Category talk:Songs of the civil rights movement

Michael, Row the Boat Ashore

I am pretty sure I read in one of Pete Seeger's books about "Michael" being among the songs sung in jail by arrested Civil Rights demonstrators, but I cannot seem to find the reference. If someone can find it (or another RS), then "Michael, Row" should be added to the category, and perhaps a sentence added to the song's article. PDGPA (talk) 17:07, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi PDGPA. Would probably need a source on that one, never heard of Michael being used as a movement song. Randy Kryn (talk) 18:25, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

Hi Randy Kryn. I found the source (Everybody Says Freedom: A History of the Civil Rights Movement in Songs and Pictures (1989) by Seeger, Reiser & the Carawans) and added it to the article on Michael, Row the Boat Ashore. I leave it to you, Randy, to decide whether it meets the criteria for the present category. Obviously, there are a lot of songs that could, including all those on the Smithsonian recording of songs and chants from the Selma to Montgomery march. A number of other candidates are referenced in The Movement Made Us by David Dennis Jr. & Sr. (2022), which I just read. PDGPA (talk) 20:27, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

Thank you PDGPA. Would rather the category be for songs used extensively and often by movement leaders and participants as movement songs during the years. A song sung in jail or a couple of times in church during a particular action would not qualify if it wasn't then picked up across the movement. "The Power of Freedom Songs" Bruce Hartford seems another well researched source. Randy Kryn (talk) 05:11, 23 October 2022 (UTC)