S7 E7: Music and the Movement

Episode Transcript

Kanya Bennett
Welcome to Pod for the Cause, the official podcast of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Leadership Conference Education Fund, where we take on the critical civil and human rights issues of our day. I’m your host, Kanya Bennett, coming to you from our nation’s capital, Washington, DC, where it is hot and humid, and officially summer this June. It is also a month of awareness for several civil rights causes and constituencies. From LGBTQ Pride to Juneteenth, June reminds us of our ongoing efforts to achieve in America as good as its ideals. This summer, we are also reaching milestone civil rights anniversaries, like the 60th of Freedom Summer, the summer of 1964, when students from different backgrounds, colleges and civil rights organizations came together, to increase voter registration in Mississippi. This powerful movement and collective mindset reached well beyond the Delta region, and led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, also reaching its 60th, which made discrimination illegal, and provided equal access to public places, schools, and the ballot. These past and present day fights for civil rights have much in common, one of those things being music. Whatever the civil rights fight, music has been the soundtrack and a catalyst for change. When we think about civil rights music, most of us think about Gospels, freedom songs, like We Shall Overcome, which gave voice to the struggle for racial equality in the 1950s and’60s, and accompanied marches, rallies and sit- ins. But from Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit, and Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come, to modern day Public Enemy’s Fight the Power, and Kendrick Lamar’s, All Right, the reach of music into the civil rights movement is deep. We have always used music to inform, inspire, and instill change. This public push for justice invited the country to take a front row seat to the struggle, sorrows and soundtracks of racial reckoning, and so many other communities. With June also designated Black Music Appreciation Month, this episode will explore music as a tool for resilience, solidarity, and activism, as we advance all movements for justice and equality. Today’s guests understand the power and reach of music, and how it serves as a universal language for change, across generations and across genres. We have an exceptional lineup for our conversation. Let me first welcome Si Kahn, an activist, author, and artist musician. Notably, Si is family, truly family to the Leadership Conference, he is the nephew of Arnold Aaronson, who was a founder of the Leadership Conference in 1950, and served as its executive secretary from 1950 until 1980. Arnold was also the executive director of the National Community Relations Advisory Council, now known as the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, from 1945 until 1976. Si credits his uncle with helping him inspire and shape his work. Welcome Si.

Si Kahn
Kanya, thank you so much for, not just introducing me so graciously, but for honoring my family tradition. I believe that this is what we carry on, and if we can carry on the work of our ancestors and the spirit of our ancestors, it enriches and strengthens our own work. Thank you.

Kanya Bennett
Thank you, Si. Let me next introduce Russell Armstrong. Russell is the senior director for campaigns and advocacy at the Hip Hop Caucus, which uses the power of cultural expression, to empower communities who are first and worst impacted by injustice. Welcome.

Russell Armstrong
Thank you.

Kanya Bennett
And finally, we have Kevin Cannady with us. Kevin, known as DJ Pheelin It, has provided the soundtrack for events around the country for over two decades. Kevin is also one half of the music and wine pairing events, Vine of the Rhyme. Before rocking the crowd, Kevin enjoyed a career in radio, and was an on- air talent and promotions director. Kevin, thank you for joining us today. We are so happy you’re here.

Kevin Cannady
It’s such a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much, and I’m looking forward to a great conversation.

Kanya Bennett
Si, let’s go ahead and get started with you. I noted some civil rights milestones at the top of the podcast, and I must acknowledge a big one for you. You just turned 80 a couple of months ago. Happy birthday. Congratulations.

Si Kahn
I’m just happy to be here. Happy still to be here.

Kanya Bennett
We are happy you are still here, as well. So congratulations on a life and legacy of which to be proud, and more to come. You’ve been deeply involved in both music and activism throughout your career. How does your early experiences with the civil rights movement shape your approach to making music?

