Join Benjamin “BenjaSoul” Mertz and Melanie DeMore on a musical journey of life and liberation the weekend of Juneteenth! Forged in the fires of adversity, Black spiritual and civil rights music have a lot to teach us in today’s times. These songs give us the resilience to stand against oppression everywhere we see it, and publicly recommit ourselves to the dignity of all people. Sing and stomp and clap along in celebration of this centuries-long tradition of protest and power. This is a nonprofit/benefit event hosted by the Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers, a community choir and social justice 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
There is no one better to bring us this Juneteenth celebration than Melanie DeMore, one of the preeminent performers and song leaders of Black folk music for decades, and a mentor/teacher of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus – a peace choir of Israeli and Palestinian children. She is joined by BenjaSoul, (Benjamin Mertz) lifelong civil rights musician and activist, board chair of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, and director of our very own Joyful Noise! Gospel Singers in Sebastopol.
Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. Slavery did not end immediately after the Civil War – It was the advance of Union soldiers throughout the South that ensured the end of slavery. Juneteenth marks the day (June 19th, 1865) that federal troops arrived in Galveston TX – one of the southernmost parts of the US – to emancipate enslaved people.
We come together in song this Juneteenth, to remember that human rights are not achieved by good luck, but by determined actions of communities who believe in the rights of all. And in the political upheaval of these times, and the trampling of human rights all around us, now is the time to lift our voices for justice.
This is a family friendly event for the empowerment of all people. So come ready to shout, clap, and sing these Songs of Liberation with us! TICKETS $20 (+$2.07 fee) at www.joyfulnoisegospelsingers.org. (There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door, cash, check or PayPal.)
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The Glaser Center at UUCSR
547 Mendocino Ave.
- Santa Rosa
Price: $20.00