We Shall Overcome Aids, Pete Seeger
December 1st of each year is World AIDS Day. In a 2006 CNN news report about the growing aids pandemic, children in the newscast were singing, "We Shall Overcome."
"We Shall Overcome," which is largely attributed to iconic folk singer and activist Pete Seeger (although the song has a much longer and deeper history than even Seeger's legacy -- he was born in 1919), has been primarily associated with the American Civil Rights Movement.
SIDEBAR: President Lyndon Baines Johnson made a famous speech before Congress in 1965 introducing important new Civil Rights legislation. The speech is known as the "We Shall Overcome" speech and can be heard in its entirety here.
While racism still exists, much of that particular evil has been vanquished, in no small part due to the likes of Pete Seeger and countless other artist/activists.
The world is now face to face with a new global epidemic, HIV/AIDS, fueled by ignorance, apathy and poverty. Not so coincidentally, it is these same factors that feed the sickness of bigotry and violence associated with the plight of African Americans and oppressed peoples everywhere.
Just as appalling as racial injustice throughout the world, is the staggering cost in human suffering of this new menace, AIDS.
These are the facts and figures surrounding this crisis (as published by Avert.org, "an international HIV and AIDS charity based in the UK, with the aim of AVERTing HIV and AIDS worldwide":
• People living with HIV/AIDS in 2006: 39.5 million
We SHALL overcome. We MUST overcome. It is our responsibility as world citizens to turn back the tide of global poverty, genocide, and the proliferation of AIDS, NOW. Study "We Shall Overcome." Sing it, hear it, believe it, and whenever, wherever possible, act on it.
We Shall Overcome Lyrics
We shall overcome
CHORUS:
We'll walk hand in hand
CHORUS
We shall all be free
CHORUS
We are not afraid
CHORUS
We are not alone
CHORUS
The whole wide world around
CHORUS
We shall overcome
Says The Library of Congress, "It was the most powerful song of the 20th century. It started out in church pews and picket lines, inspired one of the greatest freedom movements in U.S. history, and went on to topple governments and bring about reform all over the world. Word for word, the short, simple lyrics of "We Shall Overcome" might be some of the most influential words in the English language."
Click here to listen to a midi version of "We Shall Overcome" from SongTrellis.com.
See a pdf transcription by Tom Gersic here. Says Gersic, "This arrangement is based off of the recording of the SNCC Freedom Singers with Pete Seeger. The recording can be found on the 4 CD Set, American Roots Music, published by Palm Pictures, and also on the CD Sing for Freedom, published by Smithsonian Folkways Records."
Listen to the fascinating history of "We Shall Overcome" on NPR (National Public Radio). "It began as a folk work song, became a hymn, and then was used politically for the first time on the picket lines of the tobacco workers' strike in South Carolina in 1945. In the early 1960s, it became an inspirational force in the civil rights struggle. We hear from Pete Seeger, Guy and Candi Carawan of the Highlander Center, and Dr. Bernice Johnson-Reagon, one of the founding members of the Freedom Singers." —NPR About Pete Seeger:
"Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919) almost universally known as 'Pete Seeger,' is a folk singer and political activist. As a member of the Weavers, he had a string of hits, including a 1949 recording of Leadbelly's 'Goodnight Irene' that topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. He was a major contributor to folk and pioneer of protest music in the 1950s and the 1960s.
"He is perhaps best known today as the author or co-author of the songs 'Where Have All the Flowers Gone,' 'If I Had a Hammer,' and 'Turn, Turn, Turn,' which have been recorded by many artists both in and outside the folk revival movement and are still sung throughout the world. 'Flowers' was a hit recording for The Kingston Trio (1962), Marlene Dietrich, who recorded it in English, German and French (1962), and Johnny Rivers (1965). 'If I Had a Hammer' was a hit for Peter, Paul & Mary (1962) and Trini Lopez (1963), while The Byrds popularized 'Turn, Turn, Turn in the mid-1960s." —Wikipedia
How Can I Keep from Singing: Pete Seeger
More on the history and impact of "We Shall Overcome" and the Civil Rights Movement
More on Pete Seeger:
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