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the survival of the universe being one of them.
And I actually think
singing is a very, very important way
to get people to think about
how much these different issues are linked.
I think it becomes clearer as I get older
how all things are connected,
that it isn't just one thing
that we need to be working on,
but it really is all connected,
the environment being
a really important component of that.
I wanted to go back to something that you--
you just talked about how race was the main force
of your upbringing,
and then it expanded.
But the fact
that you understood that so clearly
and historically and culturally were able
to articulate it through music
completely changed me.
Hm.
That if it weren't for your clarity
around that issue,
I wouldn't know as much about it as I do.
So that sometimes we need in our lives
to have people who first focus
and know a great deal about something.
And so I am very grateful that that was your focus
and that you were as articulate as you are as a cultural worker,
that it got to me,
because it altered how I am in the world as an ally
around that issue, and I thank you for that.
Oh.
♪ Hey bo-reh-beh-dee. ♪
♪ Bo-reh-reh-hey, ro-bei-dee. ♪
♪ Bo-reh-reh-ro-bee. ♪
♪ Bo-reh-hey. ♪
♪ Ba-hoo-me. ♪
♪ Anybody here? ♪
(both) ♪ Anybody here? ♪
♪ Anybody here? ♪
♪ Anybody here? ♪
♪ I step out ♪
♪ into the rising waters, ♪
♪ and the waters come ♪
♪ up to my breast. ♪
♪ I keep walking ♪
♪ through the rushing waters. ♪
♪ And the waves wash ♪
♪ my tears away. ♪
♪ Anybody here? ♪
(all) ♪ Anybody here? ♪
♪ Anybody here? ♪
♪ Anybody here? ♪
(Johnson Reagon) ♪ I call out... ♪
♪ With all the strength I have, ♪
♪ my voice riding ♪
♪ on the rising wind. ♪
♪ I come through the lightning. ♪
(Near) ♪ I come through the lightning. ♪
(both) ♪ And I come through the rain. ♪
♪ The thunder roll ♪
♪ all around my head. ♪
Ha!
♪ Anybody here? ♪
(all) ♪ Anybody here? ♪
♪ Anybody here? ♪
♪ Anybody here? ♪
♪ Be-de-doh-bo-dey. ♪
♪ Bo-reh-reh-whoa, ro-bei-dee. ♪
♪ Bo-deh-doh-boh-deh, ♪
♪ oh, lo-eh-ooh. ♪
♪ Ba-hoo-mee. ♪
[cheers and applause]
Well, there must have been something
that Loey Powell had in mind when she invited us all
to be part of this, and I'm curious to know,
given the spiritual and religious
and theological nature of the event,
how you think we-- how did we do?
(Newcomer) I think bringing us together,
the three of us, was a wonderful--
in a way, a microcosm
of what was happening in the larger community
and group.
We all come
from very different spiritual contexts
and musical contexts, you know.
There is a thread that runs through
all of our work
of a certain kind of way of looking at the world,
But we do come out of different contexts,
as many of the people who were attending the conference
were coming out of very different spiritual contexts
and that there was such an acceptance of that
and not just acceptance but celebration.
One of the hardest things for me was,
out front I had said,
"I know this is a Christian conference,
"and I'm not a Christian.
"Is this appropriate?
Does it make sense for me to be part of this?"
And your incredible, supportive embrace
of bringing me into it regardless was very strong.
So the hardest part for me was
when we actually were there
and I realized that it might be a challenge
for some of the people in the audience--
was to hold true to myself,
to say, "I'm the one that got-- I got invited as who I am,
"and how do I hold on to that
in the midst of this other environment?"
You don't really exercise your tolerance
if you only hear from your perspective.
It is when you have to understand
that there's somebody who's moved on your block,
and they are not the same as you.
And are they your neighbors?
