Pete Seeger- American icon- is gone
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| photo from Wikipedia by Anthony Pepitone |
Pete Seeger, singer, song writer, champion of social change and American icon has passed away at the age of 94.
For many Americans Pete Seeger is about as close as you can get to being a real hero. Pete Seeger was an activist all his life as an anti-war demonstrator and defender of the poor and minorities, inspiring many with his songs.
He is also well known and well-loved in New York especially for his long and tireless campaign to clean up the Hudson River. In the 1970s this river was contaminated by PCBs, a nuclear power plant, pesticides… His boat, the Clearwater Sloop and its organization were fundamental in getting the river clean again.
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photo from Wikipedia, by Anthony Pepitone
Hudson River Sloop
cultura americana |
As a folk singer and song writer, Pete Seeger was popular in the 1950s until his group, The Weavers, was blacklisted. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, and environmental causes.
Here he is singing Which Side Are You On?
The song was written in 1931 by Florence Reece who was the wife of Sam Reece, an organizer for the United Mine Workers in Harlan County, Kentucky.
The song still has relevance today when we can all ask ourselves which side we are on when we think about all the ideals Pete Seeger fought for.