Si Kahn
Well, they shaped my approach entirely. I was a volunteer with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, known as SNCC, which was the militant young people’s wing of the Southern civil rights movement. We believed in living and working among the people. The Southern civil rights movement was a deeply singing, deeply powerful movement, but was not about performance for people. It was about singing with people. Because, Kanya, there’s only so many things that a hundred people can do together. They can march, they can picket, they can dance, and they can sing, and I think that’s pretty much the list. So in the Southern civil rights movement, I learned about the power of music sung together. I’d like to actually read a very, very brief note from the legendary civil rights leader, Wyatt T. Walker, who ran Dr. King’s organization, the Southern Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He said, and he’s talking about the song We shall Overcome, ” One cannot describe the vitality and emotion this one song evokes across the Southland. I have heard it sung in great mass meetings with a thousand voices singing as one. I’ve heard a half a dozen sing it softly, behind the bars of the Hines County Prison in Mississippi. I’ve heard old women singing it on the way to work in Albany, Georgia. I’ve heard the students singing it, as they were being dragged away to jail. It generates power that is indescribable.” But we could say that about all kinds of songs. I think I’ve got a lot of witnesses. I think DJ Pheelin It will bear witness to the power of collective music. So yes, that’s where I learned that music is the power in the blood, and we need to learn it, and we need to carry it on.

Kanya Bennett
Thank you, Si. So Russell, let me bring you into this conversation. Si just talked very powerfully about music as a catalyst for change, for himself and for the country, in the 1950s and ’60s. Why is music and hip- hop, in particular, necessary to advance the civil rights and social justice movements of today?

Russell Armstrong
Thank you for having me on. And I’d say that the Hip Hop Caucus, we utilize culture to raise up the stories of people who were first and worst impacted. Part of that culture is music. Music has always been a part of the struggle, whether it was from the 1800s, when we were still in chattel slavery, to the 1940s and’50s, when we were dealing with the civil rights struggles to now, when the Song of the Movement during the racial uprisings of the early 2020s was Kendrick Lamar, All Right. people bind and bond around music. That’s a way of having a language with each other, and it’s an entry point to being, ” Oh, you actually listen to the same music I listen to, Hey, can we talk about more of this? Can we actually get along, and find some common ground on this work that we’re doing?” And we think that’s important to addressing and reaching out to people, not as if they’re widgets, but as if they’re real human beings.

Kanya Bennett
That’s exactly right, Russell. Kevin, so we’ve been discussing how music has the unique power to influence and educate. What do you think about the role that DJs have, in shaping public awareness and opinions, on social justice issues?

Kevin Cannady
Love that question, at the forefront, and a necessary piece of the puzzle. For sure. I mean, if you think about music, music and songs are definitely the soundtrack, but without the DJ, without the MC, without the radio disc jockey, we’re the amp, we’re the speaker. Consciously, or sometimes unconsciously, we also serve as the gatekeepers, as well. That’s important in the musical selection, that you go about making a soundtrack, to making a sound for an event, for an occasion, or just for the summer. You have very much influence and sway over what is heard, what is consumed, and what the narrative is. You have to always be conscious of that, as well, that you are pretty much a gatekeeper, and you get to say, ” There’s plenty of great music out there, plenty of great music.” A lot of it doesn’t get to see the light of day, and it’s who has the control on the button on that turntable, often has to say,

Kanya Bennett
Thanks, Kevin. And so, Si, you just heard Kevin, aka DJ Pheelin It, talking about the gatekeeping that comes with music, whether it’s the radio, whether it’s the DJ. We have to ensure, that if we’re trying to get a message across, that it’s actually going to be appealing to those gatekeepers, so they let that music through. So Si, how do you balance creating music that is both artistically fulfilling, and effective in conveying a message of social justice.

Si Kahn
Kanya, that’s the challenge for any artist, and also, the challenge for the DJs, because the DJs are not just promoting and transmitting music, they are creating music. Hip- hop is an art form, not just a mercantile form. A lot of it has to do, honestly, with your quality as an artist. The fact that your politics are awesome really doesn’t go very far, if your music isn’t actually all that good. I think that there’s power, first, in knowing the tradition. So I encourage young musicians, learn the tradition, learn the great songs. There is still a reason to sing This Little Light of Mine, and you know why? Because it’s what’s called a zipper song. You can zip a name out and zip a name in very quickly. So I might say, ” Kanya, who do you want this light to shine on?” And she says, ” I want to shine it on Russell,” and we’ll sing This Little Light of Mine, to Russell. And then Russell will say, ” Oh, I want to sing it to DJ Pheelin It.” These are songs that are participatory and inclusive. So I say, learn the tradition, and learn the stories behind the songs. Learn where a song came out of the brush arbor churches, when people are enslaved, learn the songs that came out of the labor movement, that later became civil rights songs. And then, I think, polish your craft. I believe that a political musician sings not just for people, but with people. Learn how to lead songs, learn how to get the whole group singing together, to be joyous, to be powerful, because that can overcome the fear, it can overcome your reluctance to participate, and it can do your heart good.

