LAWCHA remembers legendary folk singer and activist, Pete Seeger, who passed away on January 27, 2014. Seeger captivated multiple generations of activists through his tunes about social justice in a career spanning most of the twentieth century. His best known songs include “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” “If I Had a Hammer,” “Turn! Turn! Turn!,” and “We Shall Overcome!”
Past LAWCHA President Mike Honey, in his recent interview with HNN about Seeger, writes:
I met [Pete Seeger] in the movement in the South when I was an organizer from 1970 to 1976. I was working with Carl and Anne Braden in the Southern Conference Educational Fund, a progressive support group for the civil rights movement and antiwar movement.
Pete knew all of those people because they were all victims of the Red Scare together. Carl Braden had gone to prison twice for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee for integrationist activities—the same intimidation Pete faced. Pete supported them in their fight for civil liberties and, when I worked for the Bradens, I first got to know him that way. I also became the Director of the Southern Committee Against Repressive Legislation, formerly the committee to Abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee. We had a lot in common.
I met Pete in various settings in the seventies. He came in and raised money for the movement. Somebody once said that Pete “was the most accessible famous person in the world.” And he was. He was easy to talk to and he just considered himself a part of the movement for a better world.
For more from Robin Lindley’s interview with Mike Honey about Seeger, see the article, “There Was No Barrier Between [Seeger] and All of His Friends and Supporters” at the History News Network.
Obituaries and Remembrances
- Robin Lindley, “There Was No Barrier Between [Seeger] and All of His Friends and Supporters,” HNN, 2/5
- Scott Simon, “Sing Out: A Concert Celebration Of Pete Seeger,” NPR, 2/1
- John Gillie and C.R. Roberts, “Music, labor recall Seeger as a voice for social justice,” The Bellingham Herald, 1/29
Pictures and Media
To add to our remembrance of Pete Seeger, please contact LAWCHA@Duke.edu.
