In 1964, when she says “everybody knows about Mississippi” everyone would have known what she was talking about. Three young Freedom Riders (students traveling to the South to get black people registered to vote) were murdered by police in Philadelphia, MS and burred in an earthen damn.
President Johnson, pushing for the Civil Rights act at the time sent the FBI to investigate. Eventually, a snitch would lead the feds to the bodies, but during the search, they discovered 19 lynching victims unrelated to the case…Goddamn.
Simone debuted this song at Carnegie hall (this recording) and blew up her carrier in the process. The song was outlawed in several slave-holding States. (they said it was blasphemous, but it was the attack on White supremacy that aggravated them.)
There is a movie about this Called Mississippi Burning staring Gene Hackman and William Defoe.
The original song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teqWnF-HD1M (4:54)
In 1964, when she says “everybody knows about Mississippi” everyone would have known what she was talking about. Three young Freedom Riders (students traveling to the South to get black people registered to vote) were murdered by police in Philadelphia, MS and burred in an earthen damn.
President Johnson, pushing for the Civil Rights act at the time sent the FBI to investigate. Eventually, a snitch would lead the feds to the bodies, but during the search, they discovered 19 lynching victims unrelated to the case…Goddamn.
Simone debuted this song at Carnegie hall (this recording) and blew up her carrier in the process. The song was outlawed in several slave-holding States. (they said it was blasphemous, but it was the attack on White supremacy that aggravated them.)
There is a movie about this Called Mississippi Burning staring Gene Hackman and William Defoe.
Thanks for linking & providing the context, it’s a great song / performance.