Music has a unique ability to bring people together and inspire hope. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed during the civil rights struggle that “the freedom songs are playing a strong and vital role in our struggle… They give the people new courage and a sense of unity. I think they keep alive a faith, a radiant hope, in the future, particularly in our most trying hours.”

In other words, singing side by side can turn a fearful crowd into a confident community. Modern research supports this – group singing quickly forges social bonds and can bond large groups effectively. Unlike speeches or written rhetoric, songs also speak to people on an emotional level. As one historian notes, protest songs can communicate shared struggles and a commitment to change “in ways that political speeches and articles do not.”

Through melody and lyrics, complex ideas of justice, identity, or resistance become memorable and deeply felt. Crucially, singing in protest is inherently non-threatening yet empowering. A song can carry a defiant message without any harsh slogan – making it hard for opponents to justify a violent crackdown, yet still delivering a powerful challenge to the status quo. In many movements, authorities have feared the power of songs. In apartheid-era South Africa, for example, collective singing was so effective at uniting people that many freedom songs were censored or banned by the government. Similarly, Soviet officials in the 1980s recognized the subversive impact of Baltic folk songs – they banned patriotic tunes and even sent some song organizers to Siberia, a testament to how threatening a simple song was to an oppressive regime.

Despite (or because of) this, protesters often sang all the louder, using music as a moral high ground. The very image of unarmed protesters singing in the face of aggression can sway public opinion. During the American civil rights marches, news images showed nonviolent demonstrators singing “We Shall Overcome” even as they were attacked by police dogs – scenes that shocked people across the U.S. and around the world and built greater sympathy for the movement. In these ways, singing embodies the spirit of nonviolent protest: it projects unity and hope, appeals to hearts, and underlines the contrast between peaceful protesters and any violent response.