Social Justice Songs

December 28, 2020: As we enter into the New Year’s weekend, this is the first year I’ve ever really spent significant time on Facebook or on LinkedIn. Nothing like a pandemic to make you want to reach out to those you don’t often see from day to day. I very much appreciate our connection.

Sadly, this year has also meant the loss of too many people—including for nearly all of us, people we have known—to the deadly pandemic. But our concern is not just about our kith and kin, but also about people everywhere. Just today, I heard from Portside that the pandemic has been worsening in a country about which I have thought very much this year, South Africa. Clearly, it is valuable to stay in touch with people wherever and whenever we can.

This year my Jewish New Year’s resolutions were two-fold: Seize the Time (courtesy Elaine Brown) and Seize the Moment (courtesy of two original songs by Ellie Taylor and Presise). Last year it was Wait for the Moment (from a Vulfpeck song in which my son Mark played clarinet). At the outset of this new calendar year, my additional resolutions, in addition to continued devotion to family, friends, and students and to the self-care required of us all, are also two-fold:

(1) To double down on my commitment to work with a number of colleagues on change-oriented action research stemming from my AAUP Academe piece on Ending Institutional Racism in Higher Education,

(2) To expand the Social Justice Song List that my students and I have put together this year, by welcoming suggestions from others such as you! If you have a social justice-related song that has been meaningful to you, please suggest it for the list!

I’m so glad to be connected with you on Facebook or on LinkedIn. Here is to a restful and meaningful New Year’s weekend and for a New Year which I hope can usher in a new Progressive Era.

Michael