Musician & activist SAMORA PINDERHUGHES just shared, “For Those Lost, For Those Taken,” the latest single from his upcoming Black Spring EP, available April 24. The track from the Juilliard-trained pianist/vocalist is written for all those murdered by police brutality and state violence, and specifically written in honor of and dedication to Sandra Bland. The song is being shared with the blessing of Sandra’s family as part of the 5th anniversary of her murder by Texas police.
Hear “For Those Lost, For Those Taken” HERE. Notes Samora:
For Those Lost,
For Those Taken.
Dedicated to Sandra Bland
and to all those
murdered by the state by police
or in prison or in the system.
I started writing this song in 2015
after Sandra Bland’s murder
in a Texas jailhouse.
When jailhouse officials and media
tried to cover up and lie about what happened,
people online started writing answers
to the prompt:
‘If I Die in police custody…’
This year is the 5th anniversary
of Sandra’s murder.
Let us never stop fighting
for justice,
for an end to the carceral state,
for an end to police terror
and police violence and surveillance.
You cannot kill us
just because
we are black or brown or poor
and expect us to say nothing.
We will always live lives of consequence.
We will always tell the truth about you.
And we will always remember.
All proceeds from “For Those Lost, for Those Taken” will go to efforts for Sandra Bland's 5th anniversary remembrances and efforts to end the carceral state.
Black Spring EP was co-produced by Jack DeBoe and is inspired by the revolutionary energy of 1960’s songwriters, and looks to reflect the questions and anger that people are feeling during these times of uncertainty and chaos. The title Black Spring describes an energy of uprising: a time for action, a time for flourishing and moving forward with revolutionary spirit. Each of the four songs on the EP delves into a different aspect of what we’re dealing with right now in 2020, and the truths we have to speak up about.
Pinderhughes recently shared the powerful short film for Black Spring’s lead single “Hold That Weight,” directed by Daniel Fermín Pfeffer. The song is about how to support each other and asks the question: “In times when people are struggling, what does it really look like to help carry their burdens?” The film delves into the work that goes into trying to re-acclimate to home life and society when released from prison: battling negative thoughts; trying to navigate a way forward; and battling a prison system that traumatizes those it incarcerates and then gives no thought to what happens after people are released. Watch “Hold That Weight” here: https://youtu.be/w237dUE1PlQ.
Samora has increasingly sought to inspire solidarity among communities dealing with different oppressive circumstances, particularly around immigrant detention and mass incarceration - seeing the similarities both in lived experience and structurally within the carceral state. He is a member of Ryan Coogler and Ava DuVernay’s Blackout for Human Rights, Common's nonprofit Imagine Justice, Unbound Philanthropy & Art For Justice, among others.
Read more about Samora Pinderhughes below and look for much more from him in 2020, leading up to his headline Carnegie Hall show in May 2021.
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