& WFDU-FM’s Traditions Playlist for June 28, 2015

Songwriter Peter Mulvey Invites Other Songwriters to Contribute Verses to Honor Memory of Charleston Victims … and Protest the Confederate Flag

Charles Seeger, the father of the late Pete Seeger, created the term “folk process” in an attempt to help define exactly what is a “folk song.” The concept is a way of showing how a song is received, interpreted and transformed from generation to generation within a community. Seeger added to the earlier observations of Cecil Sharp and others who studied how these songs were passed on in various communities. In general, most musicologists define folk music as being transmitted from generation to generation through an oral tradition with the songs evolving through a community that creates variation in the song. Linking the past with the present, the variations can change from community to community and often family to family, whose singers have preserved these songs. As these factors require a test of time, contemporary folk music is not recognized by the academic community at large as being true “folk music” and is often considered just an offshoot of a commercial folk revival.

I’ve always felt that focusing strictly on “oral transmission” is misleading – it was a factor of the technology available in the community at the time. Can folk songs really be created in this day and age? I say “yes.”

A look at a recent song created by singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey gives us a glimpse of what could be considered a contemporary folk process. Using tools like Facebook and YouTube, Peter Mulvey sowed the seed of a song that is spreading and being altered, even as I write these words.  More importantly, the song has become a powerful commemoration to the victims of a tragedy, and also an inspiration to action to remove a racist symbol from public display.The horrific terrorist attack on the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17 shocked the nation, in fact the entire globe. Nine innocent lives were taken in the racist attack by a shooter allegedly bent on starting a race war. (Yes, I know that the crime is still being investigated and has not yet been legally classified as either a “hate crime” or “terrorism”, but I choose to use the word “terrorism” to describe an act of violence perpetuated on innocent people when the motive strongly appears to be based on hatred and racism.)

The shooter chose one of the nations oldest African-American churches as the place to commit his act of terrorism, a church with a long history of organizing the community in the fight for civil rights. The symbolism of the building could not have a been a coincidence.

Since the shooting, another symbol has become the focus of debate and protest. The state of South Carolina lowered flags to half-mast immediately following the tragedy, except for the Confederate battle flag that is prominently displayed near the South Carolina State House. As part of the state’s monument to the Confederacy, it was noted that state law prohibited the altering of the flag, and the flagpole lacked a pulley system to lower it.

Like all of us, Peter Mulvey watched the news in horror. To many of us, the image of the Confederate flag and its racist connotations added insult to the tragedy. While not known for political song, Peter was moved to share his feelings in song, and Friday June 19, just two days after the shooting, he wrote “Take Down Your Flag.”  He composed the song in the afternoon and performed it that evening when he opened for Ani DiFranco at the Calvin Theater in Northampton, Massachusetts. The next day, his friend and fellow singer-songwriter Pamela Means sang it at a gig she was doing in Providence, Rhode Island while Peter sang it again at a gig in Lowell, Massachusetts. The next day, Ani DiFranco sang the song at the annual Clearwater festival, the Great Hudson River Revival in New York state. Her performance of the song, not yet 40 hours old, was heard on a live broadcast on New York public radio station WFUV.

A few hours after first performing the song in public, Peter shared a version on Youtube and his Facebook page. He wrote “In Charleston, the United States Flag and the South Carolina state flag are at half-mast for nine days, for the nine victims. But the Confederate battle flag is flying at the top of its pole. News outlets are reporting that lowering it can only be done by a vote of the state legislature. I submit that lowering it can be done by two hands and human decency.”

In the song, Peter wrote about Susie Jackson, the 87 year old who was brutally murdered in the attack. Peter noted that her age and story “kept me up at night” and he chose to honor her memory in the song. A friend of Peter’s asked if he would write verses about all nine victims, a task he had no plans to do. The thought did give Peter a new idea. He had just received a request from his friend Ralston Bowles who asked for permission to sing the song. Peter called Ralston back and asked him to write a second verse.  Peter began reaching out to other friends to do the same.

Soon, other artists began adding verses for the other victims – Anaïs Mitchell honored the memory of DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Mark Erelli remembered Cynthia Hurd, Erin McKeown wrote about Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton and Ani DiFranco added a verse for Tywanza Sanders. Peter extended his “invitation” to write new verses and share the song.  The song was spreading.  Peter, and others, were sharing these videos all over Facebook.

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