The Power of Singing Together

I’ve been hearing about groups of people, in Minneapolis and in Madison, gathering to sing together in response to the chaos and cruelty we have seen and heard about on the news. Protest songs, justice songs, folk songs, call and response songs, hopeful songs. This speaks of the power of music and especially of singing together.

Recently, someone told me about the Singing Revolution. In the late ‘80’s, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania lived under Soviet control and watched as their national and cultural identities were suppressed. But one thing that survived was their music festivals, where they could sing the traditional songs passed down from generation to generation.

As hundreds of thousands of people joined together to sing songs that lifted up their history, identity, and hope, they began to see how they could use this gift to work toward freedom. Their music became a form of nonviolent resistance. And their numbers swelled.

In 1989, nearly two million people joined hands in a human chain that stretched for hundreds of miles, linking these three countries. Their courage and unity captured the hearts of many throughout this world, and within a few short years, all three nations regained their independence.

I think this has particular meaning for us today. Nonviolent resistance is a time honored path to change. Because love is stronger than hate. I encourage you to find a way to fill yourself with hope, find people to do this with, and find ways to use this to the benefit of the most vulnerable among us.