On January 15, 2015 Smithsonian.com spotlighted songs recorded on the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, some of which were used in the Ava DuVernay film
Selma. The songs were recorded by Carl Benkert, an architectural interior designer from Detroit who joined the march and captured it with a battery-operated reel-to-reel tape recorder hidden under his overcoat. The songs are available for listening, but require using a free Spotify account.
For more information access Smithsonian's
Listen to the Freedom Songs Recorded 50 Years Ago During the March From Selma to Montgomery .