Can Music Change the World?
Si Kahn and Katie Oates at Old House recording studios in 2014 where Si was producing Katie’s first recording of an original song (“Saving the Whales”) which placed in a social justice songwriting competition a couple of years later. (Photo by Daniel Coston)
My friend and mentor, Si Kahn, pondered this question in an article for The Progressive Magazine (Dec 2019/Jan 2020):
“A lot of people say, oh, music can change the world,” [but Si counters] “only if it’s accompanied by direct action organizing. People say, ‘Well, look at the civil rights movement. All those songs, didn’t they make a difference?’ I say, yes, of course they did. They sustained the people who made the movement. The songs were important. But songs alone, poetry alone, any of the arts alone, they don’t change the world. That takes organizing and direct action.”
As I contemplate my next cd project, I have decided I want to feature some of Si Kahn’s (as well as some of my own) songs that speak up for those who are disempowered, that advocate for justice and compassion and that encourage us all to act on behalf of a better world for us all. I hope to make a cd that will be thought-provoking, compassionate, hopeful, encouraging, and perhaps a little discomfiting, but I am under no misconception that singing about justice will be enough.
I recently attended a lecture by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and best selling author of Just Mercy (recently made into a movie starring Jamie Foxx). Mr. Stevenson, a lawyer, is doing the hard work of societal change by representing people sentenced to death row and bringing attention to the history of racism and lynching in our country (through his writing and speaking and building monuments and museums). He encouraged the audience that even though our societal problems seem at times too big to change, individuals can make a difference by becoming proximate to injustice (ie, befriending and bearing witness with people who are disenfranchised), changing the narrative, remaining hopeful, and being willing to put ourselves in situations that might be uncomfortable. Mr. Stevenson’s primary motivation is not retribution but reconciliation. We are all broken—only through caring for each other and making amends for past wrongs—can we all become whole.
I want to follow Mr. Stevenson’s and Si Kahn’s advice and example through the music I make and the actions I take. I hope my music, words and actions will inspire others to do the same.