The 25 Most Important Civil Rights Moments in Music History

In the long, ongoing battle over equality for all, these songs are the soundtrack.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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One of Black American culture's greatest contributions to the world: The American Civil Rights Movement. Of course, it wasn't created in a vacuum. The philosophical origins of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolence can be directly attributed to those who came before, like Mahatma Gandhi. But the Black American Civil Rights Movement operated as the hinge, creating a means of action to push back against the powerful, and furthering the cause of women's rights, gay and lesbian rights, and equality for all. 

Every step of the way, music played a crucial role. The conflicts and tensions boiling just beneath the surface sprang up through song. Sometimes artists addressed issues explicitly, in an attempt to change minds and hearts. Or they simply created transcendent art, providing therapeutic release and reaching diverse audiences, and helping them to find common ground. Or they soundtracked movements, permanently linking shared culture to historical moment.

Music provides a window into history, and history provides a window into music. Here is a chronological survey of the twenty-five most important Civil Rights moments in music history. And vice versa.

Fight the power: These are The 25 Most Important Civil Rights Moments in Music History

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"Lift Every Voice" First Performed at Stanton School for Booker T. Washington

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Billie Holiday Sings "Strange Fruit" for the First Time

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Marian Anderson Performs at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter

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Chuck Berry's "Duckwalk" Integrates Southern Dancehalls

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Charles Mingus Records "Fables of Faubus"

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Ray Charles Refuses to Play in Augusta

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John Coltrane Records "Alabama"

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Sam Cooke Records "A Change Is Gonna Come"

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Nina Simone Performs "Mississippi Goddam" at Carnegie Hall

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Harry Belafonte and Petula Clark "Touch" on National Television

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James Brown "Saves Boston" from Riots with Televised Concert

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Sly Stone Confronts Racism on Stand!

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"We Shall Overcome" at the Stonewall Riots

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Jimi Hendrix Performs "Machine Gun" on the Dick Cavett Show

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Curtis Mayfield Gets Candid About Black America on Curtis

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Marvin Gaye Releases "What's Going On" As a Single

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The Wattstax Music Festival Is Held in L.A.

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The Zaire '74 Music Festival

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Fela Releases "Zombie" and His Compound is Attacked by Soldiers

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Date: February 18, 1977

Turned on to the Black Panther Party by his girlfriend Sandra Smith during a 1969 trip to the United States, Nigerian musician/activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti began infusing his Afrobeat music with revolutionary messages. In 1977 he and his band Afrika 70 released the album Zombie, whose brazen title track was a thinly veiled audio attack on the Nigerian army soldiers who backed up the corrupt regime that was making the independent African nation a "prison of people." The powers that be were not amused, and sent hundreds of soldiers to attack Fela's compound, which he referred to as the Kalakuta Republic. During the raid Fela was beaten, his compound and recording studio burned, and his mother was thrown from a window. She later died, and Fela responded by delivering her coffin to the steps of the military barracks in Lagos Nigeria. He would later write the song "Coffin for Head of State," form his own political party, and run for president in the 1980 elections—proving Fela's maxim that "Music is the weapon of the future."

Bob Marley's "One Love" Benefit Concert

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Stevie Wonder Performs "Happy Birthday" at the Rally for Peace

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Michael Jackson's "Thriller" Breaks Down MTV's Racial Barrier

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Public Enemy Releases "Fight The Power" As a Single

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Elton John and Eminem's Duet at The Grammys

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Kanye West Calls Out George W. Bush

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