Let Freedom Sing

Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. narrates this tuneful Time Life documentary (which premiered on TV One in February 2009) intertwining musical performances, archival materials, and contemporary interviews. For many of the musicians interviewed in this look at how much music inspired the Civil Rights movement, the segue from the church to civil rights activism was as much a natural transition as the path from gospel to jazz, blues, and soul. Gossett examines several songs that anticipated or reflected the times, such as Billie Holiday's “Strange Fruit,” James Brown's “Say It Loud—I'm Black and I'm Proud,” and Sam Cooke's “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Pete Seeger explains that some of the most famous songs updated traditional numbers, like “We Shall Overcome,” or Bob Dylan's “Blowin' in the Wind,” which took inspiration from the slave spiritual “No More Auction Block.” The music also had unintended consequences: while protestors sang to pass the time during incarceration and to raise flagging spirits, their singing irritated (and possibly helped to wear down) detractors. Other speakers include Ruth Brown, Ruby Dee, Gladys Knight, Isaac Hayes, Mavis Staples, and Quincy Jones. Covering 70 years and events in three countries—America, Jamaica, and South Africa—Let Freedom Sing features an even mix of recording artists and activists, who provide first-person accounts of sit-ins, marches, freedom rides, and other forms of civil disobedience, while authors, historians, and disc jockeys help tie the various narrative threads together. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (K. Fennessy)