We Have Been Here Before – Singing forJustice
“Our chorus has a dual mission: to sing Yiddish music and to be a voice for social justice. Therefore, a lot of our members are activists: union activists, community activists, health care reform activists, women’s activists, etc. Our dual mission is reflected not only in the music we sing— we have a strong repertory of the old songs about immigration, unions, sweatshops, rich vs. poor, etc.— but also in the places we choose to sing. This year, in addition to Jewish audiences, we sang, for instance, for the AIDS Ministry of a mostly Caribbean Methodist congregation and we sang for the University of Massachusetts Labor Resource Center, where AFL-CIO president John Sweeney was the keynote speaker.”
– Lisa Gallatin, 2000
Dear Boston Workers Circle,
We have been here before.
In a 2000 interview, then-BWC director and choir conductor Lisa Gallatin taught us that our songs embody our Jewish spirit, threading together the idealism and struggle that have enabled us to fight fascism for over 125 years. Our songs of struggle are the product and the expression of those who came before us— the hopes, the fears, the baggage, and the beauty. We sing to enact our Jewishness and social justice in the same breath. We sing to be a voice for justice, a progressive voice in Judaism, and a voice that will not stay silent in the face of fascism, regardless of the victim.
Boston Workers Circle continues the legacy of raising our voices for freedom through A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus. A Besere Velt is our 80-member, intergenerational, community chorus, led by Music Director, Derek David. From conferences to picket lines, from temples to interfaith rallies, from universities to senior centers, A Besere Velt weaves the heartache and irrepressible idealism of Yiddish music into a vision of justice and humanity for the 21st century.
Join me in ensuring our voices continue to be heard by making a donation to Boston Workers Circle today!
In gratitude,
Jeremy Menchik
BWC Member & Shule Parent
