We Shall Not Be Moved/No nos moveran: Biography of a Song of Struggle

by David Spener

Overview

The activist anthem “We Shall Not Be Moved” expresses resolve in the face of adversity; it helps members of social movements persevere in their struggles to build a better world. The exact origins of the song are unknown, but it appears to have begun as a Protestant revival song sung by rural whites and African slaves in the southeastern United States in the early nineteenth century. The song was subsequently adopted by U.S. labor and civil rights activists, students and workers opposing the Franco dictatorship in Spain, and by Chilean supporters of that country’s socialist government in the early 1970s. 

In his fascinating biography, We Shall Not Be Moved, David Spener details the history and the role the song has played in each of the movements in which it has been sung. He analyzes its dissemination, function, and meaning through a number of different sociological and anthropological lenses to explore how songs can serve as an invaluable resource to participants in movements for social change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439912973
Publisher:	Temple University Press
Publication date:	04/29/2016
Pages:	166
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

David Spener is chairperson of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.  He is the co-author (with Moisés Chaparro and José Seves) of Canto de las estrellas: Un homenaje a Víctor Jara and author of Clandestine Crossings: Migrants and Coyotes on the Texas-Mexico Border. He is also the co-editor (with Gary Gereffi and Jennifer Bair) of Free Trade and Uneven Development: The North American Apparel Industry after NAFTA (Temple).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

I History of a Song of Struggle

1 A Song, Socialism, and the 1973 Military Coup in Chile 17

2 "I Shall Not Be Moved" in the U.S. South: Blacks and Whites, Slavery and Spirituals 27

3 From Worship to Work: A Spiritual Is Adopted by the U.S. Labor Movement and the Left 39

4 From Union Song to Freedom Song: Civil Rights Activists Sing an Old Tune for a New Cause 62

5 From English in the U.S. South to Spanish in the U.S. Southwest: "We Shall Not Be Moved" Becomes "No nos moverán" 77

6 Across the Atlantic to Spain 90

II Movements and Meanings

7 Social Movement: A Song's Journey across Time and Space 113

8 Translation and Transcendence in the Travels of a Song 125

Conclusion: An Internationalist Culture of the Singing Left in the Twentieth Century 135

Coda 147

Appendix: Note on Methods and Sources 155

Notes 159

References 173

Index 191

Editorial Reviews

“We Shall Not Be Moved/No nos moverán is the fascinating history of a famous song of struggle. Through his exploration of how floating bridges were constructed between distant communities to support and defend social justice in a variety of political contexts, Spener has made a significant contribution to the anthropology of music.”—Joaquina Labajo, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
 


“We Shall Not Be Moved/No nos moverán is an intriguing and inspiring book. The story of the evolution of ‘We Shall Not Be Moved’ illuminates the significance of songs as a resource in social movements. This story teaches us a great deal about how major movements in the United States, in Spain, and in Latin America not only made history but also made culture. But there is more: This book uncovers the international structures of communication and shared identity that help constitute processes of globalization from below.”—Richard Flacks, University of California, Santa Barbara
 

From the Publisher