the struggle song of the Students Federation of India SFI, the largest student organisation in the country. The song translated to the regional language Malayalam as Njangal Vijayikkum...... Oru Nal by N. P. Chandrasekharan, an activist of SFI, in 1980. The translation followed the same tune of the original song. Later it was also published in Student, the monthly of SFI in Malayalam. , Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... Flag of the Students Federation of India Students Federation of India (SFI) is one of the major student organisations of India. ... Malayalam (മലയാളം ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ...

Copyright and royalties

Copyright on the song is held by Seeger, Carawan and Hamilton. Seeger explained that he took out a defensive copyright on advice of his publisher to prevent someone else from doing so and "At that time we didn't know Lucille Simmons' name." [Seeger, 1993, 33] All royalties from the song go to the "We Shall Overcome" Fund, administered by Highlander and used to give small grants for cultural expression involving African Americans organizing in the U.S. South.^[6] Copyright symbol Copyright is a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. ...

See also

• American Civil Rights Movement Timeline
• Pete Seeger
• We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
• Guy Carawan

This is a timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement. ... Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919), almost universally known as Pete Seeger, is a folk singer, political activist, and author. ... Guy Carawan (born July 27, 1927) is a folk musician and Music Director and Song Leader for the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. ...

Notes

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an influential American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

External links

• Susanne´s Folksong-Notizen, excerpts from various articles, liner notes, etc. about "We Shall Overcome".
• Musical Transcription of "We Shall Overcome". Based on recording of SNCC Freedom Singers with Pete Seeger.
• NPR news article including full streaming versions of Pete Seeger's classic Carnegie hall live recording and Bruce Springsteen's tribute version.
• "Something about that song haunts you" essay on the history of "We Shall Overcome," Complicated Fun, June 9, 2006

References

• Dunaway, David, How Can I Keep from Singing: Pete Seeger, (orig. pub. 1981, reissued 1990). Da Capo, New York, ISBN 0-306-80399-2.
• Seeger, Pete and Blood, Peter (Ed.), Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: A Singer's Stories, Songs, Seeds, Robberies (1993). Independent Publications Group, Sing Out Publications, ISBN 1-881322-01-7 .
• ___, "The We Shall Overcome Fund". Highlander Reports, newsletter of the Highlander Research and Education Center, August-November 2004, p.3.