Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome - Production & Contact Info

Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Documentary

Primary photo for Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome

Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)

Documentary

Plot Summary - Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome When author and music producer Isaias Gamboa stumbles upon a little-known family story about a gospel hymn possibly connected to the Civil Rights Movement, he sets out on what becomes a ...See morePlot Summary - Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome When author and music producer Isaias Gamboa stumbles upon a little-known family story about a gospel hymn possibly connected to the Civil Rights Movement, he sets out on what becomes a decade-long quest to uncover the truth behind We Shall Overcome-a song hailed by the U.S. Library of Congress as "the most powerful song of the 20th century." What begins as a simple investigation soon unravels into a stunning exposé. Gamboa discovers that the world has been misled for over 60 years into believing that folk singer Pete Seeger and others wrote the anthem. In reality, the song's true author was Louise Shropshire, an African American hymn writer, gospel composer, and close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Through a paper trail of copyrights, letters, and suppressed history, Gamboa traces how Shropshire's original gospel composition-If My Jesus Wills-was appropriated, rebranded, and falsely copyrighted by Seeger and his music publisher, The Richmond Organization. As the investigation deepens, Gamboa interviews key witnesses and cultural icons-Otis Williams, Pat Boone, Pete Seeger, and Lee Daniels-and uncovers never-before-seen photos, sermons, and documents that link Shropshire directly to the birth of We Shall Overcome as we know it. The plot intensifies when Gamboa leads the We Shall Overcome Foundation into a federal courtroom, filing a lawsuit to expose the fraudulent copyright claims that kept Shropshire's name hidden for decades. In a dramatic legal showdown, Gamboa challenges the legacy of an American folk hero and the powerful music publishing system that stood to profit. Part musical odyssey, part historical detective story, Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome is a sweeping narrative of truth, justice, and cultural reclamation. As it culminates in a 2018 court ruling that places We Shall Overcome back into the public domain, the film delivers a powerful message: that even the most sacred songs must sometimes be fought for-and that history, when reclaimed, can still sing. Written by Isaias Gamboa See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
33 cast members

Name	Known for
Ralph Abernathy Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	I Am Somebody (1970)
Judith Baenen Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Pat Boone Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
Mel Carter Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Adrian Cunningham Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Jetro Da Silva Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Betty Rosemond Daniels Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Lee Daniels Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Precious (II) (2009)
Bill Dern Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Unsung (2008)
Isaias Gamboa Self Self See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Bobby Grevious Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Stephen Guokas Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Joycelle Harris Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Harold K. Horne Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Mahalia Jackson Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Mississippi Burning (1988)
Coretta Scott King Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	I Am Somebody (1970)
Martin Luther King Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Freedom Writers (2007)
Lenny Kravitz Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Hunger Games (I) (2012)
Otis Moss Jr. Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	CNN Newsroom (1989)
Mark C. Rifkin Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer
John Morris Russell Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	The Firebird (2012)
Pete Seeger Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Just Cause (1995)
Simone Sheffield Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
Betty Shropshire Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Robert A. Goins Shropshire Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Leaving You for My Husband
Fred Shuttlesworth Jr. Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Fred Lee Shuttlesworth Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1982)
Patricia Shuttlesworth Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Edgar Smith Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Maureen Smith Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome (2024)
Otis Williams Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	Goodfellas (1990)
Pamela Oas Williams Self (Interviewee) Self (Interviewee) See fewer	The Butler (I) (2013)
Oprah Winfrey Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986)