IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: A Celebration Of Music From The Civil Rights Era

This series of performance specials at the White House presents the best of American performing arts. From the Broadway musical to opera, country and western, gospel, ballet, jazz and more, the series has featured the extraordinary richness of American music and dance.

"A Celebration Of Music From The Civil Rights Movement" - In honor of Black History Month, President and Mrs. Obama hosted a concert in the White House East Room.

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The Blind Boys of Alabama perform in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

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Yolanda Adams performs in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

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Joan Baez performs in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

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Natalie Cole performs in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

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Bob Dylan performs in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

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The Freedom Singers perform in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

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The Howard University Choir performs in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton.

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John Mellencamp performs in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

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Smokey Robinson and Jennifer Hudson perform in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

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Morgan Freeman, guest speaker in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton

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President Barack Obama speaks at the concert, featuring songs from the Civil Rights Movement, in the East Room of the White House, 2010.

Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

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(l-r): Charles Neblett, Bernice Johnson, Cordell Reagon and Rutha Harris, in 1963. Rutha Harris, Charles Neblett and Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, joined by musician Toshi Reagon, perform in the program. In the 1960s, the Freedom Singers, part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), traveled around the country, carrying stories in song of local civil rights movement campaigns to audiences across the nation.

Courtesy of Joe Alper

Artists include Yolanda Adams, Joan Baez, Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, Seal, the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Howard University Choir and The Freedom Singers, featuring Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Rutha Harris, Charles Neblett and Toshi Reagon. Robert De Niro and Morgan Freeman are guest speakers.

The evening will feature songs from the Civil Rights Movement performed by these top entertainers, as well as readings from famous Civil Rights speeches and writings. This episode originally aired in 2010.

IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE has been produced by WETA since 1978 and spans every administration since President Carter's. The series began with an East Room recital by the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz.

Since then, IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE has embraced virtually every genre of American performance: pop, country, gospel, jazz, blues, theatre and dance among them. The series was created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the setting of the nation's most famous home.

Watch web exclusive clips and entire broadcasts of past performances from the IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE series.