Links to the other 4 Juneteenth posts are at the end.
For some time now words and phrases are becoming like search criteria for my musical memory. It’s like I’m living the world of August Rush, as I’m hearing the music EVERYWHERE...
August Rush Trailer (02:24)
“You know what music is...harmonic connection between all living beings.”
--Wizard (Robin Williams)
“(Music) it’s all around us...all you have to do is listen.”
--August Rush (Freddie Highmore)
Case in point on my “hearing music EVERYWHERE” – As I reported in “JUNETEENTH-2,” when my PPC friend replied to my email about his availability for a Zoom meeting, he included the phrase: “ I will be on with BELLS. Happy Father’s Day.” “BELLS” retrieved Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” from my vault.
This free association is happening all the time. I used “free” because there’s no monthly subscription fee.
Poor People’s Campaign: Theomusicality and Movement Arts
The Poor People’s Campaign has a great bunch of talented artists. They have joined together into various groups around the country that are known as “Theomusicality and Movement Arts.” Arts and culture is a key part of making the invisible visible in any social movement.
2018 Convening in Raleigh, NC (08:41) – highlights:
Quoting poet Aja Monet, one of the Campaign volunteers says,
“The role of the cultural worker is to make movement IRRESISTABLE.”
Dr. Charon Hribar says that music, arts and culture is not just decoration or an add-on to our organizing strategy but sits at the heart of a movement. It’s what people see... what they remember and is gonna move people’s hearts and minds in this movement.
For more information, resources and music - visit the Arts and Culture pages of the Poor People’s Campaign website. Here are some musical offerings from the site:
Somebody’s Hurting My Brother (04:14) – includes the song’s origins as a result of Duke Energy’s dumping coal ash into poor neighborhoods which caused a host of physical and mental harm
A New Unsettling Force (01:47)
Everybody’s Got a Right to Live (02:16)
Jamel Coy Hudson
Pauline Pisano
In-Formation (05:17)
--haunting challenge amplified by an acoustic 12-string
Here are two blog posts from last year:
An October 2020 post I did for the Campaign. (3-minute read)
COME share your talents with us! Join the PPC Movement...
...on this page click your state name then follow the links (email and website) and fill in the “Join the Campaign!” form to get connected.
Playing for Change
In 2005 Playing for Change (PFC) founder Mark Johnson saw street musician Roger Ridley performing the following song and got an inspiration for using Roger’s soulful performance as one of PFC’s Songs Around the World.
You can read more about their origins and vision here. Since it was uploaded it has had over 120 million views (at least 20 of these are mine).
In addition to uniting musicians from around our shared world in “playing for change,” the PFC’s Foundation builds and supports music programs for children in underserved parts of our world.
In addition to the many talented local musicians in all countries, PFC has attracted some of the globe’s most celebrated music makers like: the members of Bob Marley’s family (Skip, Stephen, Cedella, Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Keith Richards, Bono, David Crosby, Bono, Buddy Guy, Bela Fleck, Billy Branch, Dr. John, Jack Johnson, Jimmy Buffett, John Cruz, John Densmore (Doors), Keb Mo, Little Feat, Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead percussionist), Mike Love, Otis Redding, III, Peter Gabriel, Ringo Starr, Rising Appalachia, Taj Mahal, The Doobie Brothers, and YoYo Ma...
Songs for Change
“Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times, they are a-changin'”
Babylon | Los Pinguos (03:17)
“Seeds of Freedom“
“Gardens of hope growing slowly
Last chance to save humanity
Be ready, be ready
Seeds of freedom
Time has come
Seeds of freedom
Life will overcome”
– Manu Chao
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
PFC and ATD join against poverty (02:58)
“We recently collaborated with the NGOATD Fourth World, to create a new Song Around the World to raise awareness about poverty. This video will take you to our shoot in Burkina Faso where we had an amazing time recording musicians and seeing the change that ATD is creating with their hard work.”
“ATD (All Together in Dignity) Fourth World is a movement of solidarity among and in collaboration with the most excluded families around the world. Founded in 1957 by Joseph Wresinski, ATD Fourth World brings together women and men from all cultures and social classes and is active in 34 countries. It is an international non-governmental organization with no religious or political affiliation.”
