Call and Response Song Written by Charon Hribar for April 4th – “Beyond Vietnam: Break the Silence” anniversary and release of Kairos Center’s “Stop the War on the Poor: Combating U.S. Militarism and the War Economy” Resource Kit.
April 4, 2020 marked the 52nd Anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination and the 53rd Anniversary of his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech delivered at the Riverside Church in NYC. Dr. King called war a cruel manipulation of the poor and warned that “we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” #MLK taught us 50 yrs ago, what #COVID19 teaches us today: living wages, guaranteed health care for all, unemployment & labor rights are issues of right vs. wrong & life vs. death. This is why we are building a #PoorPeoplesCampaign today. We are called to Break the Silence and bring forth a new spirit that can rise among us! #PPCArtistsRiseTogether. Join us!
Photo Credits: Steve Pavey, Hope in Focus and Nancy Shia.
Special thanks to all Poor People’s Campaign Photographers.
Music Credits: Special thanks to Pauline Pisano for laying the instrumental track and editing sound.
Special thanks to the Songs in the Key of Resistance (SKOR) Crew – Ciara Taylor, Lu Aya, Frank Lopez and Pauline Pisano for workshopping lyrics.