Newly formed vocal ensemble to debut at the CIW’s March for Rights, Respect, and Fair Food!

Preparations for next month’s 175-mile, 14-day march from Ft. Myers to Publix’s corporate headquarters in Lakeland are now in full swing, both across the state of Florida and in communities across the country, from Nashville, Tennessee, to Denver, Colorado.

Not to be outdone, Fair Food activists in Atlanta, GA, are making arrangements and packing their bags to join us for the big march, too, and now word has reached Immokalee of some very special marchers who aren’t just planning to join the crowd, but to lift its spirits too, with song!

The Freedom Now Singers (shown above in a photo by Emory University photography professor, Jason Francisco) are busy rehearsing a full complement of freedom songs to be performed for marchers on the final weekend of the march. Here below is a note from a member of the group, long-time CIW ally Emiko Soltis (second from right, above):

The group’s ten members, who are of African American, Jamaican, European, Japanese, Jewish, and Puerto Rican descent, are diverse in their backgrounds – but they have come together in a shared desire to celebrate human rights and promote social justice through music. Many of the members are students and graduates of Morehouse College, Emory University, and Georgia State University, and others are musicians and public school teachers in Atlanta.The Freedom Now Singers draw from folk, gospel, jazz, and classical music traditions, and hold a deep respect for the generations of revolutionary singers who have come before them, particularly the musicians of the SNCC Freedom Singers. The group also finds inspiration in the lives and music of Pete Seeger, Mahalia Jackson, Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Violeta Parra, and Mercedes Sosa, and the legacies of ensembles such as Sweet Honey in the Rock, the Almanac Singers, and Inti-Illimani.

I’ll be walking the full 175-mile length of the march. The other members hope to join me and welcome several thousand CIW members and their allies at the final rally in song.”

The group is currently in the process of raising money for its trip south. To help ensure that the Freedom Now Singers are able to add their powerful voices – and songs such as “Oh Freedom,” “No nos moverán,” and “We Shall Overcome” – to the call for justice in the fields, you can donate to the group’s travel fund via Paypal by sending a gift of support to “freedomnowsingers@gmail.com.”

And stay tuned to this website for a sneak preview of the Freedom Now Singers music in the days ahead!