Just a short note this month, with news of warmer weather and new music!

There’s been so much beauty -- neighbors standing up for neighbors, hiding neighbors, feeding neighbors, bringing comfort and aid to neighbors in hiding -- amongst and in response to the cruelty of the federal occupation of Minneapolis -- which, while diminished in the news and more covert in the streets, is ongoing and dire.

If you’d like to contribute to the relief efforts here, follow the donate links from the “Folkies Fight The Fash” concert page. As the occupation spreads to other cities and towns around the country, I encourage you to seek out ways to support your local community.

The Music

Before I introduce my own music, allow me to point you to the Singing Resistance Song Book, as described by the organizers:

This songbook is part of the Singing Resistance movement. Before learning the songs, be sure to review the toolkit above. It's highly encouraged to create an Instagram account with your group's singing action so they can be amplified. You can find examples of those actions here at the Twin Cities Instagram account. *To print this document: make sure you scroll to the top of the document first.

Deep gratitude to all of the artists in the songbook who continue to feed and fuel social movements throughout history and now. We highly encourage following their work.

It has been my great joy to be able to show up for them from time to time, either to sing, or as an observer and protector.

I often sing while I'm out walking or driving, songs from the workbook, songs from my youth, and occasionally songs of my own.  This one has been particularly helpful as I'm preparing to walk out the door.  I hope you find it some use as well:

The Minneapolis Jingle
"Wear Your Whistle!"

When you wander, wear your whistle
Take it with you when you go
Send those fascists back to Whipple
When you see them, blow, man, blow!

A recording is available on Bandcamp or directly from my home-spun website.

Released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 4.0 license.  Share it, sell it, change it, sing it in any context, but please retain the original attribution.

I’ve got a couple more of these songs up my sleeve, just waiting for the right moment for me to record them. Stay tuned…!

In solidarity and music,

—Jen