Cordell Reagon
Encyclopedia
Cordell Hull Reagon was an American singer. He was the founding member of the Freedom Singers of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and a leader of the Albany Movement
during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Reagon was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and was named for Cordell Hull
, the Secretary of State under President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1944. His powerful tenor voice spread the message of the civil rights movement throughout the United States and Canada in the 1960s.
Cordell Reagon was just 16 in 1959 when he emerged as a leader of the civil rights movement
in Albany, Georgia. James Forman
, who became the executive secretary of SNCC, called him "the baby of the movement." Reagon, who was arrested more than thirty times in the South for his anti-segregation activities, conducted nonviolent training workshops for hundreds of volunteers who journeyed to the South to work on voter registration campaigns and other civil rights projects.
In 1962, at the encouragement of friend Pete Seeger
, Reagon founded The Freedom Singers, a quartet of two men and two women who sang gospel-style freedom songs to rouse support for the civil rights movement. The songs brought the struggle for civil rights and its activities to a wide audience. The people involved were already singers—in church choirs, in schools, including his first wife, Bernice. Organizing the music simply tapped into the singing energy of the community and gave struggle a focus.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Reagon became active in the movements against the Vietnam War
, nuclear weapons, and environmental destruction. From 1965 until 1988 he lived in New York City with his second wife, Merble Reagon and worked as an organizer for the Social Service Employees Union, Mobilization for Survival, was a youth worker for Mobilization for Youth and a career and vocational counselor. In 1988 he moved to Berkeley, where he founded the environmental group Urban Habitat and Urban Justice Organization.
Cordell Reagon remained an activist until his 1996 death at age 53 in his Berkeley, California, apartment, the victim of a still-unsolved homicide.
Reagon's two marriages—to Dr. Johnson of Albany, Georgia, and to Merble Harrington of New York, New York, ended in divorce. He is survived by his children, Toshi of Brooklyn, Kwan of Oakland, California. and Mariama of Manhattan. Reagon, who was the youngest of 14 children, is also survived by a brother and several sisters.
Albany Movement
The Albany Movement was a desegregation coalition formed in Albany, Georgia, on November 17, 1961. Local activists, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee , and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People were all involved in the movement. The movement was led by William...
during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Reagon was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and was named for Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
, the Secretary of State under President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1944. His powerful tenor voice spread the message of the civil rights movement throughout the United States and Canada in the 1960s.
Cordell Reagon was just 16 in 1959 when he emerged as a leader of the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
in Albany, Georgia. James Forman
James Forman
James Forman was an American Civil Rights leader active in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Black Panther Party, and the International Black Workers Congress...
, who became the executive secretary of SNCC, called him "the baby of the movement." Reagon, who was arrested more than thirty times in the South for his anti-segregation activities, conducted nonviolent training workshops for hundreds of volunteers who journeyed to the South to work on voter registration campaigns and other civil rights projects.
In 1962, at the encouragement of friend Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, Reagon founded The Freedom Singers, a quartet of two men and two women who sang gospel-style freedom songs to rouse support for the civil rights movement. The songs brought the struggle for civil rights and its activities to a wide audience. The people involved were already singers—in church choirs, in schools, including his first wife, Bernice. Organizing the music simply tapped into the singing energy of the community and gave struggle a focus.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Reagon became active in the movements against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, nuclear weapons, and environmental destruction. From 1965 until 1988 he lived in New York City with his second wife, Merble Reagon and worked as an organizer for the Social Service Employees Union, Mobilization for Survival, was a youth worker for Mobilization for Youth and a career and vocational counselor. In 1988 he moved to Berkeley, where he founded the environmental group Urban Habitat and Urban Justice Organization.
Cordell Reagon remained an activist until his 1996 death at age 53 in his Berkeley, California, apartment, the victim of a still-unsolved homicide.
Reagon's two marriages—to Dr. Johnson of Albany, Georgia, and to Merble Harrington of New York, New York, ended in divorce. He is survived by his children, Toshi of Brooklyn, Kwan of Oakland, California. and Mariama of Manhattan. Reagon, who was the youngest of 14 children, is also survived by a brother and several sisters.