Looking for Maine Singers that want to get into “Good Trouble.”

(April 2nd, 2024)

The late John Lewis was a civil rights activist who later served in congress. He was a progressive.  He knew that to espouse an opinion meant to get in trouble sometimes.

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”  (John Lewis) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/18/rep-john-lewis-most-memorable-quotes-get-good-trouble/5464148002/

Interview

If you haven’t seen his interview with Steven Colbert on the topic of trouble, try listening to this:

This goes out via email to a far-flung network of music persons in Maine, especially those who were part of the Ukraine concerts in 2023. I would love to hear back from each of you. Please forward this to others who may be interested and ask them to contact me via email to joeniemczura@gmail.com

Executive Summary – The Big Question

Would you be interested in joining a loosely-organized statewide network of choral groups to sing protest music in favor of progressive causes? This singing does not require learning a foreign language. We don’t expect to get beaten by the police. We will sing in harmony but in most cases, people already know the tunes. We can use this to build solidarity among persons who support “progressive causes” and the songs will be chosen based on issues of which John Lewis would approve. We will appear at future political rallies along with the band, and use our singing to create a sense of solidarity. 

In 2017 when the Women’s March was planned, they developed the “Unity Principles” –

The Women’s March Unity Principles include¹²:

• Women deserve to live full and healthy lives, free of all forms of violence against our bodies.
• We believe in accountability and justice in cases of police brutality and ending racial profiling and targeting of communities of color.
• It is our moral imperative to dismantle the gender and racial inequities within the criminal justice system.
• Women’s Rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are Women’s Rights.
• We must create a society in which all women are free and able to care for and nurture their families, however they are formed, in safe and healthy environments free from structural impediments.

Exploration of a new project

The Huddled Masses Orchestra was approached by Maine Equal Justice Project this spring and we agreed to provide music for a rally in support of affordable housing March 13th. We had a great time. Amongst ourselves, the band has agreed to make future appearances if the cause is: a) women’s rights esp in the area of reproductive health; b) anti neo-Nazi or c) “burning down the patriarchy.”  We expect there will be more focus on the Dobbs decision and related issues as the summer turns into election season. 

Since we are musicians, we made an arabesque into the music of Civil Rights-era gospel tunes, music of the labor movement, tunes from the 2017 Women’s March, and the like. There are some great tunes out there! 

The band is working on a playlist with about fifteen songs: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSXynKNP9Lj-dDQeXcu-AYJ7CTRviqOVL&feature=shared

Here are just a few examples:

I Can’t Keep Quiet https://youtu.be/1cc_neVdjb4?feature=shared sung by “Choir! Choir! Choir!”

Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around https://youtu.be/WPuBGcng6Tw?feature=shared by Sweet Honey in the Rock

This Joy That I Have https://youtu.be/1TbDPwA09Bc?feature=shared by the Resistance Revival Choir. 

and of course,

I Will Survive   https://youtu.be/6dYWe1c3OyU?feature=shared

Chanting is Also Singing

Not only that, but we also spent time learning about the history of protest music. There is a group called the Syracuse Cultural Workers and they publish a free booklet called “Good Chants for a Lively Protest” which is available for free at Good Chants for a Lively Protest.  The last twenty pages give examples of tried-and-true songs that can also whoop up the crowd. 

The Idea

Why doesn’t Maine have one of those choirs?

The Resistance Revival Choir website includes a toolkit for starting a local chapter. I am not saying we should (nor am I saying that we shouldn’t) but – we can be a part of this movement.

We would pattern the singing after these other groups that have been active, and use resources such as Rise Up Singing. This email is the first step in gauging interest. The band is “in.” We need to find people who will help us organize this on a grand scale. As with the Ukraine singing, we would have sub-groups in different regions of Maine, and call the whole universe when we do a major event. Because the tunes are in English and a bit more familiar, we can be more fluid in recruiting interested singers.

In solidarity with building a better universe for everyone,

Joe Niemczura

The Nitty Gritty

There is now a FaceBook page for this group. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558217700715

I have created a FaceBook event page, here is the link. https://fb.me/e/1cbfLVT6u Please share it widely on FaceBook. This will be a lot more fun if you bring your friends.

April 28th (twentyeighth) is the date for a first meeting. We need time between now and then to get the word out and to get an idea of the geographical description of wannabe singers.

Location for first meeting will be in the basement of the UU Church at 37 Miller St, Belfast. If I know in advance of other groups I will drive to other parts of the state and help get things started.