Pete Seeger 'walked the walk and sang the walk'

The American folk singer and activist Peter Seeger died Tuesday at the age of 94. His passing prompted many comments, including these three from local residents:

"The Labor Movement lost a vocal giant today with the passing of Pete Seeger. Pete was a man who supported the working man, wanting to fix the wrongs of society. Pete stood up for individuals, for humans rights and for workers rights everywhere. Pete walked the walk and he sang the talk at many of the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation events."

Mr. Seeger’s career carried him from singing at labor rallies to the Top 10 to college auditoriums to folk festivals, and from a conviction for contempt of Congress (after defying the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s) to performing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at an inaugural concert for Barack Obama.

Seeger’s involvement in the labor movement began decades ago, when he worked with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in the 1940s. Seeger joined with folk legend Woody Guthrie and others to form The Almanac Singers, who recorded songs such as “The Talking Union Blues,” and traveled around the country, singing at CIO strikes and meetings.

In 1955 he was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he testified, “I feel that in my whole life I have never done anything of any conspiratorial nature.” He also stated: “I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this.”

Mr. Seeger offered to sing the songs mentioned by the congressmen who questioned him. The committee declined.

During the late 1960s Mr. Seeger started an improbable project: a sailing ship that would crusade for cleaner water on the Hudson River. Between other benefit concerts he raised money to build the Clearwater, a 106-foot sloop that was launched in June 1969 with a crew of musicians. The ship became a symbol and a rallying point for antipollution efforts and education.

In May 2009, after decades of litigation and environmental activism led by Mr. Seeger’s nonprofit environmental organization, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, General Electric began dredging sediment containing PCBs it had dumped into the Hudson. Mr. Seeger and his wife also helped organize a yearly summer folk festival named after the Clearwater.

Beth Soto, executive director of HVALF adds: "Mr. Seeger showed us how to do things with grace, with a sense of history and honor and he did so by always looking on the positive side of things. We have lost a friend today, one who was a supporter of the working man, woman and child."

Paul Ellis-Graham, president
Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation

I am saddened by the passing of Pete Seeger. We don't always agree with him, but when it comes to clean air, water, and soil, he was certainly right. And he used to sing about the gap between the very rich and everyone else:

Maybe you've been working as hard as you're able,

But you've just got crumbs from the rich man's table,

And maybe you're thinking, was it truth or fable,

That this land was made for you and me.

A woman told me the other say (after she tearfully withdrew from college for lack of money) that she was happy that the rich were getting richer.

"See these beautiful clothes am wearing?" she said, indicating her handsome fur hat and fur-collared coat. "I couldn't dress so beautifully if rich people didn't keep buying new clothes and giving their old clothes to the thrift shop!"

Most things are changing for the better, but not the income gap between the very wealthy and everyone else. Pete was right. Now even we in the struggling middle class are wondering, truly, if this land is made for you and me.

K.J. Walters
Monroe

“We mourn the passing of Hudson Valley native and folk pioneer Pete Seeger. His music and message will continue to inspire future generations.”

Steve Neuhaus
Orange County Executive