Sing for Freedom: The African American Song as a Weapon in Emancipating Cultural Identity in the American Civil Rights Movement
Loading...
Date
2022-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UNIVERSITY OF MOHAMED BOUDIAF
Abstract
ABSTRACT
This dissertation sheds light upon two of the most influential aspect of the Civil Rights
Movement which are music and cultural identity. By analyzing some of the most
famous songs of the time period, the purpose behind the present study is to investigate
the role of the African American song in not only achieving equality but also
emancipating their cultural identity. Music is an artistic form of expression of people’s
suffering that always seeks to communicate their issues through encrypted messages.
From coded work songs during slavery time to the adamant freedom songs in the
sixties, black music was able to flourish and evolve into this form of art during the
events of the Civil Rights Movement. Freedom Songs had an effecting power over
African Americans who suffered for years from suppressing their blackness, singing
became an existential experience through which African Americans decolonized their
minds and constructed a new identity. By using W.E.B. Du Bois ‘ double
consciousness theory and Critical discourse Theory, this study reveals the importance
of the African American song during that era.
Description
Keywords
keywords : African Americans, music, culture and identity, protest songs, spirituals, American civil rights movement.