Soundtrack for a Revolution Comes to PBS, May 9
“I’m not used to sitting next to them...,” said a white man about African Americans, as if they were exotic creatures or Martian invaders (thanks to The Twilight Zone, wasn’t everyone afraid of Martian invaders in the sixties?). This scene from Soundtrack for a Revolution reminds us how racially divided America once was (and sometimes still is).
American Experience (PBS) celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Freedom Rides in May with a showing of Soundtrack for a Revolution on Monday, May 9, 2011 (check local listings). The film is also available on DVD.
Soundtrack for a Revolution is a documentary about the role of music in the civil rights movement, and traces the history of the movement. It is certainly worth watching for the music alone (stirring renditions of “We Shall Overcome” evoke tears), but it is also a fascinating look at a chaotic period in American history. The film is filled with archival footage and interviews with civil rights activists, including Coretta Scott King, Julian Bond, Andrew Young, and Harry Belafonte.
Viewers may be startled to learn how a bus carrying peaceful demonstrators was bombed or hear the memories of veterans of the grass-roots Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in. As inspiring as the interviewees are, they can’t compete with the silent images of those arrested for participating in the civil rights movement. The spirit of these people—both black and white—is revealed in their smiling mug shots. They seem to tell us that they can be beaten and jailed, but they can’t be broken.
Current artist performances—Wyclef Jean, John Legend, Blind Boys of Alabama, Richie Havens, Joss Stone—complement footage of the singing of old spirituals with new words and spoken words of protest evolving into unifying anthems.
Soundtrack for a Revolution is built around many disturbing images that illustrate the hatred and ignorance that existed in a country where middle class protestors carried signs that said “Keep Alabama White,” and “They were asking for it...” was the amazing response of white Mississippians when three voters’ right workers, who were later found murdered, disappeared.
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