Music For A Better Tomorrow

by jstory

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	1.	You Can't Divide Us 04:28
	2.	Defund Police 06:49
	3.	The People United 03:33
	4.	Affirm Yourself 02:26
	5.	Educate Yourself 01:22
	6.	Speak Up 01:55
	7.	Odessa 06:52

about

I was at a protest on June 7th in Glendale, CA and recorded a speech given by Tanita Ligons. Tanita is a healer, activist, and the founder of Black In Glendale. B.I.G. is an organization which supports and fosters the black community in Glendale. The speech became more significant to me upon learning that, up until the late 60s, Glendale was a sundown town, meaning that after sundown, Black people were not allowed to be in the streets and became the targets of violence, abuse, and arrest. As if that wasn’t enough, up until the 80s, the American nazi party West Coast headquarters was in Glendale.

This was the first ever march in Glendale for Black Lives Matter.

In her speech, Tanita told us to speak in affirmations; to say that today, I am going to make a change; today, I am going to speak up, I am going to stand up to injustice, I am going to fight for a better tomorrow, I am going to choose to buy Black, I am going to have the uncomfortable conversations that need to be had, I am going to change myself.
She also said, it’s not going to be easy. Things are going to be ugly. Things are going to be messy and the only way forward is to fail, dust yourself off, then try again.

Today, I am releasing a time-capsule of recordings from protests in Los Angeles interwoven with music I’ve made over the past 6 months.

The first 3 tracks take the listener on an ambient-journey through massive crowds of protesters chanting “You Can’t Divide Us, “ “Defund Police,” and “The People United Can Never Be Divided” over repetitious drones and lush soundscapes.

On track 4, Tanita has graciously agreed to let me use the recording of her voice.

Tracks 5 - 6 snap the listener back to the reality that even with an equivalent college education, Black graduates don’t receive the same opportunities as their White counterparts and that there are long standing ties between racism, the cops, the criminal justice system and hate groups in America.

Track 7 closes the journey with the singular message that racism must be abolished.

It’s called Music For A Better Tomorrow and it's only available on Bandcamp.

I will donate and match all donations (up to $300 total) from this project to Black in Glendale.

credits

released June 19, 2020

Protesters in Los Angeles - Chants
Tanita Fadyeyola Harris-Ligons - Speaker on track 4
Anna Buckner - Album art

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about

jstory Durham, North Carolina

Durham, NC. Find him on IG @jstory808.

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