Kanya Bennett
Thank you, Si. So Russell, let me get you in on this thread here, talking about artists, music, that both entertain and educate. Can you discuss a recent initiative or campaign by the Hip Hop Caucus, that has successfully used music and artists to mobilize communities for social change?

Russell Armstrong
One thing that I’d say that we do, and we want to dispel on myth of is, that the Hip Hop Caucus, we don’t book artists. We identify and partner with artists who are already interested in being impactful on social change, and they move into that work. We provide them avenues to get more involved, like educate. Sometimes they’re already educated on these subjects, and they want to become more involved in that. And so, we just recently did Respect My Vote Artivist class for this year, for 2024, and one of the artists who’s a part of that is Tank, from Tank and the Bangas, they will be a part of that Artivist class. We’ll be doing an event with an artist I can’t yet name, upcoming at Essence, who will be both speaking on a panel, talking about the intersection of climate justice and racial justice in Louisiana, but also performing at the same time. And this artist has performed before, at different avenues. I think that there’s a lot of opportunity for artists who are already socially minded and socially conscious to be involved in this work, but they have a degree of skepticism about getting involved, or who’s getting involved, because sometimes, it just looks like it’s, they all pay for play, and they don’t necessarily want to attach their brand to it, particularly the bigger the artist is. And so, they’ll end up starting with our own foundations, whether you get big, like Beyonce or Rihanna, and they’re just managing their own foundations, because, partially, to protect themselves and their own brand. Last, during the pandemic, the Hip Hop Caucus, we launched an event, a hybrid event called We Shall Breathe, which was at the intersections of racial justice and climate justice, talking about how petrochemicals and climate are literally killing the air where Black people live, particularly in places like Cancer Alley, in the Gulf, South in Texas. But also talking about how that call to action is similar to the same call to action, and a call and response that happened, because after George Floyd literally was dying, saying that” I can’t breathe.” And so, it became a calling card for the entire country, for the diaspora, to talk about how these issues impact us. And we push on our own meeting onto something, that first had just one specific meaning, but actually became bigger in the moment. And so, I think that’s how sometimes artists and activists get blended together, in terms of mixing in this work, and things that they’re working on. And so, that hybrid event that we had online, where we brought together artists, activists, et cetera, and had interaction with people, had thousands of people watching during the pandemic.

Kanya Bennett
Thank you so much for that important work, the important effort, to bring folks together during a time of a sort of great social ill and unrest during the pandemic. So we appreciate that and we applaud that. And you also have my curiosity piqued around Essence Festival. I guess we will all have to get down to Essence Fest, and see who will be there, not just to entertain but also inspire. Kevin, let me go to you on this point. So who are you going to play at a party, when you are trying to entertain and push some advocacy with your audience, with your partygoers?

Kevin Cannady
This is another great question, just because it makes me think of KRS- One. So he had an album called Edutainment, and I think that is the best way. That’s part of my approach, even beyond advocacy, that’s just my general approach, to putting together sets. I’m going to give you your steak and potatoes, you’re going to play the popular tunes everybody wants to hear. But at the same time, I’m going to give you some vegetables, too. My approach to doing that is kind of sandwiching different songs in, because that’s why they call me DJ Pheelin It. The song I’m going to play, you’re going to feel. It doesn’t matter what the content is. And so, I’ll slip in some artists, of course, Kendrick Lamar. Of the current era, you’re going to hit it, your Kendrick Lamar, you’re going to hit your Jay Coles, your Ab- Souls. But you can take it all the way back in the day, and go get your Marvin Gayes. You can go get your Nina Simones, you can go get your Stevies. You can bring it back forward into our era, I’m not going to give out our ages, but our golden era of hip-hop. You’re going to do your Nases, you’re going to have your KRS- Ones, your PEs. You’re also going to have, Hope has some really good lyrics, if you really kind of break it down and think about them. And so, it’s all about mashing it together, and making a total soundtrack that fits the audience, and moves the audience in a certain direction. That’s the great part about being a DJ. You get to move the crowd.

