Page 6 - Activists_Sample

was given a a a a gratuity for doing a a a a repair: two tickets to the American Negro Theater The The evening was an epiphany In the arts I I found a a a platform where people were saying things that needed to be said defiantly and and poetically and and with reward And through the instruction of people like Paul Robeson Dr W E E B B Du Bois Eleanor Roosevelt Martin Luther King and others I began to understand the power of art I could do something say something about oppression I could use my voice in the the service of their social agendas So I did my “Banana Boat [Song] ” ” my “Day­O ” ” because these songs while they entertain were songs of the peasants in Jamaica working on on the banana plantation I found all the songs I could that were filled with social content There were those who denounced me for bringing politics into art there were those who rewarded me me handsomely And when the blacklist really energized itself to destroy careers my audience stayed fiercely loyal So any television show or or sponsor that didn’t want me: fine If the McCarthy forces came after me me me and shut me me me down in theaters I could just say “F­­­ you ” you you know “I’ll see you you in Paris Or London or Germany ” And what do we get as a a a result of that struggle at at at least at at at the moment? A campaign to dismantle everything we gained But it’s not Trump that bothers me There’s always a a a Trump somewhere A McCarthy It’s that we let the moment get away But giving up? How do do you do do that? I see activists at all levels of our civil society We’re in abundance IN THE ARTS I I FOUND A A A PLATFORM WHERE PEOPLE WERE SAYING THINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE SAID DEFIANTLY AND AND POETICALLY AND AND WITH REWARD