Yet however successful her singing career has become, it is dwarfed by her life-long and determined drive to make this world better by her continued activism in the areas of Nonviolence, Civil and Human rights. She is a wonderful example of a true humanitarian. Quite unlike the great majority of successful artists who choose to advertise their success with notoriety, drug and alcohol abuse and sexual adventures. One only has to compare the life styles and histories of Madonna or Britney Spears to that of Joan Baez to appreciate her true contribution to society, as compared to the grossly negative contributions of the others.
Her early years were spent deeply involved in supporting the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. Her rendition of “We shall overcome” at the 1963 March on Washington remains a classic, as it moved the hundreds of thousands of protesters to tumultuous applause. She participated in many of these marches, entertaining the crowds with her songs and her singing.
She was also very prominent in the anti-Vietnam war protests and rallies. She organized a free concert at the Washington Monument in Washington, DC, attended by a crowd of over 30,000, to the loud objections of the establishment.
She was also very involved in local and international human rights violations. In 1970 she helped in establishing the U.S. branch of Amnesty International and worked to expose violations in the US as well as places as diverse as Vietnam, Cambodia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. She established her own human rights group, Humanitas International, to target oppression anywhere it occurred.
Her struggles have not slowed with age, presently she remains active in such diverse causes as Gay rights, Environmental abuses, Death penalty and the Iraq war and shows no sign of slowing down.
She has received many acknowledgements and honors along the way including honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Antioch and Rutgers Universities for her “political activism and her music”.
Perhaps you will now understand why I have chosen to call the last 50 years “The Time of Joan Baez” and can appreciate how this one single woman, blessed with the gift of a beautiful voice, could do so much to help her world and its people.
….Can you say the same for Madonna or Britney Spears or for that matter, Oprah Winfrey?
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To love means you also trust.
You don't get to choose how you're going to die…or When.
You can only decide how you're going to live…and How.
Action is the antidote to despair.
I do not believe in war.
I do not believe in the weapons of war
I've been obsessed withstopping people fromblowing each other's brainsout since I was ten."
You may not know it, but at the far end of despair,
there is a white clearing where one is almost happy.
That's all nonviolence is - organized love
My concern has always been for the people who are victimized,
Unable to speak for themselves and who need outside help
As long as one keeps searching, the answers come.
You don't get to choose how you're going to die…or When.
You can only decide how you're going to live…and How.
Action is the antidote to despair.
I do not believe in war.
I do not believe in the weapons of war
I've been obsessed withstopping people fromblowing each other's brainsout since I was ten."
You may not know it, but at the far end of despair,
there is a white clearing where one is almost happy.
That's all nonviolence is - organized love
My concern has always been for the people who are victimized,
Unable to speak for themselves and who need outside help
As long as one keeps searching, the answers come.
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