Kanya Bennett
That’s exactly right. And now, I’m trying to get to one of your parties, so I have a long list of things I need to do this summer. Si, let me go back to you. We’re talking about music past, present. One of the things that stands out is social media. That’s certainly a present, and is going to have influence on music, our social justice movements. Talk to us a little bit about modern technology and social media, and how that’s changed the reach of music, as it pertains to our civil rights and social justice advocacy.

Si Kahn
Well, what I think modern technology has done is to democratize music. When I was coming up, if you wanted to make an LP, that’s a long playing record, those round things that are black, and I don’t know how many people know what they are, but you had to use something like a giant waffle iron. You heated up a blob of vinyl, pressed, it’s more complicated than that, but basically, it cost you$1, 000 just to make one LP. So it was out of reach to most working people, most poor people, most immigrants. There was no way you could afford. Today, anybody with a decent laptop and a good microphone, their sound is better than the best studio in the entire world 50 years ago. So any 12- year- old kid can make a song, can make a rap, and can burn a couple of CDs, and then, try to give them away, and can put it up in the web, and it could reach millions. This is amazing. This puts power back in the hands of every day musicians and every day artists, and every day speakers. So I think that this is an extraordinary and wonderful thing. I don’t want the reliance on social media to replace the power of person to person. Because, if you’re a political musician, and a political musician, to me, is somebody who refuses self- censorship. Let the censors do their job. It’s a nasty job, let them do it. Don’t censor yourself. But I think what DJ Pheelin It said, ” You slip it in.” So maybe you play a kid’s birthday party, and you do a kids’ song, that’s about empowering kids. They’re listening, it sinks in. You can volunteer for an after- party for something, for a football, you say, ” Hey, let me come do a couple of songs.” You can do it for a church or a mosque, or a synagogue, outside, after the services. You could just look for where people gather, and say, ” Could I come lead a couple songs? Could I come to your kindergarten, and teach your kids a couple of songs?” Don’t overdo it. Don’t say, ” And this is a song about fundamental Marxism I’d like you to learn,” to a three- year- old. That’s not a good idea. But remember, both the power of social media, but also remember the power of person to person, one on one, one on three, one on 10, one on a thousand. It really works magic, and it’s open to every one of us.

Kanya Bennett
That’s right, Si. So Russell, given this large platform that artists have, do you expect all artists to lend their talents to a social cause, to use their powers for good? Maybe not all the time, but do they owe us at least one song on an album? What do you think?

Russell Armstrong
I think that’s the wrong way of looking at it. By example, when we talk about artists, and again, hip- hop artists aren’t just music, Hip- Hop is about the culture. So it’s like, we also cultivate and work with muralists. We work with people who do spoken word. We do a number of different people who have their artistry across the spectrum. And asking hip- hop artists, ” Now that you have a responsibility to also be the spokesperson for a social justice movement,” when all they wanted to do necessarily was just get in, and make their own art? I think that’s reckless for us to assume, on their part. However, many of them, because being artists makes them more sensitive to many of these issues and things going on in the world, just because of who they are, that they want to get involved. And I think that there are many ways that they can be involved. For example, I’m working on an op- ed now, which highlights how there are many artists who actually have lyrics around social justice and climate change, and are usually not seen as being, or thought of as socially conscious or thoughtful rappers, but there’s a lot of rap that actually speaks to various different aspects. It just may not sound the way that the music sounded 40 years ago. And so, I think that interspersed with different lyrics that people may agree or disagree with, because again, that’s just their medium, how they chose to view and see the world. Hi- hop artists are, in a way, reporters on what they’ve seen, from what we were talking about from back in the day, whether you’re looking at the artists coming from the Bronx, to even now in the modern day, when we’re talking about artists coming from the Deep South, from Atlanta, like places like that, different strokes from different folks, really. And so, I think that by requiring artists to do something, we’re getting away from the whole point of artistry, which is that it should be free- flowing and something that speaks to culture, not something rigid that’s part of a homework, or a book exam.

Kanya Bennett
That’s fair. Russell. I want to pick up on a point you just made, about artists being reporters. And I want to bring that into a question I have for you, Kevin. We’re using our artists as reporters. Given these various tech and media platforms we have, people may actually become more siloed from one another. And it may be that this reporting that needs to be heard by a large audience actually only gets heard by a few, and maybe those folks who don’t need to hear it, because that is their experience, day in and day out. We tend to plug into outlets that share our values and our viewpoints. So do you have any concerns that music that is meant to instigate change, or good trouble, as John Lewis called it, will not be heard by the people who need to hear it?

Kevin Cannady
I think that’s a legitimate concern, right? Because we, to your point, can be very siloed, and you opt into what you want to hear and what you want to consume, particularly when it comes to social media. But I will say that music in particular has always been a great unifier, in particular, hip- hop. I mean, just think about when you go to a concert, particularly certain artists, there’s everyone at that particular show. I think that that’s the strong point of hip hop, is that it’s hard to really tamp down, and hard to resist a tight burst over a dope beat. Can’t get away from it, right? It’s infectious. And sometimes, I’ll say this, that it’s an unconscious thing that you’re not realizing what you’re bopping to, and you’re not realizing you’re getting those vegetables, but until later on, you’ve synthesized it in alignment with whatever your interests are. And that’s kind of the beauty of music. And again, particularly, the beauty of hip- hop, is that whatever that artist was particularly trying to advocate for, a lot of people will tend to bend that, to be inspired by what influences them. And so, in that regard, yes, it could, we have that worry of being siloed, but I think music is that magic key that unlocks the pathway to everyone. I just want a plus one what Si said, by the way, in regards to how music could take advantage of different scenarios, in order to promote and be an advocate. Just, real quick story, I smiled when you said that. We were talking about just saying, ” Can I play a record or two?” That actually happened to me. So I was actually a DJing a walk for an event. It was a healthcare organization, they had their general walk. I remember, this young lady came up to me. She says, ” I’m from Iran. This is a song that’s a protest song in Iran, and I really want to play it.” I’ll be honest, the musical mind, I was like, as a musician and as a DJ, that wasn’t really simpatico with where I was going, with my set. But I said, ” You know what, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to amplify this young lady’s voice.” I mean, she really was asking so nicely, and you could just see it in her eyes, welling up. ” Can you please?” And I could tell the impact of it. I fit it in. Can I say it was the best transition, the best mix? No, it wasn’t. But when you said that, it reminded me of that. I felt very, very good about myself, and I felt like I was able to again amplify that little thing, was able to amplify that, and hopefully, it was able to make her day, and advance the cause, more importantly.

Kanya Bennett
I love that story. And Kevin, thank you so much for sharing that. That gets me to a question that I want to ask all of you, and maybe this is how you were shaped as a DJ, who was prompted by a listener of your music to use your skill, use your ability, use your music as a tool for activism. So I want to hear from each of you what advice you would give to artists today who are inspired by a cause, inspired by the civil rights movement, inspired by contemporary social justice fights, who want to use music as a tool for activism. So Si, let’s start with you. What would you tell them?

Si Kahn
I just want to first give that DJ Pheelin It, referred to stuff that I did. I want to refer to something very briefly that he did. The Hip- Hop audience is a vision of the society we’re trying to build, and of the world we want to live in. Most musics have a particular audience. You go to a classical concert, it’s going to be 95% white. You go to a jazz thing, it’s going to be very heavily African American, Latino, Latina, but a hip- hop audience, you got the young, you got the old, you got the white, the Black, the brown, you got the people in wheelchairs and crutches, is the most diverse audience, I believe, that we have ever seen. The audience itself, which is vibrating to the music, inspires a visual, what the world could be. I think that’s what we work for. I mean, in terms of what to learn if you’re starting out, there are books I highly recommend. My friend, Ken Grossinger, wrote an extraordinary book called Art Works: How Organizers and Artists are Creating a Better World Together. And he profiles, many of the great artists, not just music, but every form of art. And it’s a how- to book on how to do this. I really encourage people, and no offense, to Amazon, to get it from bookshop. com, which uses its income to support independent bookstores. We should all be supporting what’s independent, from the mom and pop, or the mom alone person on the street, selling their wares to the bookstores. Read, study, take classes. It’s not just a matter of instinct and talent. There’s a discipline and a self- discipline to being an artist. Read poetry, read history. Learn not just the songs, but the history between the songs. You can join a band, even if you’re not very good, right? You can learn by jamming. Or join a choir, a church choir, a synagogue choir. There are labor choirs all over this country. Learn to sing. Learn to sing a cappella. Sign up for a week- long something, somewhere. Most of the really good places have scholarships for young people, for people who are out of work, for the jobless. I myself, I hope this doesn’t seem too egotistical. Holler at me. I’ll spend an hour with you. My website is sikahn. com, S- I- K- A- H- N, dot com, and say, ” Hey, Si, I’d like to talk to you for an hour, maybe give you some advice. Maybe I can give you some advice.” I’ll do my best to get back with them. I think that the world of art is just covered up with generous people, with loving people. I think one of the reasons I love being in that part of the world… As an organizer, we’re often being confrontational. We’re often in a fighting spirit, not always, but as artists, I think we live and work in a spirit of love, and a spirit of possibility. I believe, I’ve never met an older political artist who wouldn’t say, ” Yeah, send that 18- year- old to me. I’ll learn from her as she learned from me. So yes, sikahn. com, holler at me.

