Browse Items (19 total)

Written in direct response to the 1963 Birmingham, Alabama Church bombing which killed 4 African American girls, this song can be used to instruct students on the shifting attitudes surrounding the conversation on race relations and the Civil Rights…

This song introduces the common Blues music themes of crossroads and collective suffering. Crossroads, high traffic vehicular roads, feature prominently as landmarks in the Mississippi Delta area that Johnson called home. In the song, Johnson tries…

The song could be used as an example of the loose narrative and references to the supernatural and/or folk beliefs often found within the blues genre. Though the song lacks a linear narrative, the collection of somewhat unrelated vignettes which…

This song can be used to introduce students to Civil Rights songs, many of which spoke to the movement's optimism. However, this song was unique in comparison to other songs such as "We Shall Overcome" for not being as optimistic. Like many other…

Minstrel songs were part of 19th-century pop music. "The Old Folks at Home" was originally sung from the perspective of an enslaved person longing for his life on the plantation. The song remains Florida's state song but its lyrics have undergone…

This song can be used to teach about the Reconstruction-era South racism and the dangerous working conditions found in the building of U.S. railroads. John Henry is an African-American folk hero from Virginia who, according to legend, was victorious…

Many of those living in the Appalachians can trace their heritage back to England and Scotland, where they have a longstanding folk song tradition. As the song has no definitive author/s, several versions of this song exist as it was common to alter…

This song could be used to introduce students to murder ballads, a subgenre of folk music. Like many other Appalachian murder ballads, "Knoxville Girl" is an adaptation of British broadside ballads. Once brought over to the States, these ballads were…

This song can be used to teach about the Reconstruction-era South racism and the dangerous working conditions found in the building of U.S. railroads. John Henry is an African-American folk hero from Virginia who, according to legend, was victorious…