ENGL 306 | Rhetoric of Protest
Assignment
September 29, 2016
Erika Zigman
“We Shall
Overcome” in the Albany Movement
“We Shall Overcome”
became known as the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement due to its incredible
influence as a tool of rhetoric. One of its most notable uses was during the
Albany movement in Georgia. In 1952 “We Shall Overcome” was brought as a
powerful weapon of protest by the Freedom Singers and the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to unite and mobilize the African-American
population of Albany against oppression (Carson 58). The song broke the
tradition of accommodation in the black communities there through an
establishment of trust with the population and a well-structured and organized
performance of a protest song that would encourage participation to a degree
that had never been observed in this part of the South during the Civil Rights
Movement.
The exact
origins of “We Shall Overcome” are unknown, however, musicologists theorize that the song was developed from slave labor songs used in chattel slavery to
(1) set a good work pace and (2) serve as a symbol of defiance (Redmond 146). Although
the song has undergone significant modifications before its use in the Albany
movement during the Civil Rights Movement, its meaning remains the same. These final
changes to “We Shall Overcome” were brought about by the Freedom Singers, who
taught it to the black communities in Albany. The Freedom Singers were a group
of activists who received funding from the SNCC to travel throughout the South
in hopes of educating the black population on their basic civil liberties.
“We Shall
Overcome” was such an effective protest song because it caused the intended
audience to trust the performers. This was crucial for the song to be effective
in this specific context because the black population of Albany, like most
people of the time, feared a violent retaliation that may follow a protest
attempt. It is primarily that ‘mental block’ that resulted in their minimal
involvement in the Civil Rights Movement prior to the arrival of the Freedom
Singers (Carson 56). When the Freedom Singers had first come to Albany, the
mere mention of their name had caused individuals walking near them to cross to
the other side of the street (Carson 56). Therefore, in order for “We Shall
Overcome” to be an effective rhetorical object the black community in Albany
would need to know that the pay-off of their involvement in a protest would be
worth the costs. One way that this was achieved was in the way that “We Shall
Overcome” was performed. It was always performed calmly, confidently and in only
non-violent protests with all the protestors linking hands while swaying to the
music (Martin 33). The lack of excessive appeals to pathos, whether in terms of
coercion through intimidation or persuasion through emotional manipulation,
implies that the performers did not need to rely on pathos. This enhances the
authority and ethos of the performers, establishing trustworthiness. “We Shall
Overcome” further ingrains confidence and trust in the rhetor through a
demonstration of shared experiences and common interests. With the song’s roots
in folk music and hymns, it illustrates the shared ancestry between the rhetor
and the intended audience (Martin 23). It evokes emotional imagery of the generations
of oppression, making an appeal to pathos, but provides hope in the assurance
that “someday” they will overcome. Singing of shared history and bravery in the
face of such injustices and aggression results in a communal mental strength
that is key in overcoming the fear the comes with the vulnerability of body
rhetoric (Martin 23).
Once trust was
established, the transition to mobilization of the black population in Albany occurred
relatively smoothly. This is largely because “We Shall Overcome” was
specifically tailored to be inviting and encourage participation. When the song
was taught in Albany, it was done so in common time rather than the original ¾ tempo
(Redmond 150). Common time is easier to maintain, especially for those with
little to no musical experience. This intentional change allowed a wider range
of individuals to learn “We Shall Overcome”, made it easier to for a large
group to stay in sync over an extended period of time, and common time is also
the traditional tempo for marching rhythms, making “We Shall Overcome”
well-suited for picketing. An additional change that was made in Albany was a
change in chorus from the less inclusive ‘I shall overcome’ to the more
communal ‘we shall overcome’. The latter had already been the standard that was
used across the south by protestors, but the students had only known the former
before the Freedom Singers came to Georgia. The Freedom Singers and SNCC
insisted that the more collective vocabulary be used, they said that it was the
“proper” way to sing it (Martin 33). The consistency in the performance and
lyrics of “We Shall Overcome” was just as critical to the mobilization of the
African-Americans as was the simplification of the song because it more
strongly united a diverse group of individuals. These two key characteristics
of “We Shall Overcome” permitted to reach a broad spectrum of the black
community. Through the use of song, black members of rural communities could
now connect to groups, like students in higher education, that they would have
otherwise been unable to.
The Albany
movement itself was not successful, because of the efficiency of the police
response to the protests and the lack of a spectacle which would have resulted
from a violent response by the authorities and drawn the attention of the media
(Carson 56). However, “We Shall Overcome” as a tool of rhetoric was extremely
successful in mobilizing the black communities and maintaining the struggle
over an extended period of time. This was the first time that the SNCC had successfully
done so with such a large group of adults (Carson 65). In the following years,
these same protest characteristics were applied systematically to black communities
across the country during the Civil Rights Movement, solidifying the role of “We
Shall Overcome” as a powerful tool for protest through its characteristics that
encouraged participation and facilitated trust in the rhetors. As such a
successful rhetorical object, “We Shall Overcome” has resurfaced in protests for
civil rights around the world. It maintains relevance even today in the wake of
a new movement, Black Lives Matter, nearly a century after its ancestors
created it in hopes that someday they would overcome (Adams; Graham).
Works Cited
Adams, Noah. “The Inspiring Force of ‘We Shall Overcome” NPR. NPR, 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 02 Sept. 2016.
Bobetsky,
Victor V. We Shall Overcome: Essays on a
Great American Song. N.p.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Print.
Carson,
Clayborne. In Struggle: SNCC and the
Black Awakening of the 1960s. Harvard University Press, 1981, United States
of America.
Graham, David
A. “The Surprising History of ‘We Shall Overcome’” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 9 May 2015. Web. 02 Sept. 2016.
Martin,
Bradford D. The Theater is in the Street:
Politics and Performance in Sixties America. University of Massachusetts
Press, 2004, United States of America.
Morris,
Charles E., and Stephen Browne H. Readings
on the Rhetoric of Social Protest. Second ed. State College, PA: Strata
Pub., 2001. Print.
Redmond,
Shana L. Anthem: Social Movement and the
Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora. N.p.: New York U, 2013. Print.
Rolling
Stone. “’We Shall Overcome’: The Theme Song of Civil Rights.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 13 Jan.
2012. Web. 02 Sept. 2016
Stotts,
Stuart, Terrance Cummings, and Pete
Seeger. We Shall Overcome: A Song that Changed the World. New York:
Clarion, 2010. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment