Get Up, Stand Up: The History of Pop and Protest
Dec. 8 , 7:00 p.m.
In partnership with KVPT, Valley Public Television

Since the early 20th century, musicians have come together in the name of human rights to fight war, hunger, corruption, oppression, AIDS, apartheid, and Third World debt. From single songs passed by word of mouth to star-studded, multimillion-dollar benefits, activists from Joe Hill to Bob Geldof have spoken up by singing out, drawing together disparate groups of people with unforgettable verse and universal harmony. GET UP, STAND UP serves as a timely reminder of the potent role music has played in a century's worth of political protest.

The program traces the birth of protest songs back to the American union movement and explores the impact of pop culture in politicizing the baby boomer generation during the Vietnam era. It delves into the history of politics and protest in black music, from the civil rights movement and pacifism to black separatism and gangsta rap. The music in GET UP, STAND UP is omnipresent, moving seamlessly from "The Times They Are A-Changin'" to "Power to the People." By weaving together historical footage and commentary from today's musicians and music critics, the program puts the power of pop into perspective. From the 1970s on, American musicians began taking on larger and larger issues in countries as diverse and far-flung as Bangladesh and Tibet. Benefit concerts and individual hit songs, including Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" and USA for Africa's "We Are the World," raised millions while capturing the attention of billions worldwide.

Ultimately, GET UP, STAND UP is an investigation and a celebration, a reminder that pop can be so much more than simply "popular" music. Using songs as punctuation, the film chronicles the way music has been used throughout this century to convey social dissatisfaction, from highlighting labor unrest to denouncing terrorist attacks.

Links and Resources

Film's official site

Centre for Political Song
Discover articles commissioned by the Centre about political music by songwriters, activists, and academics; lyrics to unpublished contemporary political songs; and a vast list of links to artists and organizations.

Music of Social Change
Find essays about protest songs and links to Web sites about the civil rights movement.

Life Every Voice: Protest Songs
The companion site to the University of Virginia Library's exhibit examining American music, Lift Every Voice includes a section about protest songs accompanied by audio clips and sheet-music pages from the library's collections.

PBS.org: A FORCE MORE POWERFUL: We Were Soldiers: Freedom Songs
Find a section on key songs from the civil rights movement on this site about how popular movements used nonviolent resistance to win their struggles against oppressive governments and brutal regimes.

Protest Music as Responsible Citizenship
Read interviews with musicians Harry Belafonte, Holly Near, Bernice Johnson Reagon, and Pete Seeger, all of whom were invited to an event in September 2003 examining the interrelationship between protest, music, and citizenship.

PBS.org: INDEPENDENT LENS: Strange Fruit
Listen to an excerpt of one of the most powerful songs of the 20th century, "Strange Fruit," made famous by singer Billie Holiday, and trace the history of protest music in the United States via the site's timeline.

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Explore the extensive music collection of the Smithsonian Institution's record label, featuring songs from the civil rights movement, folk traditions from around the world, blues, spirituals, and much more.

Guy & Candi Carawan: A Personal Story Through Sight & Sound
The Carawans report on their experiences as activists, songleaders, and trainers of songleaders at the Highlander Center during the Civil Rights movement.

The Unofficial Billie Holiday Website
Lyrics to dozens of her songs, including "Strange Fruit;" biographical materials; articles on Holiday; mp3s available on the web; link to Ladyslipper site with more audio clips; bibliographical materials; discography; photos; website links.

Highlander Center
For several decades, the Highlander Center has been training people from all walks of life in the arts of protest and dissent in a cooperative learning environment. Music plays a big part of their curriculum.

Live 8
LIVE 8 is part of a day of action across the world which kick-starts The Long Walk to Justice that calls on the leaders of the world's richest countries to act when they meet in Gleneagles on 6th-9th July. On July 2nd in London, Edinburgh, Philadelphia, Berlin, Paris and Rome millions will be coming together to call for complete debt cancellation, more and better aid and trade justice for the world's poorest people.

Unofficial Live Aid Site
Detailed information on all the performers and songs played during the 16 hours broadcast on July 13th 1985. Benefit concert for Ethiopia