Sshhh! It's a Surprise! from the Working Families Party - Pete Seeger's 92nd Birthday

So, we pause from the hurly-burly of organizing and politics, the need for jobs and clean water, and even the antics of idiotic right-wing Presidential candidates to note something wonderful.

Today is Pete Seeger's 92nd birthday. Folk singer, song writer, activist – the man is a living legend and a friend to the Working Families Party.

Some younger folks may remember Pete as the guy in the flannel shirt joining Bruce Springsteen on stage to perform “This Land is Your Land” at Barack Obama’s inaugural concert two years ago.

Whether or not you know the impact that he has made, each of us knows of the gains that social movements have made – at the workplace, the lunch counter, on a fishing boat, or at a mass demonstration for peace – that came in part due to Pete and his banjo. 
Please join us in giving Pete a memorable birthday. Watch this video that Pete made for the WFP last year, and then add your name to our Birthday Card:





If there is an American alive who more deserves the good wishes and gratitude of his countrymen, we don’t know who that is. For 70 years, Pete has fought the good fight with music, wit, smarts and love.

Since before most of us were born, Pete’s shown us that things can improve, but only if we organize. Cynicism is the easy way out, he’s taught us.

Click here to add your name to the card, and add a message

Pete has always believed in the ability of ordinary people to change the world. And we believe in the ability of ordinary people to know when to stop and say thanks.

Please forward to anyone and everyone, and let's get thousands of Americans to let this wonderful man know how much we appreciate how hard he has worked to make America truly a land with liberty and justice for all.

Don’t forget to help us spread the word – we guarantee Pete will be surprised by your outpouring! We’ll send the card at the end of the week.

All the best,

Dan Cantor
Executive Director, WFP

MoveOn.org Queens Council Upcoming Movie Nite ”Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" on Sunday April 247th

“Music should not be used just to forget our troubles, but to help us to understand and do something about them.”

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song is a moving tribute to an American icon and to the power of his music to inspire us.  The film includes some very moving concert footage in both large and small venues as well as interviews with such folk music legends as Arlo Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, and many more.  Seeger sparked the folk music revival of the 1960s with such songs as "Turn, Turn, Turn", "The Hammer Song", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", and the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome", a song which inspired Martin Luther King.


Seeger's story, however, is not just about folk music, but also about his passion for social justice and his political involvement with left-wing groups. His invoking the First Amendment before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the early 1950s resulted in his being blacklisted on television for 17 years.

Honored by the Kennedy Center for outstanding musical achievement, music and justice are Seeger's passion. He says that music should not be used just to forget our troubles, but to help us to understand and do something about them.  He has popularized union songs, freedom songs, songs about workers, songs about justice, as well as Woody Guthrie's indelible hymn to America, "This Land is Your Land".


Seeger has also been active on issues of the environment and his decade-long campaign to clean up the polluted Hudson River produced remarkable results, even though many said it was impossible. Pete Seeger: The Power of Song is tribute to a man who contributed so much to the quality of our lives and who suffered greatly for his political beliefs.


Everyone is invited to a free screening of this inspiring film 


Sunday April 24th -- 5:30pm at Terraza 7 Train Café  


40-19 Gleane Street, Elmhurst, NY 11373   (Take No. 7 train to 82^nd St. – café is one block from Roosevelt & 83rd Street - find green banner)