Jun
4
7:00pm
Sustaining Our Spirits #23 - Reggie Harris, singer/songwriter, activist
By David LaMotte
Internationally acclaimed performer Reggie Harris is a deeply rooted singer, songwriter, storyteller and cultural ambassador, known worldwide for his ability to inspire hope and create opportunities for building community and positive change.
A powerful interpreter of song and history, Reggie’s 40 plus years as a musician and educator have kept him on the road presenting over 300 concerts and lectures per year at arts centers, universities, schools and music and story festivals throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His travels also connect him to a variety of faith and worship communities and centers of ecumenical intersection in work that brings people together in song and dialogue.
As a teaching artist in the Kennedy Center’s CETA program (Changing Education Through the Arts) Reggie has focused millions on the role of music in the history of Underground Railroad and as the source for inspiration and motivation in the ongoing struggles of the Modern Civil Rights Movement. He is presently a Woodrow Wilson Scholar in the Independent College Lecture Program and serves as Co-President and Director of Music for the Living Legacy Project, an organization that leads civil rights pilgrimages through the south and hosts seminars on voting and human rights to educate and inspire participation and reform.
His latest recordings “Ready To Go” (the #5 CD on the US Folk DJ charts in 2018) and “Deeper Than the Skin” (a 2020 collaboration with friend and fellow musician Greg Greenway) have been received with great critical acclaim. Both recordings address the issues of human rights and our need to heal racial and national divisions that threaten our relationships in the healing of our people and our planet.
Reggie embodies the spirit of mentors and friends Pete Seeger and Dr Bernice Johnson Reagon as he blends themes of life and hope in his songs and in his every day.
I've known Reggie for a lot of years, and I can assure you that he will have an encouraging word to bring, rooted in the grounded perspective that many years of doing the work can sometimes give. I hope you can join us.
hosted by
DL
David LaMotte
share