Page "We Shall Overcome" Paragraph 2

The song became associated with the Civil Rights movement from 1959, when Guy Carawan stepped in as song leader at Highlander, which was then focused on non-violent civil rights activism.

It quickly became the movement's unofficial anthem.

Seeger and other famous folksingers in the early 1960s, such as Joan Baez, sang the song at rallies, folk festivals, and concerts in the North and helped make it widely known.

Since its rise to prominence, the song, and songs based on it, have been used in a variety of protests worldwide.