Ain't nobody gonna turn me around

It's me, It's me oh Lord, Standing in the need of prayer

On Wednesday night we viewed 'Soundtrack for a Revolution', a documentary about the songs sung during the Civil Rights Movement. It is part of our 'Screening the Revolution' Film series. 'Soundtrack' followed the history of the Rev Dr King and the Civil rights movement from the Montgomery bus boycott to his murder in Memphis, with movement participants sharing their stories and singing songs they sung; in addition were modern performers singing the same music. In some ways it was part documentary, part music video, but the strength of the film was the honest portrayl of a particulary brutal period of our common history. A period where non-violent protestors faced the full armed force of Jim Crow Law. As one survivor descbied it: 'they could do what they want with you, and if you turned to the law for protection, well, you found out it was the law that beat you up!'

I've seen several documentaries about this period, one of the best is 'Eyes on the Prize' – one of the great documentary films ever (watch it, it is worth the eight hours running time). The strength of 'Soundtrack' is the focus on how the music of the movement kept the protestors going. It begins with a quote of Harry Belafonte 'You can cage the singer but not the song' followed by images of men and women singing, in rallies, whilst marching, in jail. Remarkable, inspiring. In seminary we learn the importance of music in worship, the faithful gathered in song; 'Give thanks to the Lord, Sing to Him a new song...' (Ps 33). Our worship of God includes song and our theology is learned in the songs we sing: Martin Luther's 'A mighty fortress is my God (Ein feste burg ist meine Gott)' is the battle hymn of the Protestant Reformation, or 'Amazing Grace' for William Wilberforce and the English Abolitionists.

Watching 'Soundtrack' I understood how the gospel songs became the battle hymns of this revolution, the hymns that kept the faithful going. 'Ain't nobody (gonna turn me around)', 'Wade in the water', 'We shall overcome' and other songs were taught to movement workers in their training sessions; they sang in full voice which gave power to the seemingly powerless, the everyday person.

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They took away everything but songs, which meant we kept our souls,' said one Freedom Rider; 'Ordinary people did extraordinary things' said the Hon. Julian Bond. Singing 'Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water' or 'Precious Lord, lead me on (lead me on)' feels so different now, so filled with that righteous Holy Spirit guiding us toward doing the Right Thing.

As I reflect on what we saw Wednesday in 'Soundtrack for a Revolution' I understand that when we sing our hymns in church we need to sing loudly, proudly; remembering we can do extraordinary things, and when it seems everything is lost, we still have our souls and we can still sing.

Join me now, sisters and brothers:

'Ain't nobody gonna turn me around, gonna keep on a walkin'

Keep on a talkin', marchin' on to freedom land.'

see you about Turk and Lyon for our next film: 'Black Power Mixtape', Weds 8 Feb 7pm, the church hall.

-eric