This 2-CD set, subtitled Black American Freedom Songs, 1960-1966, contains 43 tracks that 'are a series of musical images, of a people in conversation about their determination to be free'. The songs draw from and re-arrange spirituals, gospel, r&b, football chants, blues and calypso. The first disc consists of recordings of mass meetings, primarily in churches, where African Americans of different backgrounds and a few white supporters drew strength and courage from singing together. The second disc gathers various ensembles such as the SNCC and CORE Freedom Singers. Includes several rare recordings by organizer/ orator/ songleader Fannie Lou Hamer! Liner notes by Bernice Johnson Reagon expound on African-American musical culture and its role in the Civil Rights movement. An essential cultural document.

Voices Of Civil Rights