Music has long been a powerful force in Black history, serving as a tool for resistance, celebration, and storytelling. From soul-stirring spirituals to the anthems of the civil rights movement and modern sounds of today’s culture, Black artists have used music to inspire change and highlight their experiences.

In honor of Black History Month, Director of Music Dave Cosby put together a playlist of essential songs that highlight the resilience, creativity, and influence of Black musicians across genres. View the entire lineup on our YouTube channel.

“Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” by Sweet Honey in the Rock (2000)

“Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” is more than a song—it’s a battle cry of resilience, solidarity, and defiance. Rooted in the American Civil Rights Movement, this powerful freedom song became an anthem of unwavering resistance against oppression. Its simple yet profound lyrics captured the spirit of the struggle for justice, embodying the unshakeable resolve of those who fought for equality. Decades later, its message remains just as potent, continuing to inspire and unite people in the ongoing fight for civil rights and social change.

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“Lift Every Voice and Sing" by Melinda Doolittle (2013)

The hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a powerful anthem of hope, resilience, and unity. With lyrics by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) and music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954), it has long been revered as the Black National Anthem. For generations, its stirring words and melody have inspired pride, strength, and a deep sense of collective purpose, continuing to resonate as a call for justice and equality.

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“Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday (1939)

The chilling song “Strange Fruit” made famous by Billie Holiday was written in 1937 by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high school teacher and civil rights activist from the Bronx. Similar to “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” “Strange Fruit” began as a poem, born from Meeropol’s shock and outrage after seeing a photograph of two Black men lynched in Indiana.

Its haunting lyrics never mention lynching outright, yet the imagery is unmistakable:

“Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees”

Once Meeropol set to music, the song circulated the New York City music scene. When blues singer Billie Holiday first heard it, the vivid depiction of racial violence reminded her of her father, who died after being denied treatment at a hospital due to his race. Holiday approached her record label, Columbia, about recording the song but they declined fearing the backlash. Independent jazz label Commodore Records recorded and released the song in 1939 with Holiday and the Café Society Band.

More than eight decades later, “Strange Fruit” remains a harrowing testament to America’s brutal history of racial terror. Its legacy endures as both a searing indictment of injustice and a powerful symbol of the resilience that fueled the Civil Rights Movement.

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“A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke (1963)

Two pivotal moments led Sam Cooke to write his monumental anthem, "A Change Is Gonna Come": the release of a folk protest song and a painful encounter with racism.

In 1963, Cooke heard Bob Dylan’s "Blowin’ in the Wind" and was struck by how powerfully a white artist had captured the country's shifting tides—something he felt he, as a Black artist, had not yet done. Inspired and unsettled, he knew he had to write his own anthem for change.

Later that year, Cooke and his wife arrived at a Holiday Inn in Shreveport, Louisiana, where they had a reservation. Upon arrival, they were told there were no vacancies—a thinly veiled act of racial discrimination. Frustrated, Cooke protested before driving off to find another hotel, only to be arrested shortly after for disturbing the peace.

A few months later, Cooke poured his experiences into "A Change Is Gonna Come," recording it in early 1964. Tragically, he performed it only once on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson before his untimely death later that year. Though Cooke’s life was cut short, his song became immortal—an enduring anthem of the Civil Rights Movement and a beacon of hope for generations to come.

“And I go to the movies, and I go downtown,
Somebody keep telling me, don't hang around
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh, yes, it will”

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"I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" by Nina Simone (1967)

Nina Simone’s iconic "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" is a soulful longing—for freedom, equality, and justice. Deeply tied to the Civil Rights Movement, the song became a rallying cry, resonating with those fighting oppression and injustice.

Yet its power extends beyond the African American experience. With its soaring melody and heartfelt lyrics, it speaks to the universal human struggle for liberation—whether from societal barriers, personal limitations, or emotional constraints. Decades later, its message remains as stirring as ever, a timeless testament to resilience, hope, and the enduring fight for freedom.

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“Respect” by Aretha Franklin (1967)

Aretha Franklin’s “‘Respect' wasn’t just a top hit - it was a rallying cry. “It suddenly became an anthem of women's empowerment,” declared CBS News. “The interplay between Franklin and her backup singers became the voice of female solidarity. The confidence in Franklin's vocals became a musical force behind the women's movement. It was a powerful assertion that women—in particular, women of color—deserved respect.” More than just demanding respect, the song was a declaration of power—principally for Black women, whose voices had long been marginalized.

