Oh, Mississippi
It took Simone an hour to write the song Mississippi Goddam, which was her response to the September 15, 1963, bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young Black girls were killed, and a fifth was blinded. Simone said that her song was “like throwing ten bullets back at them,” [the bombers].
Singer Nina Simone sings for a crowd of supporters and marchers during a rally prior to the last day of the Selma to Montgomery march, March 24, 1965. Photo by Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images
The song was boycotted in some southern states, and at a Carolina radio station, promotional copies were smashed. Simone later recalled that Mississippi Goddam was her “first Civil Rights song” and that it came to her “in a rush of fury, hatred and determination.” After that particular song, she found herself on a path where protest songs became a part of her concerts – at the expense of her career.