In seven songs, these Boston artists gave voice to resistance, persistence, and Black joy
By Hassan Ghanny Globe correspondent,Updated December 23, 2020, 1:36 p.m.
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A woman listens to a speaker during a Mass Action Against Police Brutality demonstration in Boston in September.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
The renowned nun, artist, and one-time Boston resident Sister Corita opined that art âdoes not come from thinking, but from responding.â Music exemplifies this notion. Call-and-response is ubiquitous at a live concert, a church sermon, or a New Orleans funeral procession, and the music it produces is one enriched by both human participation and rhythmic syncopation. 2020 delivered a call to action for Boston-based musicians to persist through resistance â and luckily for us, even grow artistically. Whether the conversation falls on communities of color, persons affected by state violence, or those disenfranchised by the current political system, the
By Wendy Richmond
As I write this column, I consider the built environment around me, and it is different from how it was six months ago. I’m not talking about the lines that are now on the floor to keep us six feet apart, or the boarded store windows, or the signs that say “Masks Required.” I’m talking about the way I am
seeing public space. The ongoing global pandemic and social unrest permeate every perspective, outright or subconsciously.
Before I enter an elevator, I check if anyone is inside. When I prepare for a six-hour car ride, I read a half dozen articles about how to safely use a public restroom. And when I walk along a narrow sidewalk and a stranger coming toward me crosses to the other side of the street, I wonder, “Is this courtesy or fear?”