Dr. King, Pete Seeger, & Barack Obama

Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Foundation at 6:59 AM on January 21, 2009.

There was perhaps no better choice for a performer at Barack Obama's inauguration celebration last Sunday night than Pete Seeger.  Not only does Seeger embody Obama's notion of breaking down political, economical, and cultural divides to fire up the masses, but both convey such powerful messages through seemingly simple means. 

From Obama, we've had catchphrases like Hope, Change, Yes We Can, and Change We Can Believe In throughout his campaign.  And from Seeger, we've had about seven decades of anthems like "We Shall Overcome," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?," "If I Had a Hammer," and "This Land Is Your Land," a hearfelt rendition of which Seeger sang with Bruce Springsteen Sunday night in front of the Lincoln Memorial.  These are songs everyone knows, songs of protest used by progressives over the years to end racial discrimination, labor unrest, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, apartheid, and human rights violations.  Think Seeger deserves a Nobel Prize for Peace? 

Like Obama, Seeger's ideological core is deeply rooted in the anti-war movement and civil rights era of the twentieth century.  And so just as it was profoundly meaningful to have the first African-American President sworn in a day after Dr. King's holiday, it was also significant to watch Seeger up there the day before. 

Last year, Seeger appeared on This Brave Nation in conversation with Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx.  Part of their discussion focused on how the activism of Dr. King and Rosa Parks inspired Seeger early on in his career.  He was clearly moved by Dr. King's bus boycott, asking, somewhat rhetorically, why Dr. King started with the buses rather than education or voting.  "When you face an oponent's broad front," he said by way of an answer, "you don't aim at the oponent's strong points.  You aim a little off to the side.  But you win it and having won the bus boycott -- 13 months it took [Dr. King] to do it -- then he moved on to other things." 

Again, a simple yet compelling point about the need to pace ourselves, something to remember as President Obama takes the world stage, especially considering the challenges facing him and the entire progressive movement that include an economic crisis, healthcare, restoring the middle class, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In times of great adversity like this, it's vital we keep Seeger's messages in mind.

Tagged as: race, rights, racism, activism, barack obama, martin luther king jr., brave new foundation, robert greenwald, rosa parks, this brave nation, majora carter, pete seeger, "civil, movement", "bus, boycott", "folk, music", "separate, but, equal", inauguartion

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.