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Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| This Little Light of Mine | |
|---|---|
| by Harry Dixon Loes | |
| Genre | Gospel |
| Written | 1920s |
| Based on | Matthew 5:14-16 Mark 4:21-22 Luke 11:33 |
"This Little Light of Mine" is an American gospel song that originated in the 1920s, when it was first sung in Christian churches and penitentiaries.[1] The hymn is often attributed to evangelist Harry Dixon Loes who is said to have written it for children, using the biblical passage about the lamp under a bushel as inspiration.[2] However, researchers at the Moody Bible Institute said they found no evidence that he wrote it, though they noted that Loes did create the popular arrangement of the hymn in the 1940s.[3][4] The gospel song became popular among African-American Christians,[5] and it was later adapted by Zilphia Horton, amongst many other activists, in connection with the civil rights movement.[6] "This Little Light of Mine" is printed in the hymnals of various Christian denominations.[2]
The origin of the song is unclear, but the phrase "This little light of mine" appears published in poetry by 1925 by Edward G. Ivins, a writer in Montana.[7][8] In 1931, the song is mentioned in a Los Angeles newspaper as "Deaconess Anderson's song".[9][10] In 1932, the song was mentioned in a 1932 Missouri newspaper.[11] In 1933, the song was mentioned in newspapers as being sung by a chorus at an African Methodist Episcopal conference in Helena, Montana, and then various other churches around the United States later that year.[12][13][14] In June 1934 John and Alan Lomax made its earliest known recording, of Jim Boyd of Jacksonville, Texas, singing at the State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.[15][16] In 1939 Lomax returned to Texas with Ruby Lomax during their Southern States Recording Trip and recorded the song again. This song and others were sung by a black woman, Doris McMurray[17] who was imprisoned at Thomas Goree Unit in Texas and said that she learned the song from her grandmother in Waco.[18] She sang the following lyrics, taught to her by her grandmother:
This little light o' mine, I'm goin' let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Ev'rywhere I go, I'm goin' let it shine (repeat)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
In my neighbor's home, I'm goin' let it shine (repeat)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Many other verses have been added over the years, including impromptu lines appropriate to the occasion. The song is sung around the world, with the simple lyrics and tune resonating with all ages. Harry Dixon Loes, who studied at the Moody Bible Institute and the American Conservatory of Music, was a musical composer and teacher, who wrote or co-wrote several other gospel songs. He wrote a popular adaptation of the song "This Little Light of Mine" in the 1940s but never copyrighted or claimed credit for writing the original, which remains of unknown origin.[19]
Often thought of as an African-American spiritual, it can be found in modern hymnals such as The United Methodist Hymnal, #585,[20] adapted by William Farley Smith in 1987, and in the Unitarian Universalist Hymn Book, Singing the Living Tradition, #118, with harmonies by Horace Clarence Boyer.[21] The song does not appear in any of the major nineteenth-century collections of African American songs.
While the song is most widely recognized as an African American spiritual, over the years it has been transformed into a song of resistance adopted by Civil Rights Movements.[22] With such joyful and hopeful lyrics, "This Little Light of Mine" brought unification and strength to social movements, allowing oppressed groups to reinforce their shared identity and communicate their demands for equity.[23] Freedom Singing, a congressional style of singing that often uses church hymns as a form of resistance in social protests, was quite common especially during the Civil Right Movement in the 1960s. Rutha Mae Harris, one of the four original freedom singers from Georgia, said the song "helped steady protestors' nerves as abusive police officers threatened to beat them or worse." Singing this exuberant, spiritual song also helped to deescalate the tension and agitation during the protests.[22]
The hymn "This Little Light of Mine" takes its theme from Jesus's remarks to his followers in the Parable of the Lamp under a Bushel.[2] Matthew 5:14-16 of the King James Version gives: "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." The parallel passage in Luke 11:33 of the King James Version gives: "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light."[24]
The song was sung by Sister Rosetta Tharpe as early as 1960. The song has also been secularised into "This Little Girl of Mine" as recorded by Ray Charles[25] in 1956 and later The Everly Brothers. It has often been published with a set of hand movements to be used for the instruction of children.
Under the influence of Zilphia Horton, Fannie Lou Hamer, and others, it eventually became a Civil Rights anthem in the 1950s and 1960s, especially the version by Bettie Mae Fikes.[26] The Kingston Trio recorded it on College Concert in 1962, and The Seekers for their second UK album, Hide & Seekers (also known as The Four & Only Seekers) in 1964. Sam Cooke released his version on the 1964 live album Sam Cooke at the Copa. Over time it also became a very popular children's song, recorded and performed by the likes of Raffi in the 1980s from his album Rise and Shine. It is sometimes included in Christian children's song books.[27]
Odetta and the Boys Choir of Harlem performed the song on the Late Show with David Letterman on September 17, 2001, on the first show after Letterman resumed broadcasting, after having been off the air for several nights following the events of 9/11.[28] Reverend Osagyefo Sekou and other counter-protesters sang "This Little Light of Mine" defiantly before a crowd of white supremacists and alt-right supporters gathered for the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA in 2018.[3]
The song featured on Hoyt Axton's 1963 album Thunder 'N Lightnin' named "This Little Light". LZ7 took their version of the song also named "This Little Light" to number 26 in the UK Singles Chart. The song is also sung in several scenes of the 1994 film Corrina, Corrina starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ray Liotta.
