This two-part lesson explores the use of music in the work of doing justice. It will explore three facets of that work:

• rallying and protesting against injustice in real time: The Power of Protest
• teaching and mobilizing against injustice: The Power of Ritual
• advocating and galvanizing against injustice: The Power of Performance.

The lesson, Part 1, will highlight:

• Several key protests against injustice in American history, music that propelled and sustained them, and Jewish involvement in both;
• The era of the civil rights movement, with other eras explored as well;
• How the Passover seder serves as an example of and model for the revisioning, refocusing and utilization of rituals/liturgical moments in service of social justice values and concerns;
• Jewish involvement in many aspects of most entertainment genres and moments that served to reflect and/or forward the work of justice.

In the first part of the lesson, learners will listen to the music of Herman Paley, Der Arbeter Ring, Peter, Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan, Debbie Friedman, Michael Hunter Ochs and more.

The lesson, Part 2, will highlight:

• Several key moments in the history of musical performance, especially in the era of the Civil Rights Movement, and how music served them or responded to them;
• Jewish involvement in many aspects of most entertainment genres and moments that served to reflect and/or forward the work of justice;
• How Jewish creativity continues to draw from and motivate the call to social justice.

The second part of the lesson introduces learners to the music of Woody Guthrie and The Klezmatics, Dave Brubeck, Harburg and Gorney, Bruce Adolphe, Noah Aronson and Banot, and more.

All the while, they’ll ask themselves:

• What factors and events have helped propel a concern for dignity and civil rights in the United States? What factors and events have weighed against this?
• What factors and events have helped propel a concern for dignity and civil rights within the American Jewish community? What factors and events operated against this concern?
• How can the Passover Haggadah and Seder be revisioned in light of specific civil rights (and other social justice) concerns?
• How does music and the performance of music support and propel social justice efforts?