Forty years ago I joined Amnesty International’s A Conspiracy of Hope music tour — the first ever to focus attention on human rights abuses worldwide. Along with U2, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and the Neville Brothers, among other rock icons, we travelled
across the United States, raising awareness and inspiring a new generation of young people to get involved, to speak out, and to speak up. The concerts resulted in tens of thousands of new members joining Amnesty International.
So it has been my whole life. Ever since being given a ukulele as a teenager, going to a Pete Seeger concert, and hearing Odetta sing, I have been driven by the transformative power of music and blessed with the gift of my voice to move people to action. And in case there is any doubt, I still believe firmly in the power of collective nonviolent resistance to make change.
I was proud to stand with Dr. Martin Luther King at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963; to participate in the student protests against the Vietnam War in Berkeley; and go to jail supporting those who refused military induction. I have stood up for prisoners of conscience in all parts of the world, and raised my voice with those fighting for freedom in Latin America, South Africa, and the former Soviet Union, including performing for Vaclav Havel during the Velvet Revolution in then-Czechoslovakia, and singing for the citizens of war-torn Sarajevo.
This weekend, I will be performing at another concert, the Power to the People Festival, organized by my old friend Tom Morello and featuring the incomparable Bruce Springsteen, who has shown us all how to stand up to tyrants. We will seek to use the power of music and collective action to inspire the change that is so urgently needed right now.
As a country, we have come a long way on the path to freedom and justice, but definitely not far enough. Now more than ever, we need resistance and action.
Together, we can stand up for immigrants and all those targeted by ICE, especially children who have been separated from their families and face uncertainty while in custody, without support and representation. Together, we can call for the return of the rule of law and reject the politicization of the courts. And in the face of the unbridled power and corruption of the oligarchs we can speak out forcefully against the concentration of executive power (No Kings!) and protest the militarization of our cities.
There is never a doubt in my mind that action is the antidote to despair.
I am heartened by the resistance of so many. In spite of the shrinking space for freedom of expression, speech and the press, all across the country people are speaking and singing out for those who cannot — even when it means going outside of their comfort zones, or fearing that they will be noticed or face consequences for their actions.
In both red states and blue states I see lines of folks showing up daily with their creative handwritten signs, calling out cruelty and injustice and inequality as they see it. I am heartened because it helps me believe in the goodness in all of us. I am heartened because it firms up my resolve to keep speaking out. And I am heartened because it helps me find the space and the grace to sing and to dance, even while the storm around us rages.
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