Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round

"Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round" is a freedom song based on the spiritual "Don't You Let Nobody Turn You Round" and became an American civil rights era anthem.^[1]^[2]^[3] It was sung during demonstrations for civil rights in the United States including during the Memphis sanitation worker strike in 1967. The song's lyrics are adaptable to situations and locations.^[2]

Sweet Honey in the Rock recorded a rendition of the song. The song is performed by Jurnee Smollett in the 1999 television film Selma, Lord, Selma. Imani Uzuri performed the song and it is presented as part of a lesson on freedom songs.^[4] The Roots recorded the song for the soundtrack of the 2009 documentary film, Soundtrack for a Revolution.

Richard A. Couto wrote the book Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round; The Pursuit of Racial Justice in the Rural South.

Joan Baez released a live version of this song on her album, From Every Stage (1976).

References

^ Harvey, Paul (September 1, 2012). Freedom's Coming: Religious Culture and the Shaping of the South from the Civil War through the Civil Rights Era. UNC Press Books. p. 174. ISBN 9781469606422 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round'". Voices.pitt.edu. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
^ "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round (lyrics)" (PDF). Amistadresource,org. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
^ "Lesson 2: Learning "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around"". Carnegiehall.org.

Civil rights movement (1954–1968)

Events
(timeline)

Prior to 1954	Journey of Reconciliation Executive Order 9981 Murders of Harry and Harriette Moore Sweatt v. Painter (1950) McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950) Baton Rouge bus boycott
1954–1959	Brown v. Board of Education Bolling v. Sharpe Briggs v. Elliott Davis v. Prince Edward County Gebhart v. Belton Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company Emmett Till Montgomery bus boycott Browder v. Gayle Tallahassee bus boycott Mansfield school desegregation 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom "Give Us the Ballot" Royal Ice Cream sit-in Little Rock Nine Cooper v. Aaron Civil Rights Act of 1957 Ministers' Manifesto Katz Drug Store sit-in Kissing Case Biloxi wade-ins
1960–1963	New Year's Day March Sit-in movement Greensboro sit-ins Nashville sit-ins Atlanta sit-ins Savannah Protest Movement Greenville Eight Civil Rights Act of 1960 Ax Handle Saturday Gomillion v. Lightfoot Boynton v. Virginia University of Georgia desegregation riot Rock Hill sit-ins Robert F. Kennedy's Law Day Address Freedom Rides Anniston bombing Birmingham attack Garner v. Louisiana Albany Movement Cambridge movement University of Chicago sit-ins "Second Emancipation Proclamation" Meredith enrollment, Ole Miss riot Atlanta's Berlin Wall "Segregation now, segregation forever" Stand in the Schoolhouse Door 1963 Birmingham campaign Letter from Birmingham Jail Children's Crusade Birmingham riot 16th Street Baptist Church bombing John F. Kennedy's speech to the nation on Civil Rights Detroit Walk to Freedom March on Washington "I Have a Dream" Big Six St. Augustine movement
1964–1968	Twenty-fourth Amendment Chester school protests Bloody Tuesday 1964 Monson Motor Lodge protests Freedom Summer workers' murders Civil Rights Act of 1964 Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States Katzenbach v. McClung 1964–1965 Scripto strike 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches "How Long, Not Long" Voting Rights Act of 1965 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections March Against Fear White House Conference on Civil Rights Chicago Freedom Movement/Chicago open housing movement Loving v. Virginia Memphis sanitation strike King assassination funeral riots Civil Rights Act of 1968 Poor People's Campaign Green v. County School Board of New Kent County Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co.