Wise Words From a Wise Friend
Photo by RL Geyer
My buddy and AFM Local 1000 brother Reggie Harris (pictured here with his wife and music partner Dr. Kim Harris) is one of my inspirations. Not only is he an amazing musician and songwriter, but he is one of the most articulate individuals I know. When Reggie speaks I listen.
The New Deal is Local 1000’s tri-annual newsletter. You can download the entire issue by clicking on the link. In the latest issue, there is a wonderful profile of Reggie. I was particularly struck by the last question and Reggie’s response:
What do you see as the challenge moving forward for artist-activists and musicians who want to apply their talents and their skills as a lever on society? What’s the commission?
“I think about the people in the Civil Rights movement, when they were sitting in those churches, on those hot sweaty nights, when they were about to go out and get their heads beaten in, and they sang. They sang because the singing gave them hope, and the singing gave them a sense of connection, and the singing gave them a sense of community. After our concerts, people always mention songs we have encouraged them to sing with us. And they leave with some sense of hope, in their eyes and in their words that they clearly did not have before the concert. It would be nice to think that the transformation was because we sang the songs. But it’s really about the fact that we engaged them in an atmosphere in which singing was not only OK, but in which it was treasured. And the singing that we did together in that time and space opened them up to new possibility. And so I think that as artists in this time, our music has the potential to open our audiences to new possibility, and to remind all of us that we are not alone. Our job is to provide the atmosphere in song, to provide the connection, and then get out of the way and see what those seeds grow into.”
Singing together. Engaging the audience. Not only do we as musicians provide a sense of hope when we sing together, we create community where we are all joined together in song. Thanks, Kim and Reggie for spreading the gospel of hope, community and song! Watch a video of Kim and Reggie doing what they do best:
