A History of American Protest Music : When Nina Simone Sang What Everyone Was Thinking
Tom Maxwell /
Long Reads
Shortly after the song’s debut in New York, Nina Simone performed it to a mostly white audience at Carnegie Hall in March, 1964. “The name of this tune is Mississippi God-DAMN,” Simone declares to nervous laughter as the band vamps behind her, “…and I mean every word of it.”