Civil rights activist Bernice Johnson Reagon engaged her audience with “songtalk” at this year’s Black History Month lecture. The lecture, UNC’s eighth annual keynote, took place Monday in the Stone Center.

A “songtalk,” a lecture combined with spirituals and freedom songs, highlights the struggles of African-Americans in their fight for civil rights. Reagon specifically explained the concept of going beyond survival, what she believes to be one of the most important reasons for the civil rights movement.

She entertained her audience with freedom songs and African spirituals, many of which focused on civil rights leaders and the perseverance for freedom.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKKejG4j3P0&feature=related[/youtube]

Listen to some of Reagon’s songtalks here.

Original story from the DTH.