We Shall Overcome

A celebration of the gospel anthem and Civil Rights protest song "We Shall Overcome," masterfully brought to life by Caldecott Honor recipient and a nine-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Bryan Collier. "We Shall Overcome" is one of the most recognizable anthems of the Civil Rights movement, widely performed at protests and rallies to promote nonviolent civil rights activism. Now, these inspirational, empowering, legendary lyrics are brought to life with the stirring, evocative, and breathtaking illustrations from multi-award-winning talent Bryan Collier. Powerfully imagined for the present moment, Collier's illustrations meld the most emblematic moments of the twentieth-century Civil Rights movement with the present day, depicting the movements, protests, and demonstrations -- big and small -- as the fight for justice continues. With illustrations full of depth, tenderness, and expression, and offering historical context while remaining powerfully relevant to the present-day, this impactful picture book is a must-have for every home, classroom, and bookshelf.

Traces the history of the inspiring anthem and explains how it has come to represent the right for equality and freedom around the world.

“We Shall Overcome” isn’t a complicated piece of music. The first verse has only twenty-two words, most of them repeated. The melody is straightforward. The chords are basic. Yet the song has had a profound effect on people throughout the United States—and the world. In clear, accessible language Stuart Stotts explores the roots of the tune and the lyrics in traditional African music and Christian hymns. He demonstrates the key role “We Shall Overcome” played in the civil rights, labor, and anti-war movements in America. And he traces the song’s transformation into an international anthem. With its dramatic stories and memorable quotes, this saga of a famous piece of music offers a unique way of looking at social history. Author’s note, bibliography, source notes, index.

EVERYTHING you think you know about the song, "We Shall Overcome..".is WRONG. This is the Shocking, Untold Story of the iconic freedom-song, We Shall Overcome and its TRUE author, Louise Shropshire - a sharecropper's daughter and self-proclaimed "nobody," who through love and dedication to God, Gospel-music and the African-American Church, overcomes racism and poverty to find herself in the inner-circle of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey and the Civil Rights Movement. Along her way, Shropshire composes and copyrights a popular Gospel-hymn, which is secularized and hijacked by Pete Seeger and his powerful associates known to insiders as the "Folk Mafia." The sacred song is then unlawfully copyrighted by Seeger and his associates then peddled for untold millions all over the globe by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen and countless others. Featuring more than 160 extraordinary photographs, this well sourced and cited compendium not only describes the disturbing details surrounding the misappropriation of Louise Shropshire's sacred hymn, but also explores the historical attitudes of Black-exploitation, subjugation and racism in America by non culture-bearers. -Attitudes that enabled such an unthinkable act to occur in the first place, and remain unchallenged for half a century. Although the US Library of Congress has called We Shall Overcome; "The Most Powerful Song of the 20th Century..".a song that raked in untold millions in royalties for its hijackers, Louise Shropshire would die penniless and unrecognized.

Uses the words of spirituals and other music of the time to frame a discussion of the civil rights movement in the United States, focusing on specific people, incidents, and court cases.

"Despite America's commitment to civil rights from the earliest days of nationhood, examples of injustices against minorities stain many pages of U.S. history. The battle for racial, ethnic, and gender fairness remains unfinished."--Back cover.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

How the Nashville press covered the civil rights struggle through images