Kanya Bennett
All right, folks, holler at Si. So Russell, what advice do you have for artists who are looking to make their mark, with respect to social justice, with respect to civil rights, and how can folks plug in to the Hip Hop Caucus?

Russell Armstrong
Any artist that’s looking make their mark and wants to connect with us, happy to reach out to them. I think that they should connect with our head of artistry and cultural relations, our cultural director, Dawn Richard, who’s a current artist, actually. She’s about to come out with a feature on someone else’s new album, that they, actually it’s public, so I can say it, but on Que Chinada’s album. Shout out to her, shout out to any of the artists that we work with already. This year’s the 10- year anniversary of the album Home, where we featured covers of many classic songs that have been part of the movement, with artists such as Common, Raheem DeVaughn, Antonique Smith, people that are still on the fold with us, and doing work with us to this day. And we’re going to be doing something with that as part of our 20th anniversary of the Hip Hop Caucus this year, this fall. So look out for that, and happy to connect with artists of all mediums on Hip Hop Caucus.

Kanya Bennett
Thanks, Russell, and Kevin, DJ Pheelin It, talk to us, offer some advice, some words of wisdom, and how folks can connect with you.

Kevin Cannady
Yeah, I’ll tie back into your question about social media. While there’s an opportunity to be siloed, there’s still ample opportunity, and I think that you should leverage all social media platforms to get your music out there, all technology, there’s so many ways to promote yourself, and promote your music, and your purpose. That’s a whole separate episode, about the pros and cons about digital service, and social media. But at the end of the day, there are avenues, and I think more avenues to have your message heard. The other piece that I would say is, don’t be afraid to collaborate. That’s kind of the common theme, I think, of this conversation has been, I go back to the vegetables. You’re going to give people your meat and potatoes, you going to give people the vegetables. I think that no one’s a monolith, like hip hop isn’t a monolith. There isn’t one type of hip hop. But I think that you can have artist A collaborate with artist B, artist A who may be” social and conscious,” and collaborate with any other artist, because once again, it’s a tight verse over a tight beat, it’s going to work, and you can therefore amplify your message. The last piece of the puzzle, as far as getting in contact with me, you can connect with me on social media. It goes right back to it, DJ Pheelin It, on all platforms.

Kanya Bennett
As I close this out today, want to hear about what civil rights issue of this moment needs a soundtrack? And I need you to tell our listeners, what song, what artist needs to be on their social justice playlist, as a result? So Si Khan, I’m back to you.

Si Kahn
I think there’s a hundred different issues, and what I’ve learned as an organizer is, don’t try to tell somebody else what the most important issue is. The question is, what is their most important issue? And I’m never going to say to somebody, ” Oh, but that’s not as important as this.” So fortunately, for every issue, there is a movement, there’s an organization. One of the things I would say is, if this is your issue, find an organization, and become a part of it, become a volunteer to learn from it. Soundtrack, artists? I will never get over Sweet Honey in the Rock, wonderful Acapella, African- American singing group. Been there forever. Founded by Dr. Bernice Regan, one of the founder of the Freedom Singers. I’ve heard them in a little AME inaudible church in Forrest City, Arkansas, 50, 60 years ago, bringing the message to the people. So I would say, yes, Sweet Honey in the Rock, listen to them. Then there’s so many that I hesitate to name, but yeah, check out what the hip hop Caucus is doing. Check out what DJ Pheelin It is doing. They’ve got good taste. They know what they’re doing.

Kanya Bennett
Thank you, Si. Russell?

