For the remainder of 2012, The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library will be releasing one recording per week of the 25 songs created to honor the speakers at this year’s TEDxSomerville, accompanied by videos of their TEDx talks (see all previously released at: http://blog.michaeljepstein.com/search/label/tedxsongs2012).
While the event was back in March, it has taken us a while to roll out these recordings (…and we’re still working on them!). Here’s a recap of our experience and songs, Tanya’s experience recap, and the story of how the songs were presented at the TEDxSummit in Qatar by TEDxSomerville Executive Director C. Todd Lombardo.
Monica Poole gave a dynamic talk on the impact of the Occupy movement beyond just the boundaries of the physical occupation of a space. While we were not physical occupiers in Boston, we watched the physical occupation closely and worked with Sleepover Shows to create a short piece on the role of music in protest.
“Boston’s Occupation at Dewey Square was not just a protest tactic: the Occupation attempted to create a convergence space for people to come together, empower themselves, and build an engaged community. The victory of the Occupation was not simply the transient literal occupation; the victory was a shift in thinking: not occupation but preoccupation. We inserted economic and social injustice and the reawakening of democracy into the public discourse; in ourselves, we nurtured collaboration, community-building, agency, and experimentation.
Somerville resident Monica Poole brings her Harvard education to Bunker Hill Community College students in order to train a new generation of change agents. Her courses engage the Boston community through experiential learning in subjects such as: ethical hacking, global history, philosophy, and political activism.”
Lyrics/chords:
Monica Poole
Am
The beginning
Am C
is near
C G
(but you) you can’t evict an
G Am
an idea
Am Am
(You can) use weapons
Am C
deploy fear
C G
you can’t evict an
G Am
an idea
Am
Monica, Monica, Monica Poole
She and the people, they broke the rules
She’s helping build a new solution
Occupy Boston
Viva, Evolution!
They dug up all flowers
But they couldn’t stop the spring
They shut up all our voices
But the word traveling