Albany Civil Rights Institute

Songs of the Movement #RuthaHarris #CharlesSherrod

This is Rutha Harris of Albany, Georgia. She is one of the founding members of the SNCC Freedom Singers. Other members of the quartet included Bernice Johnson...-Reagon, also of Albany, her husband Cordell Reagon of Nashville, Tenn. and Chuck Neblett of Chicago, Illinois. Bernice, as many of you may recall, went on to later found the Harambee Singers and the legendary acapella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock. More than anything it was the voices of these gifted souls that carried those tumultuous days of struggle between being carted off to some dank and dark cell, or worse, being battered by a policeman’s club. The songs they sang made all the difference and gave us all a sense of invincibility. When those songs moved through you, you felt as if you could move mountains. The Freedom Singers were the life line of the Movement. They traveled all over the country performing on college campuses, concert halls, outdoor festivals and places of worship...raising much needed funds to support Movement initiatives. On a recent visit to the Albany Civil Rights Institute, I ran into Ruth who was performing at the Old Mount Zion Baptist Church (next door). Turns out once a month she is introducing Freedom songs to a new generation by performing at the church. It was an enlightening experience to see her continuing the tradition of Call and Response through one of the most powerful voices one will ever hear. I salute you, my dear sister, Rutha. Ase’ See more

#OnThisDay President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The bill outlawed literacy tests, poll taxes, and other practices that prevented many African Americans from voting. The law authorized the attorney general to send federal examiners to register African American voters in instances when he found local registrars were not doing their jobs. Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, along with Alaska, Arizona, I...daho, and Hawaii, were affected by the law. The Voting rights of indigenous groups specifically in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, and Hawaii had long been denied also. By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new African American voters were registered. This Act would not have passed without the tireless work of Charles Sherrod, Cordell Reagon, The Criterion Club, Albany/Dougherty NAACP, Aaron Brown, and the many ASC students who SNCC workers, local grassroots leaders, and organizations here in Southwest Georgia. Be sure YOU are registered to vote. #KnowYourStatus : LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto

We join the nation in mourning two civil rights icons, Rev. C. T. Vivian and Congressman John R. Lewis. May their legacies serve as a sobering reality of how hard and rare such courage they possessed was, how determined and constant activists had to be, and how much pressure people exerted against the movement. We extend our prayers to the family and loved ones of these giants. Rest in power.