In 1964 , Simone changed record distributors from Colpix , an American company , to the Dutch Philips Records , which meant a change in the content of her recordings . She had always included songs in her repertoire that drew on her African-American heritage , such as " Brown Baby " by Oscar Brown and " Zungo " by Michael Olatunji on her album '' Nina at the Village Gate '' in 1962 . On her debut album for Philips , '' Nina Simone in Concert '' ( 1964 ) , for the first time she addressed racial inequality in the United States in the song " Mississippi Goddam " . This was her response to the June 12 , 1963 , murder of Medgar Evers and the September 15 , 1963 , bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham , Alabama that killed four young black girls and partially blinded a fifth . She said that the song was " like throwing ten bullets back at them " , becoming one of many other protest songs written by Simone . The song was released as a single , and it was boycotted in some southern states . Promotional copies were smashed by a Carolina radio station and returned to Philips . She later recalled how " Mississippi Goddam " was her " first civil rights song " and that the song came to her " in a rush of fury , hatred and determination " . The song challenged the belief that race relations could change gradually and called for more immediate developments : " me and my people are just about due " . It was a key moment in her political radicalization . " Old Jim Crow " , on the same album , addressed the Jim Crow laws . After " Mississippi Goddam " , a civil rights message was the norm in Simone 's recordings and became part of her concerts . As her political activism rose , the rate of release of her music slowed
bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
Nina Simone