The song was also featured twice in the Power Rangers franchise. The first was in Power Rangers Jungle Fury in the episode "Ghost of a Chance", where Theo sings the song for a Spirit World test, and the second was in Power Rangers RPM in the episode "Ranger Red", where a mother sang the song to her baby.
Sharon, Lois & Bram recorded & performed the song on their television series Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show in 1987. It was featured in Season 4, Episode "Blackout".
The song was mixed with You Can't Be A Beacon by The Masters V (Later: J.D. Sumner and the Stamps) in 1988.
The song was sampled throughout the titular song to the 2012 film Let it Shine.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry chose to end their wedding in May 2018 with a version of the song.[29]
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
"This Little Light of Mine" is an American gospel song that originated in the 1920s, when it was first sung in Christian churches and penitentiaries. The hymn is often attributed to evangelist Harry Dixon Loes who is said to have written it for children, using the biblical passage about the lamp under a bushel as inspiration. However, researchers at the Moody Bible Institute said they found no evidence that he wrote it, though they noted that Loes did create the popular arrangement of the hymn in the 1940s. The gospel song became popular among African-American Christians, and it was later adapted by Zilphia Horton, amongst many other activists, in connection with the civil rights movement. "This Little Light of Mine" is printed in the hymnals of various Christian denominations.
"This Little Girl of Mine" is a rhythm and blues single written and released as a single by Ray Charles in 1955 on the Atlantic label. "This Little Girl of Mine" played off "This Little Light of Mine", much like the previous "I Got a Woman" and the later "Hallelujah I Love Her So" played off other classic gospel hymns. Much like those songs, it replaced sacred lyrics with secular blues lyrics, featuring doo-wop call and response harmonies. The song was the B-side to Charles' number-one R&B single, "A Fool for You", and was a charted hit on its own, peaking at number nine on the chart. The tune was re-made to top 40 pop status in 1958 by The Everly Brothers. It should not be confused with the 1981 Gary U.S. Bonds hit "This Little Girl."
"This Little Light" is a song by the British hip-hop act LZ7 and is based around a sample of the 20th century gospel track "This Little Light of Mine". It originally featured on the group's 2008 EP Gasoline, before being remixed in 2010 for inclusion on their second studio album, Light. This remix was released as LZ7's first official single on 26 September 2010, and was sold by independent label Fierce! exclusively as a digital download. The track was downloaded over 11,000 times in the UK, which gave it a chart peak of Number 26 on the UK Singles Chart and Number 4 on the UK Indie Chart. Although largely ignored by the mainstream media, "This Little Light" received mostly positive reviews and was selected as the theme song for both the UK government's Shine Week 2010 and The Message Trust's Shine Your Light campaign—profits from sales of the single were donated to Shine Your Light. A different music video for "This Little Light" was produced for each different version. The first video, which accompanied the original 2008 version, was filmed at Rose Bridge High School in Wigan and features LZ7 members Lindz West and Louis Read handing out glowing lightbulbs from an ice cream van. The second music video, used to promote the 2010 single release, shows three examples of people being generous and the band performing in front of a tower block estate.
Freedom songs were songs which were sung by participants in the civil rights movement. They are also called "civil rights anthems" or, in the case of songs which are more hymn-like, they are called "civil rights hymns." Freedom songs were an important feature of the way of life which existed during the civil rights movement. The songs contained many meanings for all of the participants in the civil rights movement. Songs could embody sadness, happiness, joy, or determination among many other feelings. Freedom songs served as mechanisms for unity in the black community during the movement. The songs also served as a means of communication among the movement's participants when words were not enough. The song "We Shall Overcome" quickly became the unofficial anthem of the movement. Guy Carawan taught the popular freedom song during the spring of 1960 in a workshop held at Highlander Folk School, making the song extremely popular within the community. Music of the civil rights era was crucial to the productivity of the movement. Music communicated unspeakable feelings and the desire for radical change across the nation. Music strengthened the movement, adding variety to different freedom progression strategies. Music was highly successful in that the songs were direct and repetitive, clearly and efficiently getting the message across. The melodies were simple with repetitious choruses, which allowed easy involvement within both black and white communities, furthering the spread of their message. There was often more singing than talking during protests and demonstrations, showing how powerful the songs really were. Nurturing those who came to participate in the movement was vital, and it would be done with songs. Participants in the movement felt a sense of connectedness with one another and through the songs, they also felt a sense of connectedness with the movement. Politically, freedom songs were often sung in order to grab the attention of the nation and force it to address the severity of racial segregation in the United States. Frequently, the songs had a Christian background, they were usually based on hymns. The words of hymns were slightly altered so their wording could be incorporated into civil rights protests, and reflect current situations as they were sung outside churches, particularly in the streets. Although most freedom songs were derived from hymns, some freedom songs were also derived from other genres. In order to accommodate people who were not very religious, rock and roll songs were altered and turned into freedom songs, this allowed a large number of activists to partake in the singing. In several cases, these songs began as gospel songs or spirituals, and some of the most famous of these songs were "We Shall Overcome," "This Little Light of Mine", and "Go Tell it on the Mountain". Nina Simone and other professional artists are also known for either writing or singing such songs. Two of these songs are: "Mississippi Goddam", from Nina Simone in Concert (1964). "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", from Black Gold (1970). Activist Fannie Lou Hamer is known for singing songs at marches or other types of protests, particularly "This Little Light of Mine." Zilphia Horton also played a role in the conversion of spirituals to civil rights songs.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
