Where have all the protest songs gone?
It’s a question that led to a gathering in Flossmoor, where performers, poets, artists and artisans came together for an emotionally charged evening of protest and peace.
The event, called Peace & Protest: The Art of Resistance, filled the Flossmoor Community House Saturday evening, drawing about 75 people.
Sentiments were made clear by the sea of slogans adorning T-shirts worn by the audience: “We the People Have Had Enough.” “Peace is Power.” “Hands Off Social Security.”
One, “Caring About People is Not Political,” was sported by Homewood resident Kate Atkins-Trimnell, eliciting comments and thumbs-ups from others in the crowd. Atkins-Trimnell wasn’t radical about her reasons for being there – to support the event (donations at the door went to the South Suburban Housing Center) and to listen to some good music.
The event took shape after Craig Frank, co-owner of the Rock Shop in Homewood, read a social media post by music journalist and former Chicago Tribune rock critic Greg Kot about the absence of protest music from the local scene.
“When I asked him where all the protest artists were lurking, he said the record companies were shying away and radio stations wouldn’t touch them,” Frank said. “He mentioned artists were going from town to town, like old-time troubadours, singing their songs of protest.”
That planted a seed that grew into a protest music night last fall at the Rock Shop, drawing about 30 people. “It was so successful, we decided to go bigger this time,” said Frank, who’s hoping for an even larger event this summer, around the Fourth of July, when the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary.
Saturday’s event featured 12 musicians performing original material or covers, along with several storytellers and poets. Many of the presenters were residents of, or had ties to, the Homewood-Flossmoor area, ranging from high school students to folks in their 50s.
Others came from farther away. The Point Dogs – Elise Bessemer of Carpentersville and Kelton Kennen of Algonquin – came armed with original songs, which they described as a blend of rock, blues and country. “Kick the Can,” their latest tune, “really hits home for a lot of people,” Kennen said.
“A lot of people are hurting because people they trusted are passive when they thought they’d be fighting for them … the realization you can’t rely on someone,” Bessemer elaborated. “We write a lot about what we see, and we see a lot of turmoil.”
Taking the stage, their guitar licks and vocals eventually led to the lyrics, “… keep on kickin’ the can on down the line … I really hope that leads you somewhere …”
Bessemer said she hopes listeners “see themselves in what we play. I hope what they see and I see match.”
The Point Dogs’ original songs are the latest in the pantheon of American protest music, which the First Amendment Museum dates back to 1774 and a song called “Free Americay!” written in the wake of the Boston Tea Party. More recent and well-known protest songs were among those shared by the evening’s artists, like “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are a-Changin’” and “American Idiot,” along with other original tunes.
Beyond music, others shared stories and memories of their brushes with history. Rich Pniewski, of Thornton, recalled growing up in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood during protests over school busing and how his family was harassed for refusing to join the protesters. Jelena Radovich-Fanta of Homewood, a professor at Governors State University, shared poetry and recollections of her childhood in Chile under Augusto Pinochet.
The audience sat in rapt attention as musicians, storytellers and poets shared their art. As the sun set outside and the light through the room’s high arched windows gave way to evening shadows and the glow of stage lights, audience members listened attentively, unencumbered by phones other than to snap an occasional photo.
Attendees also took time to peruse art available from a handful of vendors: pins, T-shirts, mosaics, photos, needlepoint – all delivering messages of protest, most against the current administration.
“It’s very inspiring to be around so many uplifting people,” said Melora Bales, a Peotone-based textile artist displaying her wares. “My themes are environmental and political,” she explained of her needlepoint based on 1930s designs but updated with contemporary slogans. “It’s nice to stitch your feelings.”
Kim Beatty, of Homewood, led a table of GSU students making posters for Saturday’s “No Kings” rally. “Some people aren’t as good at the shouting,” Beatty said. “I want to support an event that says, ‘Hey, that doesn’t seem right.’ Everything’s so polarizing these days.”
For its part, the South Suburban Housing Center displayed color photos of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s march in Chicago’s Marquette Park neighborhood 60 years ago this summer.
“It’s so nice to get support from the local Homewood-Flossmoor community,” said Mackenzie Popravak, the Homewood-based center’s director of communications and outreach. The Center provides education about fair housing rights and encourages sustainable home ownership.
Thankful for the proceeds generated by the event, Popravak said her agency has had to curtail its activities amid federal funding cuts. The issue hits home for Popravak, who joined the Center in January 2020: “I grew up in Homewood and we lost our home in the foreclosure crisis.”
In April, another gathering in Flossmoor, this time at St. John the Evangelist Church, will put the power of art behind messages of protest.
St. John’s, 2640 Park Drive, will host Songs of Resistance, presented by Spotlight Performance Academy and the Homewood Creative Alliance, at 2 p.m. April 11. It will feature a gallery of artwork available for auction and a concert beginning at 3 p.m. The art and music focus on themes of protesting injustice, protecting the marginalized and strengthening community, according to organizers. Information is at https://www.spotlightperformanceacademy.org/.
All proceeds from ticket sales and the art auction will benefit the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which has spent 40 years promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to participate fully in our diverse and vibrant society, they said.
Jim Dudlicek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
