SNCC 50th Anniversary Conference. Volume 38, Closing program : Bernice Johnson Reagon, "solidarity of past, present and future"

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Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.). 50th Anniversary Conference (2010 : Raleigh, N.C.)

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SNCC 50th Anniversary Conference Volume 38 - Closing Program: Bernice Johnson Reagon, "Solidarity of Past, Present and Future" FEATURED SPEAKER: Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon "What you hear in Bernice...

SNCC 50th Anniversary Conference Volume 38 - Closing Program: Bernice Johnson Reagon, "Solidarity of Past, Present and Future" FEATURED SPEAKER: Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon "What you hear in Bernice's songs is the essence of struggle," says Judy Richardson introducing Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon. And Reagon declares that "I am standing on ground plowed by people before I came into being." She describes her deep involvement with the freedom struggle in Albany, Georgia. A noted scholar of Black music, she says that the spirituals, often thought of as old people's music, "leaped into service in jail cells in the 1960s." The cultural history of Black people has always reflected what Black people expect from life on earth. Her presentation in song and spoken word outlines the history expressed by Black spiritual music and how it connects to contemporary struggle. "You will not be able to get through your life if you dismiss the ground you're standing on."

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