This episode of The American Tapestry Project is the first of three exploring Protest Songs – that music of the excluded demonstrating the truth of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s exhortation that “the greatness of America is the right to protest for rights”. We’ll explore what is protest music, its global origins and examples from Beethoven’s celebration of the rights of man in the 9th Symphony’s “Ode to Joy” and Irish songs of rebellion, but we’ll focus on American protest music from “Yankee Doodle” to abolitionist songs to labor anthems to the great Civil Rights songs of mid-20th century America to anti-war songs during the Viet Nam War era down to today and songs seeking racial justice. Like they say on the late night infomercials, ‘all this and more’ as we explore American patriotic music and the freedom of which it sings – American freedom holidays on The American Tapestry Project.

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