The women’s rights movement wasn’t the only one drawn to the message—it also unified both sounds of the color lines in an age of the civil rights movement. “In Black neighborhoods and white universities, her hits came like cannonballs, blowing holes in the stylized bouffant and chiffon Motown sound, a strong new voice with a range that hit the heavens and a center of gravity that was very close to Earth,” author Gerri Hirshey of Nowhere to Run: The Story of Soul Music wrote.

What made Franklin’s version so transformative? She didn’t just cover Otis Redding’s original—she reinvented it. As David Ritz, author of Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin, explained, “She deconstructed and reconstructed the song… She gave it another groove the original song did not have.” In Franklin’s hands, "Respect" became more than a song; it became an anthem of resilience, defiance, and unwavering strength—one that still echoes today.

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“What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye (1971)

Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" is considered a landmark song in music history because it served as a powerful call for peace and social justice, addressing pressing issues of the time like the Vietnam War, racial tension, poverty, and environmental concerns, all wrapped in a soulful melody, making it a significant departure from the typical Motown sound and marking a turning point in Gaye's career as an artist deeply engaged with social commentary. It opens with the ambient noise of a party; it's a homecoming for a Vietnam veteran. Beneath the celebration, there's uneasiness.

The central theme of "What's Going On" and the album of the same name came from Marvin Gaye's own life. When his brother Frankie returned from Vietnam, Gaye noticed that his outlook had changed. He put himself in his brother's shoes and wrote a song that stands among the most tuneful works of consciousness-raising in American music.

"What's Going On" looked at the forces shaping American culture at the beginning of the 1970s, that moment when hippie-era idealism crashed into the realities of poverty, mystifying war, drug abuse, and racial misunderstanding. Gaye didn't shout, didn't demand anything. His approach was cautious: "Father, we don't need to escalate." He might have set out to deliver one of those call-to-action sermons he'd heard growing up, but he veiled it in the sweet butterfly anguish of his voice and all kinds of musical beauty.

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"I’m Black and I’m Proud" by James Brown (1968)

"I'm Black and I'm Proud" is a phrase primarily associated with the song "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" by James Brown, signifying a strong sense of Black pride and a rejection of negative stereotypes about being Black, essentially saying that one embraces their Black identity and is not ashamed of it, especially in the face of societal prejudice; it is a powerful statement of self-worth within the Black community. 

It represents a call to embrace Black identity and culture, rejecting the idea that being Black is something to be ashamed of. In the early to mid-60s, “negro” was the preferred term for African Americans, while “Black” was sometimes taken as an insult. But Brown’s song helped remove the stigma around the term “Black” and it became preferred by the end of the 1960s. While most anthems of the civil rights movement spoke to the challenges that Black Americans faced in the form of white supremacy and racism, “Say It Loud” instilled a sense of pride and power within the community.

James Brown’s “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” was released at a time when Black Americans were feeling particularly raw and enraged, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. Four months after his murder, Brown released the song that boldly celebrated Black culture. In the call-and-response number, Brown declares:

“Say it loud! I'm black and I'm proud!
Say it louder! I'm black and I'm proud!”

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"Fight the Power" by Public Enemy (1990)

“Fight the Power” is a dynamic and forceful anthem of resistance against racial injustice, systemic oppression, and the erasure of Black culture. It highlights the importance of solidarity, activism, and reclaiming power, all while celebrating the potential of music to drive social change. Public Enemy’s aggressive, bold stance in this track makes it an enduring symbol of the fight for freedom and equality, one that continues to inspire and energize people fighting against racial and social injustices today. 

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"Glory" by Common, John Legend (2015)

At the 2015 Academy Awards, John Legend and Common performed their Oscar-nominated song “Glory” from the Oscar-nominated film Selma. Their performance was nothing short of breathtaking. The raw emotion evident in every word of the performance was palpable–so much so that the audience gave the duo three standing ovations. One after their incredible performance and two flanking their well-deserved Oscar for Best Original Song. It is a powerful song that makes strong connections between the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and the continuing struggles of African Americans in the United States. 

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Listen to the playlist on YouTube.