‘Music Of The Civil Rights Movement’ At Nashville Public Library
Award-winning folk singer Chris Vallillo will present “Music of the Civil Rights Movement” at the Nashville Public Library n Tuesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. Vallillo discusses the importance of music to the Civil Rights Movement and performs songs that inspired and sustained participants during this vital chapter in American history. This presentation commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Although there is no charge for this program, please call the Nashville Public Library at 327-3827 by Monday, March 30, so that sufficient seating can be arranged. Refreshments will be served following the program, which is sponsored by the Friends of the Nashville Public Library.
From “We Shall Overcome” to “This Little Light of Mine,” music played a vital role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, spreading the message of equality and justice and rallying people to the cause. Songs both old and new spoke of the yearning for freedom and the struggle and determination to attain it in ways that engaged and energized the movement and the nation. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called music “the soul of the movement.”
Having spent the last 30 years in the rural Midwest, Vallillo has a natural affinity for American roots music. Performing on six-string and bottleneck slide guitars and harmonica, his music has been described as “vivid, original story songs” delivered with an “eye for detail and a sense of history.” Vallillo has been the recipient of many awards over the years. More information about his programs, tours, and personal history can be viewed on his website, www.chrisvallillo.com.
This event is being produced in part by the Illinois Humanities Council’s Road Scholars Speakers Bureau, a program that provides organizations statewide with affordable, entertaining, and thought-provoking humanities events for their communities. The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Illinois General Assembly (through the Illinois Arts Council), as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations. The application fee for this grant was donated by the Friends of the Nashville Public Library.
