Four: Truly The Sun
Excerpt from a poem written in 1911 by Japanese author and feminist Raicho Hiratsuka.
We are no longer the moon.
Today we are truly the sun.
We will build shining golden cathedrals
at the top of crystal mountains, East of
the Land of the Rising Sun.
Women, when you paint your own portrait,
do not forget to put the golden dome at
the top of your head.
Women’s empowerment, equal treatment, education, and health care are issues that intersect with every cause and movement. There is so much that has to change and this issue in particular can feel overwhelming. It impacts all walks of life, including, sadly, my particular area in music and the arts. It’s being addressed at a time when it seems our leaders want to take us backwards in time with their disregard for women. Expanding our consciousness is one thing we can all contribute, but we also must wherever possible join the fight for equal pay, equal rights, equal respect.
I hope you will join me in supporting Off The Sidelines and Rise to Run, two nonprofits encouraging women to run for office, and Planned Parenthood, an essential organizer for women’s health and reproductive rights.
Off The Sidelines
offthesidelines.org
Rise to Run
www.risetorun.org
Planned Parenthood
www.plannedparenthood.org
I’ll be making donations and I hope you will join me. There is so much to be done and there are so many empowered women doing something about it.
Here is a link to Raicho Hiratsuke's autobiography, In The Beginning, Woman Was The Sun:
amzn.to/2q3wLPK
from
UPLIFT,
track released April 4, 2018
Personnel:
Dave Douglas, trumpet
Joe Lovano, alto clarinet
Mary Halvorson, guitar
Julian Lage, guitar
Bill Laswell, bass
Ian Chang, drums and electronics
Recorded and mixed by Tyler McDiarmid at Orange Music Sound Studio in Orange, NJ on December 11, 2017.
Video and photography shot by Geoff Countryman
Artwork by Yoko Yamabe at Randesign