On the evening of Oct. 10, Doudna Fine Arts Center hosted Oh Freedom! Songs of the Civil Rights Movement, a concert dedicated to teaching history through songs that were prevalent during the Civil Rights movement.
The event was held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act as a collaboration between the Academy of Lifelong Learning and Chris Vallillo, an award-winning Illinois folk singer who has done similar work.
“For a while, we wanted to invite Chris Vallillo to EIU through our program,” said Daniel A. Douglas, program coordinator for the Academy of Lifelong Learning.
The concert began with Douglas welcoming the audience and briefly going over what to expect from the show, followed by Vallillo appearing onstage. In between each song, Vallillo would give historical accounts of various significant events that happened throughout the Civil Rights movement, usually connecting to the next song.
In addition, a screen behind him would show a slideshow of relevant images provided by the Alabama State Archives. For example, he relayed the story of Highlander Folk School, and how specifically the song “We Shall Overcome” was adapted from a gospel song made by its music director.
Vallillo first performed “Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd” and “Hallelujah, I’m a Travelin’ (sic)” with him playing his guitar and soulfully singing. He then sang “I Shall Not Be Moved” when halfway through, he told the audience to start clapping along, which they gladly complied with.
Similarly, during the next song, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody,” Vallillo got the audience to participate yet again, only instead of clapping, he encouraged them to sing along, citing how back during the time of the Civil Rights movement, people were less hesitant on joining in on singing than they are now. This carried on over to “If You Miss Me from the Back of the Bus.”
The night continued, and Vallillo played some more songs tied to the Civil Rights movement, from well-known ones such as “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” and “This Little Light of Mine,” to lesser-known ones such as “Oh Freedom,” “Birmingham Sunday” and “Wade in the Water.” The final song was the iconic “We Shall Overcome,” with plenty of clapping and singing along to make it go out with a bang.
Vallillo concluded the concert with a speech about how the fight for race equality still rages on today, and that people should never give up fighting it, with Douglas coming back on stage thanking him and everyone for attending.
Afterwards, both Vallillo and Douglas were available outside of the recital hall in case anyone had any questions or if they wanted to exchange any words with them.
There was also a table that laid out memorabilia pertaining to Vallillo for anyone who wished to check out any of his other work. The audience, consisting mostly of older folks, had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the concert and made sure to spend plenty of time talking with the two. Vallillo can be contacted through vallillo@macomb.com or through his website, www.chrisvallillo.com.
Corrigan can be reached at 581-2812 or at deneic@gmail.com.