♪ Would you harbor me? ♪
♪ Would I harbor you? ♪
(all) ♪ Would you harbor me? ♪
♪ Would I harbor you? ♪
♪ Would you harbor a Christian, ♪
♪ a Muslim, a Jew, ♪
♪ a heretic, convict, or spy? ♪
♪ Would you harbor ♪
♪ a runaway woman, a child, ♪
♪ a poet, a prophet, a king? ♪
♪ Would you harbor an exile or a refugee, ♪
♪ a person living with AIDS? ♪
♪ Would you harbor a Tubman, ♪
♪ a Garrett, a Truth, ♪
♪ a fugitive or a slave? ♪
♪ Would you harbor a Haitian, Korean, or Czech, ♪
♪ a lesbian or a gay? ♪
[singing in a round] ♪ Would you harbor me? ♪
♪ Would I harbor you? ♪
♪ Would you harbor me? ♪
♪ Would I harbor you? ♪
[cheers and applause]
♪ Where do I go ♪
♪ when there's no one to turn to, ♪
♪ feel all alone wondering why? ♪
♪ Where do I go when I need familiar? ♪
(all) ♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Who do I turn to ♪
♪ when my legs get shaky, ♪
♪ eyes cloud over, I can't see my way? ♪
♪ Who lets me know ♪
♪ that I'm still walking upright? ♪
(all) ♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Who smiles with me when I'm feeling pretty? ♪
♪ Who skip along, dance the whole night away? ♪
♪ Who laughs with me in my moments of silly? ♪
(all) ♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Who binds my wounds ♪
♪ when I'm bruised and battered ♪
♪ by strangers ♪
♪ and those daily walking in my life? ♪
♪ Who knows that I am more than my hurtings? ♪
(all) ♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Who cries with me ♪
♪ when I lose my baby, ♪
♪ by accident, choice, or against my will? ♪
♪ Who knows that I am a childless mother? ♪
(all) ♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ And who bids me sing when my voice is silent, ♪
♪ songs have left me for places unheard? ♪
♪ Who bids me sing when all singing seems useless? ♪
♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
♪ Woman, hold my hand. ♪
[applause]
I very consciously think
when I go into musical situations--
all kinds of situations--
I can approach this in love,
or I can approach this in fear.
And I thought about that a lot in this collaboration,
in some of the ideas
that we would be presenting to this group
that might be right on the growing edge
for many people
or beyond it.
[chuckles]
That-- I think very consciously,
if I walk out with my whole self,
holding all the love I can carry with me,
no matter what happens,
I walk away intact.
But if I go out in fear,
I might not walk away intact.
I'm still a whole person,
because what I gave
was given with a certain kind of love and integrity.
I really felt that as we walked out on stage,
that we were all walking out
holding as much love as we could carry
and a little more.
[gentle acoustic guitar music]
♪ ♪
♪ Will you love me when we go silver, ♪
♪ when our ears and noses get bigger, ♪
♪ when arthritis starts to nag ♪
♪ and our best parts start to sag? ♪
♪ Will you love me in reading glasses, ♪
♪ kiss my neck and still make passes ♪
♪ and our grandchildren scandalize ♪
♪ by holding hands and making eyes? ♪
♪ There is no real way of knowing, ♪
♪ but if things keep going the way they're going, ♪
♪ I will promise you once again, ♪
♪ yes, I will be with you, ♪
♪ and we'll be the best of friends. ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Will you love me if I babble, ♪
♪ let me win sometimes at Scrabble? ♪
♪ Will you help me bear the load ♪
♪ and be somebody I'm still proud to know? ♪
(Johnson Reagon) Mm-hmm.
♪ There is no real way of knowing, ♪
♪ but if things keep going the way they're going, ♪
♪ I will promise you once again, ♪
♪ yes, I will be with you, ♪
♪ and we'll be the best of friends. ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Will you love me ♪
♪ and will I still be what you need ♪
♪ when I drive below posted speed, ♪
♪ lay down like spoons in silent wonder ♪
♪ and love me years and days without number? ♪
♪ And will you love me when life hurts ♪
♪ and wake me up if I fall asleep in church ♪
♪ and sit beside me when evening comes ♪
♪ and count our blessings one by one? ♪
♪ There is no real way of knowing, ♪
♪ but if things keep going the way they're going, ♪
♪ I will promise you once again, ♪
♪ yes, I will be with you, ♪
♪ and we'll be the best of friends. ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Will you love me when we go silver? ♪
Mm, yes.
[applause]
(Near) Again and again,
I've watched powerful leaders and nations
call on the historically successful strategy
of using patriotism and religion
to promote violent and hateful campaigns
around the world.
[scattered applause]
And it's painful to watch, to experience,
if one goes back and reads history.
But then one can also read about Dorothy Day
and new liberation theology
and listen to Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon
and find that there are other ways
in which people discover their spirituality
and their religion and put it to promote
peace and love
and fascination instead of fear,
love and tolerance instead of war and violence.
But for those others over time,
who have done great damage to us,
I wanted to write a song for them.
