Emma’s Revolution Concert to Support FEM Alliance Uganda
Emma’s Revolution, an American folk music and social justice activist duo, will perform a concert at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Flint (UUCF) at 7 p.m. Oct. 29 to support FEM Alliance Uganda, a social justice organization that, according to its website, advocates for “the needs of the growing LBTQ community.”
Emma’s Revolution
Emma’s Revolution, consisting of Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow (a.k.a. “Sandy O”) is named after human rights activist Emma Goldman who is reputed to have said, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be a part of your revolution.” The duo, with four albums to their credit, have been performing together since 2001.
Humphries and Opatow have composed songs for multiple social justice causes that have included: Black Lives Matter; Pink, the Refugee and Immigrant Women’s Network; School of the Americas Watch; the Chesapeake Climate Action Network; and the Rachel Carson Center.
The work of Emma’s Revolution has been covered by artists such as Holly Near and others; they’ve sung for the Dalai Lama; and their music has praised by Pete Seeger. Seeger told National Public Radio the duo’s music “will be sung well into the 22nd century.”
Emma’s Revolution won a Grand Prize for folk music in the 2003 John Lennon Songwriting Competition and the inaugural Phil Ochs Award. They’ve performed thousands of concerts in the U.S. and around the world.
FEM Alliance Uganda
FEM Alliance is, according to its website, “a lesbian, bisexual, transgender and Queer organization … established in 2012,” based in Kampala, the commercial and political capital of Uganda.
Uganda’s government adopted one of the world’s harshest anti-gay laws, the Anti-Homosexuality Act, that proscribes the death penalty for some same-sex behaviors.
Jay Mulacha and the Kerrs
Jay Mulacha, current FEM Alliance executive director, met Lynn and Jerry Kerr, current UUCF co-ministers, at a conference about LGBTQ issues in Bowling Green, Ohio in 2017. Mulacha and the Kerrs engaged in conversation and learned of the dangerous environment that enveloped LGBTQ individuals in Uganda, including Jay.
Mulacha and the Kerrs became friends to the extent that they offered him the opportunity to move to their home in the U.S. for safety reasons. Mulacha declined but, nonetheless, their relationship evolved to the point that the Kerrs consider him an “adopted” son. For now, Mulacha remains in Uganda to work for the rights of LGBTQ persons.
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Tickets for the concert can be purchased up to and including the night of the event at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Flint, 2474 S. Ballenger Hwy, Flint; or by calling 810-232-4032. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Reduced-price tickets are available.
[Sources: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Flint; Reuters; FEM Alliance Uganda; Emma’s Revolution website; Wikipedia.]
EVM Staff can be reached at eastvillagemagazineflint@gmail.com.
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