Songwriting as Radical Imagination; An Activist Songbook Discussion

Joined by Activist Songbook Composer Byron Au Yong and Lyricist Aaron Jafferis, a panel of artist/activists will discuss music and its role in activism and democracy. Joined by a panel of local New Haven activists and nationally recognized organizers including Kit Yan & Melissa Li, co-creators of Interstate, we will learn how music can be a tool to affect change at every level of our democracy. How does music change people, history, and reality? What draws you to songs that name and fight oppression, versus songs that claim liberation and create the new world we're stepping into, versus both? How do you see music affecting political change within this election year and how can it be a voice of democracy at large?

Additional support for the Activist Songbook Panel Discussion is provided by the New England States Touring Program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.