“The freedom songs are playing a strong and vital role in our struggle,”

“the soul of the movement,”

– Martin Luther King

Music is apart of culture, expression, our daily lives and great events in history.

Music has been, and continues to be, used as a crucial tool for change because it speaks to many people in ways just words cannot.

This video I created with Parker hopefully has proved this statement and given you a new understanding of the power music can have.

To create this video we did extensive research, crafted a script, recorded audio, and found and created our own footage. I’m not going to go into detail about the drafts and work done for this blog, but I will however go into detail about what I learned.

History of Music

In all probability, music has played an important role in the lifecycle of humans perhaps even before we could speak. Significant evidence has been discovered that very early man developed primitive flutes from animal bones and used stones and wood as percussion.

During the medieval period music was a dominant art in taverns to cathedrals, practised by kings to paupers alike. Alongside many other important forms came the madrigal that often reflects the moods and feelings of the people of the time.

The Renaissance (1450 – 1600) was a golden period in music history. As instrumental pieces became accepted into the repertoire, we find the development of instruments like the bassoon and the trombone giving rise to larger and more elaborate instrumental groupings. This gave composers far more scope to explore and express their creative ideas than before

Freedom Songs

From the Montgomery bus boycott onward, music was an integral part of the civil rights movement.“We Shall Overcome,” a song with its roots coming from the Highlander Folk School during the labor struggles of the 1940s, became the unofficial anthem of the movement.

The songs of campaigns, led by student activists, moved beyond traditional church music. Younger activists made up new lyrics, giving new life to many traditional songs.

Protest Music Today

Our generation of protesters today knows that if you want justice now there is value in having some sort of battle cry.  Using songs unifies the movement, expresses our needs and soothes each hurt soul all at the same time.

Hip-hop has emerged as society’s driving force when it comes to protest music. Just like their ancestors that were involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, a lot of hip-hop artists and rappers haven’t been afraid to let their opinions be heard. Similar to the song, “We Shall Overcome“, Lamar’s song, “Alright“,  has become an almost unofficial anthem for those protesting injustice in the African American community.

The purpose of protest music is to bring a movement together. As long as we keep using these new tools, such as social media, to let our voices be heard and unite people together, the sanctity of protest music will live on.