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BLACK HISTORY
MONTH
ISSUE 3
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THE RISE OF AN ANTHEM. "We Shall Overcome" is frequently referred to as the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. Originally a 19th-century hymn, it was used as a labor song in the 1940s; Zilphia Horton of the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee heard African American tobacco workers singing it on a picket line in 1946. One of those workers, Lucille Simmons, changed the original lyric from "I" to "We" making it more powerful for a mass movement. Horton added some verses and taught this version to Pete Seeger in 1947. In April, 1960 folk singer Guy Carawan sang it to the founding convention of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Raleigh, North Carolina, and it quickly spread throughout the Civil Rights Movement. Seeger, Carawan, and Frank Hamilton copyrighted the song to protect it from becoming a commercialized pop song. All royalties go to the nonprofit We Shall Overcome Fund, which provides grants to assist African American musicians in the South. Several versions of "We Shall Overcome" are available for listening. We hear two versions from Civil Rights mass meetings (in Nashville, Tennessee and Selma, Alabama), followed by a version sung by Pete Seeger. "We Shall Overcome" and the many other songs of the Civil Rights Movement speak deeply of the determination, nonviolent resistance, and spirit of this turbulent time. Wherever and however they were sung, the freedom songs reflected their roots in African American cultural tradition. Join us this month for special events and opportunities to celebrate, learn, and share.  Peace, Rev Cathy Alexander
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PEOPLE AND MUSIC OF BLACK HISTORY
ELLA BAKER (1903-1986)
Teaching others to stand up and fight is how Ella Baker, an instrumental force in the turbulent Civil Rights era, is best described. While known by many, her heroism still goes unrecognized by the mainstream public.
A dynamo behind the scenes, Baker had many labels: organizer, leader and activist, as well as friend and advisor to one of the more prominent names of the decade, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Baker had a large hand in creating the organizations that helped spur the Civil Rights Movement. She and King co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Baker was also responsible for helping form the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
Her remarkable career began with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, where Baker worked as an organizer in 1935, traveling throughout the nation for the cause. Baker complemented King's spokesperson role in the SCLC by taking on the less public role of inside organizer and executive director. In this position, Baker helped to construct more than 65 affiliates.
Students, both black and white, became involved in the movement, which led Baker to support the idea of a student-run organization. She encouraged young people to found SNCC, which successfully put together voter registration drives.
As if this wasn't enough, Baker was an advisor to the creation of the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party (MDFP), which helped to overturn the all-white Democratic party delegation to the party conventions.
Affectionately known as the Fundi, a Swahili word for a person who passes skills from one generation to another, Baker shaped the Civil Rights movement in the ultimate way: by doing it without seeking fame or recognition and truly making a difference.
SONGS OF THE MOVEMENT AND THEIR SOURCES
Bernice Johnson Reagon, a song leader of the Movement and civil rights music historian writes, "The core of Civil Rights Movement songs was formed from the reservoir of the Black American traditional song repertoire and older styles of singing. This music base was expanded to include most of the popular Black American music forms and singing techniques of the period. From this storehouse, activist song leaders made a new music for a changed time." Many traditional hymns and spirituals sung in the Movement were not explicitly about civil rights and freedom, but they had multiple layers of meaning that made them relevant in this context. They became potent freedom songs. Other hymns and spirituals were adapted with new words to emphasize the struggle for freedom and related issues, such as voting rights.
In addition to traditional spirituals, popular music of the 1950s was a rich source for Civil Rights song leaders. "Calypso Freedom" is based on the popular Caribbean "Banana Boat Song" recorded by Harry Belafonte. The new lyrics describe the experiences of the Nashville Freedom Riders. Some songs used humor and irony to make their point, as in "Your Dog Loves My Dog." The songs were sung in many different contexts: in churches, in mass meetings (often held in churches), at marches, rallies, and workshops.
CIVIL RIGHTS SONG LEADERS
Bernice Johnson Reagon, singer, song leader, civil rights activist, and scholar, is a profound contributor to African American culture. Bernice was born in Albany, Georgia, in 1942. She recorded her first solo album, Folk Songs: The South, with Folkways Records in 1965. As she writes, "My history was wrapped carefully for me by my fore-parents in the songs of the church, the work fields, and the blues. Ever since this discovery I've been trying to find myself, using the first music I've ever known as a basic foundation for my search for truth."
