Barbara Dane
Earl Newman
Silkscreen, 1964
Topanga Canyon, CA
26811
Barbara Dane, legendary singer-songwriter and fearless political activist died this past Sunday at her home in Oakland, CA. She was 97 years old. On June 2 of this year, CSPG honored Barbara with the 2024 Aris & Carolyn Anagnos Culture of Liberation Award in recognition of her inspirational work, using music to promote peace with justice.
Barbara Dane was an acclaimed folk, blues, and jazz singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and political activist. "Bessie Smith in stereo," wrote jazz critic Leonard Feather. "Hot and Cool at the same time," said Bonnie Raitt.
Dane and her husband, Irwin Silber, co-founded Paredon Records which specialized in international protest music and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. In 1966, she broke the ongoing U.S. cultural blockade of Cuba and paid the price. For her politics and activism, she was one of several artists under surveillance by the FBI and was blacklisted from television and many venues. Bob Dylan once said, "The world needs more people like Barbara Dane, someone who is willing to follow her conscience. She is, if the term must be used, a hero."
This week's Poster of the Week was created by artist Earl Newman in 1964. Barbara Dane sold the prints to help raise money for her trip to Mississippi for Freedom Summer.
Barbara Dane's extraordinary life is chronicled in her 2022 memoir, "The Bell Still Rings: My Life of Defiance and Song", and in the documentary The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane, which is currently traveling to film festivals.
Barbara Dane
¡Presente!
The photo of Barbara Dane and Fidel Castro was taken during her 1966 trip to Cuba.
It was used on this 1981 8 ½ x 11” flyer promoting an event in Los Angeles, organized by Ed Pearl, founder of the Ash Grove, legendary folk and blues club where Dane often performed.
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