One night in 1970
I saw New York at its best, when someone took me to a dock on the Hudson River
where the sloop Clearwater was
sailing in. Pete Seeger, my favorite folk singer, gave an impassioned concert
that night that focused on controlling water pollution and saving the Hudson. It
was around the time of the first Earth Day, and the crowd responded to him
fervently. Somehow I worked up the courage to approach him and ask him about a
rather vague idea I had for using folk music to teach children about ecology.
He expressed some interest, and suggested that I contact his wife about the
idea. His wife? I was mildly insulted, assuming that he was
just trying to get rid of me. (Years later, I learned that his beloved and
trusted wife handled everything about his work, but it was too late for my idea.
What a lost opportunity!)
No one could
inspire people the way Pete did. Whether singing about Dust Bowl refugees,
labor unions, civil rights, the Viet Nam war, or the environment, Pete could
express the most poignant feelings in the human heart. Through the seventies
and eighties, I listened to him singing on the radio or television whenever
possible.
Sometime in the
nineties he appeared at a union rally in California. It was the first chance I
had had to hear him in person since 1970, and of course I eagerly attended his
concert. It was a little sad, because his powerful voice was weakening, but
just seeing and hearing him again was a privilege.
Pete died a few
days ago, and so much of what he stood for is still uncompleted. Yet, there has
been progress in some areas. Perhaps most important, he galvanized many to sing
out for freedom and justice. That song will never die.
