There may be no better way for a child (or adult) to step into the history of the Civil Rights era than through its music. Famous lines from spirituals, hymns, and freedom songs show up throughout the writing and oratory of the movement's leaders and chroniclers. For example, the line “God gave Moses the rainbow sign: no more water but fire next time” from the song Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep gave James Baldwin the title to his famous essay collection The Fire Next Time. There are several excellent collections of the music that was so important to the Civil Rights activists.
Let Freedom Sing (2009), a good television documentary on the history of the time told through the stories of musicians and their songs, is a place to start, and there is a truly indispensable companion Three CD Set for just $35.
Everybody Says Freedom (2009, W.W. Norton) by Pete Seeger and Bob Reiser is a “narrative scrapbook” that includes the music and lyrics to 35 songs of the era, along with pictures, a chronological narrative and commentary, and much else in the 288 page book.
And finally, Sing For Freedom (2008, New South Books) is a pair of famous song collections by Candie and Guy Carawan accompanied by a narrative of the time. And there is an associated CD from Smithsonian Folkways as well, including parts of speeches from King, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and others. (Book and CD.) And just for fun, many of the freedom songs that Pete Seeger sang, as well as some of the others, are given a new, upbeat spin on Bruce Springsteen’s phenomenal 2006 album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions