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Southern Spaces
A journal about real and imagined spaces and places of the US South and their global connections

From Anne Moody's Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968):

I sat there listening to "We Shall Overcome," looking out of the window at the passing Mississippi landscape. Images of all that had happened kept crossing my mind: the Taplin burning, the Birmingham church bombing,, Medgar Evers' murder, the blood gushing out of McKinley's head, and all the other murders. I saw the face of Mrs. Chinn as she said, "We ain't big enough to do it by ourselves," C.O.'s face when he gave me that pitiful wave from the chain gang. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
"Moody…" it was little Gene again interrupting his singing. "Moody, we're gonna git things straight in Washington, huh?"
I didn't answer him. I knew I didn't have to. He looked as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. "I wonder. I wonder."

We shall overcome, We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day.

I WONDER. I really WONDER.

 

Published: 11 March 2008
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