"On Jan. 28, 2026, Bruce Springsteen released "Streets of Minneapolis," a hard-hitting protest against the immigration enforcement surge in the city, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The song is all over social media, and the official video has already been streamed more than 5 million times. It's hard to remember a time when a major artist has released a song in the midst of a specific political crisis."
"Yet some of the most powerful music coming out of Minneapolis is of a much older vintage. Hundreds of clergy from around the country converged on the city in late January to take part in faith-based protests. Many were arrested while blocking a road near the airport. And they have been singing easily recognizable religious songs used during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and '60s, like "Amazing Grace," "We Shall Overcome, and "This Little Light of Mine.""
"I have been studying the politics of music and religion for more than 25 years, and I wrote about songs I called "secular spirituals" in my 2004 book, "How Sweet the Sound: Music in the Spiritual Lives of Americans." Sometimes called "freedom songs," they were galvanizing more than 60 years ago, and are still in use today. But why these older songs, and why do they usually come out of the church?"
A new protest song by Bruce Springsteen about Minneapolis and recent killings gained rapid social-media traction, exceeding five million official video streams. Hundreds of clergy traveled to Minneapolis for faith-based protests, were arrested blocking a road near the airport, and sang religious freedom songs such as "Amazing Grace," "We Shall Overcome," and "This Little Light of Mine." Those songs, often labeled "secular spirituals" or "freedom songs," remain in use decades later. Group singing creates tangible community and collective purpose, and the church context sustains familiarity, ritual, historical memory, and enduring emotional power in protest settings.
Read at The Conversation
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