Freedom Song: Young Voices and the Struggle for Civil Rights

Freedom Song: Young Voices and the Struggle for Civil Rights — page 3
Introduction THE MOVEMENT THE MUSIC AND THE CHICAGO CHILDREN S CHOIR magine yourself back in the 1950s A loaf of bread cost 14 cents Color television was new and excit ing Barbie dolls appeared for the first time Popular fads included hula hoops coonskin caps and Silly Putty Elvis Presley recorded hit songs including Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog Dwight D Eisenhower was president The United States fought a war in Korea that ended in 1953 Most people in the United States were afraid of Russia and its com munist government In theory the communist sys tem held that the government should directly control all industry and share its economic benefits equally with all people but in practice the Russian govern ment was repressive toward its own citizens and hos tile to the United States Many people feared change of any kind but change of all kinds was happening In the South segregation was the law Segregation laws separated black and white people In 1954 the U S Supreme Court said that school segregation the separation of people because of race or skin color violated the U S Con