TV One Celebrates Music of Civil Rights Movement

TV One will air a documentary focusing on the inspirational music of the Civil Rights Movement during Black History Month.

Let Freedom Sing: How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement, which will debut Feb. 15 on the network, will trace the interaction among the music, movement and people involved in the 1960’s, according to TV One executives.

The film, developed by TV One in partnership with Brainstorm Media, Time Life, and MarVista Entertainment includes interviews with personalities involved in the movement, including former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young; actress Ruby Dee, musical artists Pete Seeger, Gladys Knight, Jimmy Carter and the Blind Boys of Alabama, Ruth Brown, Jerry Butler and Chuck D; and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) co-founder Dr. Bernard Lafayette.   

“As a person who marched for civil rights as a young student and covered the movement as an adult journalist, I am especially proud to be part of this project," said TV One President-CEO Johnathan Rodgers in a statement. "We knew then we had to march to the beat of a different drummer; but what a beat it was!  The music of that time is still the music of our time."

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.