In the 1960s, Bernice was an integral part of the African American struggle for civil rights. Her work started in her hometown of Albany, where protests and marches were often accompanied by massive arrests. She found inspiration in the songs elders would sing at mass meetings and community gatherings, and music took on greater meaning for her. She writes, "As a singer and activist in the Albany Movement, I sang and heard the freedom songs, and saw them pull together sections of the Black community at times when other means of communication were ineffective. It was the first time that I knew the power of song to be an instrument for the articulation of our community concerns." 
Along with Cordell Reagon, Rutha Harris, and Charles Neblett, Bernice founded the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) Freedom Singers, the first group of freedom singers to travel nationally. The SNCC Freedom Singers recognized that singing provided an outlet of protest for those who might normally have been intimidated by racist authority or mobs, and allowed those outside the struggle to become directly engaged.
Through the SNCC Freedom Singers and her own work, Bernice became a strong and respected song leader in the Civil Rights Movement. James Foreman wrote about Bernice: "I remember seeing you lift your beautiful black head, stand squarely on your feet, your lips trembling as the melodious words 'Over my head, I see freedom in the air' came forth with an urgency and a pain that brought out a sense of intense renewal and commitment of liberation. And when the call came to protest the jailings, you were up front. You led the line. Your feet hit the dirty pavement with a sureness of direction. You walked proudly onward singing 'this little light of mine, 'and the people echoed, 'shine, shine, shine.'"
For decades, Bernice has made groundbreaking contributions to the arts, the humanities, and social struggles. Bernice's quest for artistic excellence, knowledge, and social justice has been closely connected to the daily social and religious lives, aspirations, and aesthetic and performance traditions of the Black Belt South. This brought her into contact and collaboration with artists and communities across the world, extending her artistic vision and informing her creativity and voice.
Bernice has chronicled African American religious, social, and cultural history through her artistry and scholarship.
She is the founder-director of the Harambee Singers (1968-1970) and founder-artistic director of Sweet Honey in The Rock (1970-2004). Her books include Black People and Their Culture and We'll Understand It Better By and By. Her Ph. D. dissertation work at Howard University informed Voices of the Civil Rights Movement, reissued in 1997 by Smithsonian Folkways. She received a George F. Peabody Award as principal scholar, conceptual producer, and host of the path-breaking Smithsonian Folkways and National Public Radio series Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions. She is also the recipient of The Charles E. Frankel Prize, Presidential Medal, for outstanding contributions to public understanding of the humanities, a MacArthur Fellows Program award, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change Trumpet of Conscience Award, among others.
Bernice continues to document African American music and inspire future generations as Distinguished Professor of History at American University in Washington, D. C., and Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History.
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OUR PRIDE IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2PM
Please come join us in this Black History Month Celebration recognizing "Our Pride in History."
Our Black History Month Celebration includes Readings of history, Salute to Bayard Rustin/James Baldwin/Audre Lorde, Our Importance in Our Heroes Project, Singing, Praising and Dancing.
EXPLORING THE LIFE, WRITINGS, AND RELATIONSHIPS OF HOWARD THURMAN
PASTOR'S GROUP, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 7PM
 In honor of Black History Month Rev Dwayne and Rev Cathy will explore the
life, writings and relationships of Howard Thurman. Howard Thurman, who was born on November 18, 1899 and died on April 10, 1981, was an influential African American author, philosopher, theologian, dynamic preacher, educator and civil rights leader. He was Dean of Chapel at Howard University and Boston University for more than two decades, and in 1944 helped found a multicultural church.
Thurman was a prolific author, writing 20 books of ethical and cultural criticism. The most famous of his works, Jesus and the Disinherited (1949), deeply influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders, both black and white, of the modern Civil Rights Movement. He served as spiritual advisor and mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Please join us on Thursday, February 27 at 7PM in the Welcome Hall. Contact Rev Cathy for additional information at [email protected] or 202-638-7373.
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 BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION WORSHIP ARTS MINISTRY, SUNDAY, MARCH 2, 3PM Each Sunday in February the Worship Arts Ministries will be celebrating Black History Month through special music and spoken word. Black History Month with culminate on Sunday March 2, at 3pm with our Celebration of Black History Month Concert. We will be joined by special guests B.E.L.I.E.V.E - an ASL (American Sign Language) performance group. Plan to attend church, have brunch locally, and come back for our Black History Month Celebration.
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METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH
OF WASHINGTON, DC
474 RIDGE STREET NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20001
202-638-7373
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STAY CONNECTED  
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