1939-1964
Released in 1964, this folk song was written as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the time, influenced by Irish and Scottish ballads.
What is "The Times They Are A-Changin’" by Bob Dylan?
Written in 1964, this R&B song quickly became an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement after the artist was shot at a Los Angeles motel two weeks before the song was released.
What is "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke?
Released in 1988, this controversial rap song highlights the ongoing tensions between African American urban youth and law enforcement.
What is "F*ck Tha Police" by N.W.A.?
This hip-hop soul song was produced in 2014 for the film Selma. The song's main focus is on inequality, and talks about the deprivation of the people who were segregated.
What is "Glory" by Common?
Produced in 2018, this hip-hop song touches on gun violence, the precarious state of black bodies in the US, and how we've historically used entertainment to distract us from pervasive cultural and political problems.
What is "This Is America" by Childish Gambino?
Released in 1939, this grim jazz song became an anthem of the anti-lynching movement and the first significant song of the newly developing Civil Rights Movement.
What is "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holliday?
Released in 1965, this soul song that offers a message of redemption and forgiveness was often used to get people marching, or calm and comfort them during Civil Rights Movement rallies.
What is "People Get Ready" by The Impressions?
Released in 1989, this rap song written for the movie Do The Right Thing epitomizes the emotion of the Black Struggle and demands equal representation.
What is "Fight The Power" by Public Enemy?
Written in 2014, this rock song talks about the ongoing discrimination against Blacks and how they get the absurd facades as though something is being done about it.
What is "The Charade" by D'Angelo?
Produced in 2015, this rap song has become an important protest song in the Black Lives Matter Movement. This song's chorus was first used in protest in Cleveland the year it was released.
What is "Alright" by Kendrick Lamar?
Released in 1964, this iconic jazz protest song encapsulates the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Alabama, the murder of Medgar Evers in Mississippi, and the attacks by vicious dogs against the non-violent freedom fighters throughout the South.
What is "Mississippi Goddam" by Nina Simone?
Released in 1968, this funk song about black pride became an anthem for the Black Power movement and held the number-one spot on the R&B singles chart for six weeks.
What is "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" by James Brown?
Written in 1973, this R&B song is about a young black man who experiences discrimination in looking for work, seeks to escape to New York City, and eventually gets sent to jail for ten years for a crime he didn't commit.
What is "Living For The City" by Stevie Wonder?
Written in 2007, this R&B song based on the religious hymn "I Shall Not Be Moved" was sang during the twentieth-century to express unity and conviction.
What is "We Shall Not Be Moved" by Mavis Staples?
Produced in 2020, this protest hip-hop song released following the murder of George Floyd calls for justice against police brutality while maintaining an optimistic attitude towards the situation.
What is "The Bigger Picture" by Lil Baby?
Written in 1963, this blues song based on "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles was one of the "freedom songs" sung in order to fundraise and organize on behalf of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
What is "Get Your Rights, Jack" by The Freedom Singers?
Released in 1965, this jazz song that inspired civil rights leaders was recorded just weeks after Martin Luther King led the march from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama, an act that was crucial in the the passing of the Voting Rights Act five months later.
What is "Freedom Highway" by The Staple Singers?
Produced in 1971, this jazz song's title became a slogan that has resonated through the decades, showcasing the message of righteous anger and political assertiveness for generations of rebels and dissidents.
What is "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Hereon?
The artist who wrote this protest rock song in 2014 encouraged fans to leave a donation in order to assist Ferguson protestors' legal battles.
What is "Marching on Ferguson" by Tom Morello?
Produced in 2016, this country/rock song is a work about the cultural violence toward black women, and about disassembling its systemic power.
What is "Freedom" by Beyoncé?
Written in 1960, this blues song performed at Spellman College in Atlanta during the "Sit-in-Show-Down" was one of the earliest new freedom songs created from the R&B charts.
What is "The A&P Song" by The Freedom Singers?
Released in 1965, this jazz song reflects the joy that people felt following the completion of the third march to Montgomery.
What is "The Selma March" by Grant Green?
Written in 1987, this purely instrumental jazz song performed on the saxophone and organ was one of many songs with the same name that all showed acknowledgement of the past and a confidence in the future.
What is "Lift Every Voice And Sing" by Jimmy McGriff?
Written in 2014, this hip-hop song is a reworking of the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music and was dedicated to those fighting for racial equality in Ferguson, Missouri.
What is "Black Rage" by Lauryn Hill?
Released in 2015, this blues song was written following the Charleston church shooting and shares the idea that no matter what privilege you have, when the system is broken everybody loses.
What is "Cry No More" by Rhiannon Giddens?