We Shall Overcome: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 33 1/3 long playing vinyl record (a) with album jacket (b) titled "We Shall Overcome" by The Freedom Singers chorus group. The vinyl record has a red center label with black and white text and a Mercury Records logo at the top. The front cover of the album jacket features a color photograph of The Freedom Singers at center, wearing bright yellow, green and blue clothing, standing in front of a wooden background with their arms crossed in front of them and linked together. The rest of the jacket has a black background with white type reading ["WE SHALL OVERCOME" / FREEDOM SINGERS] at the top and a track-listing in white text beneath the center photo reading [DOGS - WOKE UP - I'M A MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW - GET ON BOARD - COTTON EYE JOE / PICK A BALE OF COTTON - WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED - SYLVIE - WE SHALL OVERCOME / AIN'T GONNA LET NOBODY TURN ME AROUND - FREEDOM TRAIN - THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE]. At bottom center is a Mercury Records logo. At bottom right, white and blue text reads [MERCURY HI-FIDELITY MG 20879]. The back of the album jacket is white with printed black text. At top left is a small black-and-white photograph of the singers with their arms linked and bold text reading [the freedom singers are true american folk singers, / singing american folk songs of / freedom and their heritage]. This is followed by a short summary of the group written by Len Dressler and brief biographies of each member of the group: Rutha Harris, Bernice Johnson, Cordell Hull Reagon, Charles Neblett, and Bertha Gober. The bottom half of the back cover has a track listing.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1963
• Published by: Mercury Records, American, founded 1945
• Recorded by: The Freedom Singers, American, founded 1962
• Subject of: Rutha Mae Harris, American, born 1940
• Subject of: Bernice Johnson Reagon, American, 1942 - 2024
• Subject of: Cordell Hull Reagon, American, 1943 - 1996
• Subject of: Charles Neblett, American, born 1941
• Type: record covers
• Type: long-playing records
• Medium: vinyl with ink on paper and cardboard
• Dimensions: Diameter (vinyl record): 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (album jacket): 12 1/4 × 12 1/4 in. (31.1 × 31.1 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Folk (Music)
• Topic: Resistance
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.197.12ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dwandalyn R. Reece
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.