Sing Out/March On is a song by Joshuah Campbell released in 2017. Both the musical style and the lyrics call back to the songs of the civil rights era. The song was notably performed during

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

's 2018 commencement ceremony in honor of commencement speaker

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Inspiration and first performance

In November of 2015, Harvard students held widespread demonstrations and marches in support of the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

movement. During this time, Campbell first conceived and performed ''Sing Out/March On''. He considers writing and performing this song his most personally gratifying experience at Harvard. At the time, he imagined the song would soon lose its relevance, but realized that as we continue to find ourselves with "more and more reasons to fight injustice and oppression its call to action still rings true".

Subsequent performances and recordings

Campbell officially released a recording of the song on July 4, 2017, with himself as lead vocalist backed by a seven-piece band. All profits from the song went to benefit the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...

. In May 2018 Joshuah Campbell backed by a small vocal ensemble performed an a cappella rendition the song during

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

's 2018 Commencement Ceremony as a tribute to John Lewis, who was the commencement speaker that year. A similar small a cappella ensemble performed the piece with Campbell on CBS Sunday Morning in October of 2018. On the evening of November 5, 2018, a chorus of over 600 singers performed the song at the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite walls engraved with the names of those s ...

in Washington, DC as part of the Harmony Project's effort to get out the vote on the eve of the mid-term election. In December 2018, th
Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers
performed the song as part of their Holiday Concert at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

's Ford Hall. The soloist was Maria Ellis-Jordan.

Composer

Joshuah Brian Campbell is a 2016 graduate of Harvard University originally from Cheraw, South Carolina. He was named one of the twelve "most impressive students at Harvard" by Business Insider in 2016.

References

External links

Song download and lyricsVideo of Harvard Commencement performanceYoutube music video
2015 songs African-American_music Songs about racism and xenophobia {{2010s-song-stub