Talkin’ Bout a Revolution – Clarence Bekker (he dedicated it to MLK) (03:42)
“We recorded this song in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. Now we’d like to share this intimate performance of Clarence Bekker singing “Talkin’ Bout A Revolution” with you, hoping this song speaks to your heart and that you carry love and compassion for all of humanity with you each and every day. In the words of MLK himself: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’”
“It's finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no
Talkin' bout a revolution, oh
[Verse 1]
While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion
[Outro]
Don't you know
Talkin' bout a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
And finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' bout a revolution
It's finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no
Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no
Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no”
“Hate cannot drive out hate, only LOVE can do that.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
--also includes Jimmy Buffett playing at the Montauk, LI lighthouse and David Crosby just playin’ together for change
“Reach out your hand if your cup be empty
If your cup is full may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men”
“You who choose to lead must follow”
“Let there be songs to fill the air”
--Check out this writer's take (below) and see if you agree, it's a commentary on the fear and paranoia of those in power...nothing's changed...
--"‘All Along the Watchtower’ by Bob Dylan contains a meaning that is not stated properly in the song. By the first line of the third stanza, 'All along the watchtower, princes kept the view', it becomes clear what the poem is all about. The princes are keeping an eye on the borders of their kingdom. The last line says, 'Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl'. It refers to impending danger. Before anything becomes clear the poet ends this poem, allowing readers to imagine what would have happened in the plot. In the first line, the joker and the thief’s conversation are also mysterious. This conversation somehow points to the same tension for which the princes are waiting on the watchtower. In the end, it seems that everyone in the poem is waiting for something to happen. But nobody can tell what is going to happen in Dylan’s poem." (Source)
JOIN THE PFC MOVEMENT AND LET’S PLAY FOR CHANGE – TOGETHER!!!
Join me in becoming a member – only $5 a month to support music for change and for the kids served by PFC’s Foundation.
Grateful Dead
“Ain’t no time to hate...barely time to wait...”
– Uncle John’s Band (04:41)
“A true deadhead is an anti-racist. If you’re not, you don’t appreciate the Dead or anything they’ve ever done.” Source for above and below.
Deadheads Against Racial Injustice Facebook Group – JOIN ME!!!
Walls...What kind are we building???
SAY, “YES!!!” to these...
...and these...
--LEGO version of the Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound...as CSN&Y sang, “It’s time to teach our children about justice... (Source)
...and these...
--Adult version of same (above)
BUT - SAY, “NO!!!” to these...
On the same Reddit site, found this inclusive image and accompanying comment: “wishing a happy and healthy pride month to the LGBTQ community ❤️🏳️🌈 you are all valid and loved! :)”
CODA
“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery none but ourselves can free our minds.”
– Bob Marley
Let's Teach Our Children...Well...
--Talkin bout my generation, let's use its music to teach the next wave...so they don't repeat some of the same systemic injustices to people, planet and to themselves...
GET INVOLVED!!!
COME share your talents with us! Join the Poor People’s Campaign Movement...
...on this page click your state name then follow the links (email and website) and fill in the “Join the Campaign!” form to get connected.
JOIN US ON JUNE 21ST -
NATIONAL POOR PEOPLE’S & LOW-WAGE WORKERS ASSEMBLY
Date: Mon. June 21 @ 5:30 pm ET Online and live in Raleigh, NC
--use site for more info, signing up and supporting our Campaign
Links to Related Posts
JUNETEENTH-1: Poor People's Campaign: 3rd Reconstruction (3-minute read)
History of the new Federal holiday plus info on the Poor People's Campaign and it's comprehensive strategy for ending systemic injustices like poverty, racism, lack of adequate housing and healthcare, militarism and the war economy and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. JOIN ME!!!
JUNETEENTH-2: Ring Out Wild Bells for Freedom & Justice (3-minute read)
Using music, poetry and image, we reflect on this historic juncture in our nation's history, as the Poor People's Campaign has just launched a strategic plan to rebuild our nation - from the bottom up! Join us!!!
JUNETEENTH-3: “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop...Seen the Light...and Found It's Within Me...” (3-minute read)
Using mindful music and images, we consider the necessity of balancing our actions for social justice with periods of rest and refreshment – mountaintop experiences to sustain us for our times in the valleys...
JUNETEENTH-5: First Examine the Shadows in our own Hearts and Minds...OR, “Don’t just DO something.. (5-minute read)
Using Richard Rohr’s wisdom about first checking our own hearts before throwing the first stone, we are invited to “inquire within.” This medication is supplemented with musician Trevor Hall’s honest, soul-bearing storytelling and Sufi mystic Iman Jamal Rahman’s joyful exploration into the mystery of suffering.
#music #racism #AugustRush #PoorPeoplesCampaign #3rdReconstruction #TheomusicalityAndMovementArts #PlayingForChange #GratefulDead #BobMarley #JamelCoyHudson #PaulinePisano