Civil Rights was written for the Mid-Atlantic Wind Symphony for a concert in 2013. The piece focuses on the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s monumental rise to become a major national figure in 1963. Over the span of that year, many major and significant events occurred. It was in the early part of the year that Dr. King was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama. While being held, he penned the famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail. In many ways this letter helped to solidify the Civil Rights Movement and focus the cause through a unified vision. This event is commemorated in the first movement with a beautifull setting of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.