Reflection from Debbie Carter
What comes to your mind when you hear these words?
We shall overcome, we shall overcome,
We shall overcome some day.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome some day.
Our choir has been rehearsing “We Shall Overcome” for this Sunday’s service (January 15, 2017), and whenever I hear this stirring song, I think back to the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr. But I recently wondered what or whom “we” are pledging to overcome. It seems a lot like a battle cry (to overcome – conquer – the enemy), but that doesn’t make sense for a nonviolent protest song! Paul Reese (our director) has encouraged us to think broadly about the meaning of this anthem.
I believe some of the later verses give us some clues:
We’ll walk hand in hand…
We shall live in peace…
We are not afraid…
I believe this song is suggesting that we need to work to overcome our individual and societal inclinations that separate people from other people, that make us fear people we don’t know who are different from us, that cause us to want to fight or block or run, rather than having conversations with and trying to understand each other, however challenging that might be.
As a choir, we have been very moved by these words and by our time spent rehearsing this anthem, and we sincerely hope to convey these emotions when we sing it on Sunday. We invite you to come and hear us (10:15 am service)!
(Note: “We Shall Overcome” may have its roots in multiple hymns and/or spirituals and it has been performed and referenced by many different people representing a variety of causes. A copyright registration was made for the song in 1960, which is credited as an arrangement by Zilphia Horton, Guy Carawan, Frank Hamilton, and Pete Seeger, of a work entitled “I’ll Overcome,” with no known original author. If you’re curious, you can find a lot more information about its history and possible roots at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Shall_Overcome.)
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