The Concert for Social Justice – An Event Not to be Missed

Throughout history, movements for social change have utilized the power of song to recount history and to inspire people in their journey toward justice. Music has been a catalyst for change, a medium for protest, and a way to deliver a message of hope. No one understood that better than the likes of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, Bob Marley and Bruce Springsteen.

Songs have the power to move people, more than words alone. Teaching people songs – and singing them together – can move people emotionally, socially, and politically.

Bono said, “Music can change the world because it can change people.”

Jackson Browne, David Crosby & Graham Nash

Ensuring that music will continue to play a significant role in social justice movements means that our youth, who hold the keys to the future, must be taught to understand this. Thus, the importance of the new program, “Speak Up Sing Out: Songs of Conscience,” being sponsored in partnership by The GRAMMY Museum and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

This program, first piloted in Los Angeles schools in 2014, invites middle-school and high-school students to write songs about social justice issues and express their perspectives on issues ranging from domestic violence and housing to global warming and human trafficking, and other topics.

To advance and fund this important program Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the GRAMMY Museum are presenting “The Concert for Social Justice” in Hollywood on April 8, 2015 at the Fonda Theater, were the winning song will be performed.

The show will highlight the power of music as a tool for social justice and will feature a collection of artists performing songs that have helped generate change over the past five decades.

The artists who have agreed to participate thus far are Jackson Browne, David Crosby & Graham Nash, Melissa Etheridge, La Santa Cecilia, Tom Morello and Rocky Dawuni. There will also be special performances from actors Dennis Haysbert, Martin Sheen, David Arquette, Chad Lowe and Alfre Woodard.

Jackson Browne & Tom Morello

Singer and activist Tom Morello, who will perform at the Concert, says it’s his job as a musician “to steel the backbone of people on the front lines of social justice struggles, and to put wind in the sails of those struggles.”

Clearly, this is an event not to be missed. Get your tickets while they are available online at Fondatheatre.com or AXS.com. Purchase tickets by phone by calling AXS at (888) 929-7849. Tickets are $55.