Oh Freedom- Golden Gospel Singers

Date song was produced:

 * 1963 March
 * The spiritual "Oh Freedom!" came into being soon after the end of slavery.

Location Produced:

 * Odetta, who recorded it as part of the "Spiritual Trilogy", on her Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues album
 * Washington

Social ill/problem being protested:

 * a post-Civil War African-American freedom song. It is often associated with the American Civil Rights Movement

Sample of the lyrics:
Oh, freedom, Oh, freedom

Oh freedom over me

And before I'd be a slave

I'd be buried in my grave

And go home to my Lord and be free

Relevance of the words and phrases selected: is the song convincing in the message?

 * The meaning behind these lyrics is that they would rather be dead than to be treated as property or nothing like that had in the past. They are fighting for the rights that they did not have and did not want to be turned back as to how they were before.
 * For example, when they state "Oh freedom over me, And before I'd be a slave, I'd be buried in my grave", this just goes to show how long-awaited the freedom has been. As they state that they would rather die than be a slave, which is understandable considering the conditions they were held upon.
 * Not only does it refer to freedom in the world to come after death, as many slave spirituals do, but it celebrates their new freedom in the here and now. In the 1950s and 1960s, the song was commonly sung as part of the Civil Rights Movement.

Trivia related to the events, people, and places:

 * Brown v. Board of Education.
 * Civil Rights Movement began in earnest. Through the efforts of organizers like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the resulting protests, the Civil Rights Act was signed in 1964.
 * July 2, 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, preventing employment discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion or national origin.
 * August 28, 1963: Approximately 250,000 people take part in The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The reasons you selected this song and/or musician:

 * This song greatly impacted us, the lyrics were simple but conveyed such a thoughtful message. In addition to this, it was a gospel song, and the uniform of the voices conveyed a message of unity, the chorus was beautiful to listen to. The meaning was powerful, thus indicating how African-American people had to fight for their rights.

External Links:

 * https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/segregation-united-states

https://www.balladofamerica.org/oh-freedom/

https://genius.com/The-golden-gospel-singers-oh-freedom-lyrics