Music Symbol Analysis

In Coming of Age in Mississippi, music, which is often depicted in the form of spirituals, symbolizes the power of collective hope in social movements. The two most prominent representations of music in the memoir are that of protest songs and that of church music. In the memoir, most of the rallies and marches are punctuated by protest songs, demonstrating their importance in keeping the spirit of the movement. Though at the end of the memoir Anne is burnt out as she boards the bus to Washington with the other activists, the music of “We Shall Overcome” overtures the scene and fuels the young activists. During. Anne’s work visiting rural Black churches, Anne writes that “listening to those old Negroes sing freedom songs was like listening to music from heaven,” and observes that “they seemed to be waiting for God to call them home and end all the suffering.” Though thee end goals of these spirituals are different from those of protest songs, Anne understands that music provides hope that, for Anne and her peers, is channeled into protest songs and actions.