Soul Singer Mavis Staples Vocalizes Civil Rights Movement

MAVIS STAPLES, Musician (singing):

Down in Mississippi where I was born, down in Mississippi, where I come from, way down…

JEFFREY BROWN:

On a recent summer night at the beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheater outside Denver, Mavis Staples sang of what she witnessed as a young girl in the segregated South.

MAVIS STAPLES (singing):

She said, "You drink from that fountain over there," and that fountain had a sign. It said "for colored only"…

JEFFREY BROWN:

As lead singer for the Staple Singers, the legendary gospel and soul group, and in recent years on her own, Mavis Staples' powerful voice has been moving audiences since the 1950s.

MAVIS STAPLES (singing):

Down in Mississippi…

JEFFREY BROWN:

"Down in Mississippi" is the opening number on her latest recording, "We'll Never Turn Back," a collection of songs from and about the civil rights era.

Very personal stuff, right?

MAVIS STAPLES:

Yes, it is. It's very personal, and it's real. It's true, you know, walking with my grandma, and these things just actually happened. My grandmother told me I couldn't drink from that fountain. You drink from that fountain over there.