Thula Sizwe / I Shall Be Released

This movement video traces a thread that runs from Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone to a new generation of Black women carrying the work of courage, justice, and hope. Featuring artists, organizers, pastors, educators, and movement leaders, the film is both tribute and continuation. These women are not simply performing a song. They are carrying a legacy—and passing it on.
“Hearing how this came together, I felt the weight of it. And then I looked around at what Black women are carrying right now, and I thought: this song has been waiting for us. And we have been waiting for this song.” - LaTosha Brown, Co-Founder, Black Voters Matter

This lyric video invites you to slow down and sit with a song born from two extraordinary traditions: Miriam Makeba’s South African anthem of courage, “Thula Sizwe,” and Bob Dylan’s enduring vision of freedom, “I Shall Be Released.”Woven together, they become a quiet meditation on resilience, dignity, and hope—a reminder that even in the longest night, freedom remains a song worth singing.

THULA SIZWE / I SHALL BE RELEASED
Thula Sizwe is Public Domain, I Shall Be Released written by Robert Dylan (SESAC)
©1967 Universal Tunes (SESAC) (admin by UMPG)