Russell Armstrong
Appreciate the shout- out, Si. One thing I would say is that if there’s going to be, everything says is this is the civil rights issue of our time, education’s the civil rights issue of our time, climate is the civil rights issues of our time. I would just like to highlight that on a lot of these different issues, that it’s swept under the rug. You’ll hear posters say that Black and brown community, people don’t want to vote on these issues, but I say, that’s almost always false, when it comes to the Black and brown communities in polling. We care about these issues, we vote on these issues locally. These are the things that get people up and out of bed, like they think about. They don’t care about just voting. They care about the issues impacting their communities, and that Black people and brown people are particularly concerned about climate and voting. And in light of all of the tornadoes that have been happening lately, I’d say that we already got a song for it. Beyonce talks about tornadoes in Texas Hold’Em, on her latest album. We can talk about it right there. We don’t need someone new. We can use the people we’ve already got, to talk about these issues.

Kanya Bennett
I like it, Russell. DJ Pheelin It. Tell us, is there an issue we need to rally around today, and what should be on our playlist?

Kevin Cannady
All the answers were already taken already, but that tells you something, right? That tells you the importance of the issues that are up today. And I think Si made a great point, as well as Russell, that there are just this multitude of issues that are here, and they impact people differently. Had I not heard their response, I would have said affordable housing is definitely one, just housing in general, particularly climate gentrification, which is a term that sometimes isn’t heard and associated, but climate gentrification is a real thing, and talking about resilience, once the storm happens, and how do you rebuild, and who gets the opportunity to rebuild on said land? Voting. Obviously, we’re in the political season, where voting is number one. I will say the same thing, that it’s hard to pin it down to just one, but I think, pick what resonates with you, and do what you can do within the scope of what you feel comfortable with. I would even go beyond saying what you’re comfortable with, push the envelope a little bit, get a little bit uncomfortable, because I think we need more people to be a little bit more uncomfortable. As far as music is concerned, and what the soundtrack would be, I have to go back to my man, Tracey Lee. So you may recall Tracey Lee from the nineties who had songs with Biggie, Keep Your Hands High, chart topping Billboard Hits with a theme. So in 2020, he came out with an album called Glory, and quite frankly, it’s his magnum opus. Still has bars, still has great beats. So the album is Glory, and you could pick up any song off of that album, and add it to your playlist. It’s really, at the time, I thought was just going to be a time capsule piece, and it really talks about everything that was going on in 2020. But unfortunately, if you play it today, the issues and what he talks about are still there, and so, it’s the perfect soundtrack for any movement. Glory, Tracey Lee, check it out.

Kanya Bennett
Thank you all so much for joining us today, and talking music in the movement. This has been such a great conversation, such an inspiring one. Si, it has been an absolute honor and pleasure. Thank you.

Si Kahn
You are beyond welcome, and I would say what honor and pleasure to meet all of you, including Rob Spiwak, who doesn’t even show who he is back there, running the tech. I’m going to tell you, as a musician, if you don’t have those tech folks, you are dead in the water, right? So yeah. And so, often we are the public face of something that actually a hundred people are doing, and we got to honor them. We got to say, ” Hey, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.” I think that thankfulness is a great political act.

Kanya Bennett
Thank you, Si. And Russell, always happy to have our Hip Hop Caucus Coalition partner in the mix. Appreciate you being here.

Russell Armstrong
Thank you for having us.

Kanya Bennett
And DJ Pheelin It, so happy you made the time, you made this work. We’re so happy you were able to get on this podcast. Thank you so much. And folks, get out and listen to DJ Pheelin it.

Kevin Cannady
Appreciate you, great opportunity, and let’s keep the conversation going, for sure. It’s needed.

Kanya Bennett
Absolutely. Thank you for joining us today on Pod for the Cause, the official podcast of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Leadership Conference Education fund. For more information, please visit civilrights. org, and to connect with us, hit us up on Instagram and Twitter at civilrights. org. You can text us. Text Civil Rights. That’s two words, Civil Rights, to 52199, to keep up with our latest updates. Be sure to subscribe to our show on your favorite podcast app, and leave a five- star review. Thanks to our production team, Shalonda Hunter, Dina Craig, Taylor Nicholas, Oprah Cunningham, Eunic Epstein- Ortiz, and Podville Media. And that’s it from me, your host, Kanya Bennett. Until next time, let’s keep fighting for an America as good as its ideals.

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