Tag: activism
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BoiseWeekly SXSW Music Meets Activism When You Get Upset
MAR 18, 2013 - A group of activist musicians took part in a "Raise Your Fists: Music Meets Activism" panel discussion at a recent SXSW event, including Mikel Jollett of The Airborne Toxic Event and Mike Mills of REM and shared their thoughts on how being a musician and an activist can change the world. Mikel Jollett said, "You don't have to be a huge band, you just have to be upset and want to do something." (photo: Mikel & Anna TATE - Credit: CC/Sake209)
Artists Against Fracking Dont Frack My Mother
MAR 11, 2013 - An organization that JTMP is part of, "Artists Against Fracking", have released a music video for their song, "Don't Frack My Mother". A funny song featuring many different artists, such as Josh Fox, Sean and Yoko Ono, and a whole bunch of other artists all chipping in for this hilarious protest song that is great for firing up the much-needed opposition to Fracking. Watch the video below, and for more info you can check out artistsagainstfracking.org
CSM Miriam Makeba The fame and exile of Mama Africa
MAR 11, 2013 - The Christian Science Monitor has a great article out about the musical activist Miriam Makeba from South Africa. Makeba took a stand against segregation and apartheid, and was exiled by her home country, even turned away at the airport and not allowed to attend her mother's funeral. Google dedicated their page back on March, 4th to honor her and her work. Read more on Christian Science Monitor here.
Media Matters CNN gives Ted Nugents crazy conspiracy theories too much credit
FEB 6, 2013 - Media Matters has a cool post up about how CNN gave way too much credit to gun nut Ted Nugent's crazy conspiracy theory about "Obama taking all our guns". As MM points out, CNN didn't tell Nugent that Obama's Executive Orders do not "take anybody's guns away". Check out the Media Matters article here.
Sinead OConnor was a Magdalene Girl
FEB 6, 2013 - It turns out that activist-musician Sinead O'Connor, who tried to alert everyone to the Catholic sex abuse by tearing up a picture of the Pope on SNL and was attacked for it, also had another reason to tear the picture; Sinead O'Connor was a Magdalene Sister. For those of you who have not heard about them yet, "Magdalene Sisters" were poor, orphaned or otherwise vulnerable children that were forced by the Catholic Church in Ireland into child slave labor in laundries and other industries. There was rampant child sex abuse, mental abuse and physical abuse. The horrible practice was portrayed in the 2009 documentary, "The Forgotten Maggies", watch a clip below.
Sinead talked about her ordeal in an Op Ed in The Washington Post and calls the recent "apology" by both the Pope and the Prime Minister of Ireland "hollow". She remarked:
"I experienced this personally. When I was a young girl, my mother -- an abusive, less-than-perfect parent -- encouraged me to shoplift. After being caught once too often, I spent 18 months in An Grianán Training Centre, an institution in Dublin for girls with behavioral problems, at the recommendation of a social worker. An Grianán was one of the now-infamous church-sponsored "Magdalene laundries," which housed pregnant teenagers and uncooperative young women. We worked in the basement, washing priests' clothes in sinks with cold water and bars of soap. We studied math and typing. We had limited contact with our families. We earned no wages. One of the nuns, at least, was kind to me and gave me my first guitar." Read more on WashPo here. (Photo credits: CC/Eloquence - CC/Wiki)
