Guy Carawan Dies at the Age of 87

Civil rights singer Guy Carawan has died at the age of 87.

Guy Carawan’s rendition of We Shall Overcome became an anthem of the US civil rights movement

The white folk musician popularized the song by teaching it to a group of black activist students in 1960.

We Shall Overcome was taken up as a rally cry and was sung at the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery led by Martin Luther King.

President Lyndon B. Johnson also quoted the lyrics when describing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

We Shall Overcome has a long oral history and can be traced back to a 19th Century church hymn.

The song has since been performed by Tiananmen Square protesters and at the dismantled Berlin Wall, the Times reported.

Guy Carawan was born in California in 1927 and moved to New York City where he became active in the folk revival movement in Greenwich Village.

He and his second wife, Candie, taught music for decades at the Highlander Research and Education Center, a social justice leadership school in Tennessee, whose visitors over the years included Rosa Parks and Luther King.

Guy Carawan had dementia and died at his home in Tennessee on May 2nd, his wife told local media.