MARCH 23 “THIS WEEK IN THE MUSIC OF NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE”

The musician and rapper Michael Franti with his band “Spearhead” released its second album this week in 1997 (March 25).

Three years later, “Spearhead” released one of its most politically charged albums, Stay Human. The album critiqued the death penalty, mass media, globalization, and the prison-industrial complex. They used music to protest for an end to unjust forms of violence–such as executions and prison abuse.

The band continues to use music as a form of nonviolent activism, appearing on radio shows such as Democracy Now!

A more recent song entitled “Bomb the World,” recorded after 9/11, included the lyrics:

“You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can’t bomb it into peace.”

To learn more about Franti’s nonviolent activism see this from Democracy Now!, and visit his website.