WLRN Music Hour #21: “…And Ain’t I a Woman?” for Labor Day 2018 with DJ Phoenixx

Playlist:
Background music:
More than a Paycheck Sweet Honey in The Rock

All songs from The New Harmony Sisterhood Band:
“Side one”
Sojourner Truth
Cotton Mill Girls
Ballad
Working Class Woman
Ella Ellison
Draglines
“Side two”
Union Maid
Ballad of Joan Little
Two O’Clock Lounge
Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight
Unfinished Business
All Our Lives

Closing song: Stand Up Heather Mae

This music hour features the 1977 album “…And Ain’t I A Woman?” by The New Harmony Sisterhood Band. Even if you aren’t a fan of this era of women’s music or even the folk/acoustic genre, I hope you will tune in to these women’s lyrics which are rich in their teaching of women’s history and feminist consciousness around issues of race, class and the exploitation of women thru the so called ‘sex industry.’ They sing about working class women, women of color (their double oppression), the rape of the planet, lesbian rights, and the exploitation of women at home, at work and on the streets. This is an incredible gem of how women’s music can transmit women’s particular culture that grows both in sharp critique of Patriarchy/male domination and in celebration of being born female, united with sisters in struggle and achievement through time.


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