[laughter]
♪ Well, I ain't afraid of your Yaweh. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your Allah. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your Jesus. ♪
♪ I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your god. ♪
(all) ♪ I ain't afraid of your churches. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your temples. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your praying. ♪
♪ I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your god. ♪
♪ Can you rise up? ♪
♪ Find the higher power. ♪
(all) ♪ Free up... ♪
(Near) ♪ From fear; it will devour you. ♪
(all) ♪ Watch out... ♪
(Near) ♪ For the ego of the hour. ♪
♪ The ones who say they know it ♪
♪ are the ones who will impose it on you. ♪
(all) ♪ I ain't afraid of your Yaweh. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid ♪
♪ of your Allah. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your Jesus. ♪
♪ I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your god. ♪
♪ And I ain't afraid of your churches. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your temples. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your praying. ♪
♪ I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your god. ♪
♪ Can you rise up? ♪
(Near) ♪ Find a higher story. ♪
(all) ♪ Free up... ♪
(Near) ♪ From the gods of war and glory. ♪
(all) ♪ Watch out... ♪
(Near) ♪ For the threats of purgatory. ♪
♪ The spirit of the wind won't make a killing ♪
♪ of of sin or Satan. ♪
(all) ♪ I ain't afraid of your Yaweh. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your Allah. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your Jesus. ♪
♪ I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your god. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your churches. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your temples. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your prayin'. ♪
♪ I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your god. ♪
(Near) ♪ And I ain't afraid of your choices. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your borders. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your teachers. ♪
♪ I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your god. ♪
♪ And I ain't afraid of your music. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your dances. ♪
♪ I ain't afraid of your children. ♪
♪ I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your god. ♪
[cheers and applause]
I think sometimes we are too taken
with the meanness of things, the moment,
the what I know about me here.
And that does give you some information,
but I think, if you can understand
not only who you came from
or who came before you that you are here
and also what-- what was that environment,
what were those environments
that resulted in you being here--
it prepares you to operate in a contemporary way
that suggests that maybe you have
something to do with creating a future.
If you understand
that somebody's actions, participations,
resulted in your existence,
it might hook you into some knowledge
that you can also be causational
for what will be here after you are gone,
and memory is crucial for that.
I'm a historian, so practicing history
is a wonderful way to do that.
There is also in my culture this thing
where you actually can send out energy
to people who have moved out of the space
of what we call the living and say,
"I expect to hear from you.
"Don't you leave me out here by myself.
You come see about me anyway."
♪ They are falling all around me. ♪
(Johnson Reagon and Near) ♪ They are falling all around me. ♪
♪ They are falling all around me, ♪
♪ the strongest leaves of my tree. ♪
♪ Every paper brings the news that... ♪
♪ every paper brings the news that... ♪
♪ every paper brings the news that... ♪
♪ the teachers of my sound ♪
♪ are movin' on. ♪
♪ Death comes and rests so heavy. ♪
♪ Death comes and rests so heavy. ♪
♪ Death comes and rests so heavy. ♪
♪ Your face I'll never see ♪
♪ no more. ♪
♪ But you're not really going to leave me. ♪
♪ You're not really going to leave me. ♪
♪ You're not really going to leave me. ♪
♪ It is your path I walk. ♪
♪ It is your song I sing. ♪
♪ It is your load I take on. ♪
♪ It is your air I breathe. ♪
♪ It's the record you set ♪
♪ that makes me go on. ♪
♪ It's your strength that helps me stand. ♪
♪ You're not really ♪
♪ going to leave me. ♪
♪ And I will try to sing my song right. ♪
(both) ♪ I will try to sing my song right. ♪
♪ I will try to sing my song right. ♪
♪ Be sure to let me hear ♪
♪ from you. ♪
[applause]
Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone
were murdered over 25 years ago in San Francisco.
It is now referred back to as a homophobic hate crime.
We didn't have that language then.
Sometimes language comes out of horrific necessity.
And people were so angry and hurt
that the first out gay man
who had run for public office and won
and his ally, the mayor,
were gone from our lives.
And that rage started taking form
in people hitting cars and breaking windows
and starting fires.
But then some folks said, "Well, let's take that rage
and instead of destroying things,
let's build a movement."
And they did.
And as I was going to a candlelight vigil,
one of many events
that were taking place around their death,
I started writing a song.
♪ We are gentle angry people, ♪
♪ and we are singing, ♪
♪ singing for our lives. ♪
(all) ♪ We are gentle angry people, ♪
♪ and we are singing, ♪
♪ singing for our lives. ♪
♪ We are a land of many colors. ♪
(all) ♪ We are a land of many colors, ♪
♪ and we are singing, ♪
♪ singing for our lives. ♪
♪ We are a land of many colors, ♪
♪ and we are singing, ♪
♪ singing for our lives. ♪
And that night we sang, "We are gay and lesbian people,"
and for many folks out in the street,
it was the first time they'd ever said those words
out loud about themselves.
And then as time went on,
the song flew out around the world,
and people started writing verses
about whatever their struggles were,
joining together in song.
The song took on a life of its own,