Rev. Robert Wesby

Culture (language, religion, ethnicity, etc.):

According to Wikipedia Rev Wesby was from Aurora IL and wrote the famous freedom song "Woke Up This Morning" while imprisoned in Mississippi during the Freedom Rides in 1961.

He was active in the Civil Rights Movement and a colleague of Rev. Jesse Jackson who founded Operation PUSH and was active in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Apparently he was murdered after attending the 1988 Democratic Convention with Rev. Jackson.

(Note: Some sources attribute this song to a Rev. Osby.)