Not That Kind of Music

Faith and Social Action

The comedian Groucho Marx once said, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” I've always assumed he meant that he would not want to associate with any group that might be so blind to his personal short-comings that they would extend an invitation. Although Groucho's response was delivered as a joke, it caused me to wonder why Americans Who Tell The Truth would choose an odd duck like me as one of their musical honorees.

AWTT is a collection of nearly three-hundred (and still counting) portraits by the painter Rob Shetterly, focusing on those who have spoken out against injustices in our country and in many instances, the world. These paintings are exhibited as part of educational and justice programs at various colleges, schools, and museums throughout the country.  Included among his subjects are such diverse contributors as Helen Keller, Muhammad Ali, Eleanor Roosevelt, Howard Zinn, Samantha Smith, Kathy Kelly, Henry David Thoreau, Molly Ivins, Dorothea Lange, Emma Goldman, Amy Goodman and Sojourner Truth.

You might better understand my surprise at being asked to join such a powerful roster if I confess that the concept of “making the world a better place” was not foremost on my mind as a young wanna-be singer-songwriter fronting a rhythm and blues band in a mid-western high school in the 50s. But perhaps only a few of us are so focused so early in our lives. The move to New York City and my becoming one-third of Peter, Paul, and Mary some years later changed my outlook considerably.

Certainly exposure to folk music in Greenwich Village was part of that change. Its attention to the inequities and concerns we faced in this country and around the world spoke immediately to my heart and ultimately to my soul. And the ever-evolving awareness of Love as the creative, defining force of the universe—transforming even death into new life—gives me a continual sense of resolve.

Shetterly confessed in a recent note to me that the trio’s work had been “the soundtrack” of his life for sixty years: “Many of the other portraits tell stories of hard times, struggle, discrimination, and exploitation. But through all of that we keep going because we sing the songs that help us have the courage to keep our eyes on the prize…teaching us about where we want to arrive—in a place of compassion, love, justice, joy and peace.”

Martin Luther King, Jr., (another one of the portraits done by Rob) lived a faith that was the basis of his social activism. My music often attempts to express that same relationship. And some of the other portraits in the AWTT series are of singer/songwriters like Woody Guthrie, Reggie and Kim Harris, Emma's Revolution, Utah Phillips, Paul Robeson and Pete Seeger.  All musicians with a similar calling.   

Perhaps I'm not such an odd duck after all…

Noel

---

Connections

 Americans Who Tell the Truth (AWTT) is dedicated to the belief that a profound understanding of citizenship is the only safeguard of democracy and the best defense of social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. Working with our portraits and narratives of courageous citizens, AWTT crafts collaborative educational and community experiences that illuminate the ongoing struggle to realize America’s democratic ideals and model the commitment to act for the common good.

AWTT creates spaces where people can learn ways to participate democratically in building just and equitable communities. Through making art, facilitating journeys of individual and community discovery, and demonstrating how history shapes lives, AWTT inspires a future of active citizenship.

Vibrations

I had the good fortune in 2012 to visit with Pete Seeger at his home and sing the song “Not That Kind of Music” that I had written as a tribute to the many musical and ethical contributions he’d made.  A snippet from that visit is here:

And a video here of the complete song Not That Kind of Music from the cd/dvd release At Home.