The press release announces a concert of civil rights and anti-apartheid songs on June 16, at 7:00 p.m., at Pond Street Baptist Church in Providence in support of the South African freedom struggle. The press release says the concert will feature well-known folk, blues, jazz, and popular singers from around New England, including Jeneata Aldrich, John Belcher, Lee Brown, Howie Bursen, Martin Grosswendt, Bill Harley, Joyce Katzberg, Charlie King, Marcy Marxer, Sally Rogers, and Kathy Townsend-Hurk. South African poet Solly Makholiso will also participate; the performance, organized and led by Bill Harley, is inspired by the recent Round River Records/WGBH Radio-Boston recording "I'm Gonna Let...
The press release announces a concert of civil rights and anti-apartheid songs on June 16, at 7:00 p.m., at Pond Street Baptist Church in Providence in support of the South African freedom struggle. The press release says the concert will feature well-known folk, blues, jazz, and popular singers from around New England, including Jeneata Aldrich, John Belcher, Lee Brown, Howie Bursen, Martin Grosswendt, Bill Harley, Joyce Katzberg, Charlie King, Marcy Marxer, Sally Rogers, and Kathy Townsend-Hurk. South African poet Solly Makholiso will also participate; the performance, organized and led by Bill Harley, is inspired by the recent Round River Records/WGBH Radio-Boston recording "I'm Gonna Let It Shine: A Gathering Of Voices For Freedom," a collection of songs from the Civil Rights and other freedom movements featuring original members of the SNCC Freedom Singers, nationally-recognized singers/ activists/songwriters, and students from Roger Williams Middle School in Providence. The concert coincides with the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto students' uprising in the Black township in South Africa, which touched off student boycotts and strikes, mass marches and demonstrations, and police attacks on unarmed protestors and funeral processions. The press release says over 16 months, 700-1000 people were killed, most of them shot by the police; the Soweto uprising marked a turning point in Black resistance to apartheid and also sparked international outcries and action. The press release says "We've titled our concert, One Person, One Vote," said Rhode Island Divest Co-Chair Joseph Newsome, to connect the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. and the struggle for freedom and equality in South Africa. The press release says Rhode Island Divest is a statewide coalition of religious, labor, student, and community organizations and individuals founded in 1983 to work for divestment of state pension funds from companies doing business in South Africa; since then, it has engaged in education and action about apartheid, including sponsoring two interfaith services, coordinating a trip to Southern Africa, and lobbied for economic sanctions against South Africa. The press release quotes Carol Bragg and Prudence Mashile. The press release mentions F.W. de Klerk, international pressure, Nelson Mandela, negotiations, violence, armed struggle, peaceful change, and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).
