THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A CASE STUDY OF PROTEST SONGS IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Abstract

Music has long served as a powerful instrument of collective expression within social movements, shaping emotions, identities, and political action. This study examines the role of protest songs in the American Civil Rights Movement, focusing on how music functioned as a mechanism for mobilization, emotional synchronization, and collective identity formation. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates qualitative lyrical analysis with quantitative content analysis of protest songs and participant engagement indicators. The findings demonstrate that protest music played a central role in sustaining morale, reinforcing shared purpose, and facilitating emotional alignment among movement participants. Dominant lyrical themes of freedom, unity, faith, and resistance were consistently associated with heightened engagement and collective efficacy. Quantitative results further reveal strong associations between musical repetition, emotional tone, and mobilization intensity across different performance contexts. By foregrounding the emotional and social dimensions of music, this study highlights protest songs as critical cultural resources that enabled sustained participation and resilience within the Civil Rights Movement. The research contributes to social movement studies and ethnomusicology by providing empirical evidence of music’s capacity to transform individual emotion into collective political action.