We Shall Overcome singer Guy Carawan dies at 87
Source: BBC
Guy Carawan, whose rendition of We Shall Overcome became an anthem of the US civil rights movement, has died at the age of 87.
The white folk musician popularized the song by teaching it to a group of black activist students in 1960.
It was taken up as a rally cry and was sung at the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery led by Martin Luther King.
President Johnson also quoted the lyrics when describing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The song has a long oral history and can be traced back to a 19th Century church hymn.
It has since been performed by Tiananmen Square protesters and at the dismantled Berlin Wall, the Times reported.
"Playing music at these kinds of situations, it wasn't just another form of entertainment," Carawan told the Chicago Tribune in 1990.
"It was sustenance for people going through hard times."
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32651751
In addition to this song, Guy and his wife and musical/political partner Candie helped organize and and maintain the Highlander Folk School, which has helped train generations of activists for freedom, justice, peace and human equality
Another of the giants whose shoulders we stood on has passed.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)those people sat and trained many years ago. It has changed now, (though Myle's garden is still there) Horton and the larger vision seem gone, and those running it seem to focus more on smaller issues rather than freedom for everyone.
But Rosa Parks and others trained there, and you can still hear their voices if you listen hard enough.
Pete Seeger on We Shall Overcome.
countryjake
(8,554 posts)whistler162
(11,155 posts)NPR did a piece on him on Thursday May 8th.