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Yesterday, sitting in Washington, D.C.’s Freedom Plaza, where an ongoing occupation is taking place, Pat Humphries and Sandy O., the guitar-wielding duo that make up Emma’s Revolution, discussed the origins of their newest song, “Occupy the USA.”
“A friend of ours who’s a labor organizer in New York City [said], ‘We need to invade the U.S. and win the hearts and minds of the people.’ And we thought, ‘Oh, well, if it’s an invasion that makes it a war. And if it’s a war then it will be funded. Wouldn’t that be a great idea?’ So it inspired this song,” said Humphries.
Shortly before the interview, and less than a block away, the duo performed “Occupy the USA” before hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Ronald Reagan Building, where the State Department was holding its final hearing on the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline.
Author and environmentalist Bill McKibben questioned the fairness of the hearing, noting that it was being run by CardnoENTRIX, a contractor for TransCanada, the developer seeking approval for its proposed 1,700 mile pipeline stretching from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
Sandy O. and Pat Humphries perform for protesters outside the final State Department hearing on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline
“The XL pipeline is dangerous environmentally,” said Sandy O. “It’s going to go across a very large aquifer that provides the water for [millions of] people in the mid-west and west.” She continued, “We do need jobs… [but] it’s not going to help if we have jobs that make us money if there’s nothing to breath and there’s nothing to drink.”
Pat and Sandy, who for years have travelled the country performing for activists, see the occupation movement as something “very different.” While Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor described the protests as “mobs,” Humphries offered a different take. “This is a real grassroots movement. This is a movement catered by Food Not Bombs… [and] born of the blood and sweat and contributions of individuals that want to be a part of something larger than themselves.”
(This interview aired in part on the evening news of WBAI 99.5 FM, the Pacifica Radio station in New York City.)
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- From Occupy Wall Street to Occupy DC, 10/5/11
- Occupy Wall Street: A Movement is Born, 9/30/11
- Grandmother Walks From West Virginia to D.C. for Oct. 6 Protest, 9/28/11