We Shall Overcome

Training for Freedom Summer began in Oxford, OH, on June 13, 1964, on the campus of the Western College for Women. After dinner, volunteers would gather on the grass outside Peabody and Clawson Halls to sing songs that captured the spirit of the struggle for civil rights – songs like “Wade in the Water,” “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,” and “We Shall Overcome.” Following their week of training, volunteers boarded buses that would take them to Mississippi to advocate for the rights of Black Americans by helping to register voters and setting up Freedom Schools and Community Centers. Before departing, a group of volunteers gathered by a bus in front of Clawson Hall to sing “We Shall Overcome,” traditionally linking arms and holding hands with the singing of the song.