A Musical Response To White Nationalist Rally
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
Composer/Conductor Leonard Bernstein, in response to the assassination of JFK
Hello again- I realized it would be much easier for you to connect to the songbook, safety guidelines and agreements right from this email. Read below, you'll see the hyperlink in bolded type. Thanks all! We are getting a TREMENDOUS response- I'm guessing 150 + singers!
Here is all the necessary information for joining Choral Majority and the Interfaith Coalition, SURJ, Respect Berkeley, and other peaceful counter protest groups on Sunday August 27. There may be updates later this week, so keep an eye out for more emails or go to our Facebook Choral Majority Page
(https://www.facebook.com/choralmajority/).
Time and Place: Meet promptly at
12 noon, in the Sanctuary of First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Durant and Dana. You may find parking in the back lot off Channing.
The Plan (subject to updates): At
noon, singers will begin the energy building, song practicing, and community building, and as the Interfaith folks begin to arrive- around
12:30- sing them in and create an atmosphere of celebration and power. There will then be some preparatory activities for the entire community, spiritual centering, and logistics on how we will process. Singers who choose to will join the procession to Civic Park, leading all in song. Procession will begin around
1:15 PM.
NB: White allies will be alert to “buffering” People of Color, LGBTQ or any other people who are potential targets for violence, so they are not at the edges of the procession or crowd. The procession will converge with other groups at old City Hall.
It is very important to arrive on time. We will leave as a group, process together to City Hall, and depart from there as a block. (The plan is to stay only an hour or so). Stragglers and small groups are easy targets for roaming attackers. These rallies and processions will be protected by activist security people, but DO NOT PLAN TO MEET US AT CITY HALL, ARRIVING SOLO. It is not safe to be alone or in small groups when near downtown.
Those who do not wish to be near the downtown area are invited to stay at FCCB, which will be a sanctuary and respite station for those needing physical or emotional respite, Derek Tam Music Director of FCCB, and possibly other song leaders, will stay, and singing will be a welcome healing energy for this space.
How to prepare musically: Our
songbook is available online, and below are links to mp3’s and youtube’s of some of the less familiar songs. We 'll post a further page of songs shortly. Enjoy listening to this great music as you go about your days, for both inspiration and for being prepared for solid, unified singing! We will have hard copy song sheets
on Sunday, but if you can print and bring your own, all the better.
How to prepare logistically: •Read the
safety preparation guide online, and bring what is recommended. Give yourself time this week to reflect on your personal sense of acceptable risk to yourself and your friends, clarifying your intention for participating, and
be sure to attend a de-escalation/non violence training. Thursday, 6:30-8:30pm, Nonviolence and De-escalaton with Nichola Torbett at First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison Street Children, Youth, and Families Room (enter through the brown door directly on Harrison Street across from the Whole Foods loading docks)
•Read the
non violence agreements online. A few may seem questionable to you. We ask that you trust the depth of thought and care that has gone on, among MANY collaborative groups, to arrive at these agreements, and that if you choose to process and sing with us, you adhere to them.
DO: •Wear a blue shirt/top (preferably sky blue), bring lots of water, have personal ID and emergency contact numbers in a pocket, (not in your purse/bag). (See safety preparation doc for more). •Spread the word! MASSIVE numbers are the key to our safety AND our success at drowning out and overcoming the messages of hate. Refer colleagues, chorus and choir members, and friends to dtam@fccb.org to be on the elist for notification. AND keep up with our Facebook Choral Majority Page (https://www.facebook.com/choralmajority/) for frequent updates, links to other groups and events, and more. DO NOT: •Bring any signs with poles or sticks- they can be turned to weapons. •Arrive or leave alone, anywhere near downtown. HERES SOME AUDIO FOR LESS FAMILIAR SONGS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w22S8foSbk ; Put One Foot In Front Of the Other
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FETbuMdnthI ; Peace Salaam Shalom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rn43pLNtlY ; De Colores
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El2kJZ_duME ; No Wall No Ban
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-CWpiIWMSs ; Lo Yisa Goy/Vine and Fig Tree (English only)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFCGHvhK5dQ ; Hineh Matov
We are SO glad you will be singing for justice, truth, and a society that welcomes EVERYONE!