Respect - Songs For The Soul
by Janet Hunt-Hawkins
If you’ve heard the music of Karl Williams, then you’ve heard a note or two about songs for the soul. Karl Williams is working with Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) on uplifting songs. Karl Williams' songs for the self-advocacy movement, the civil rights work of people with developmental disabilities, provide the soundtrack for the daily struggle of those with this disability. His CD RESPECT: SONGS OF THE SELF-ADVOCACY MOVEMENT, produced with SABE, earned a place as a candidate for Best Contemporary Folk Album in the 1998 Grammy Awards. RESPECT was released in April 1998 at the Fourth International People First Conference in Alaska. With the exception of the well-known title track, (a lyric rewrite of the Otis Redding song made popular by Aretha Franklin), the other songs on the disk were written or co-written specifically for the self-advocacy movement and for the larger disability rights movement.
SABE's past Chairperson, Tia Nelis, commented on RESPECT: "This song will help people prove their point: that people with disabilities can be worth something and can contribute things to society, and to show them the respect that they deserve. We made this CD to talk about how people with disabilities want to be respected and the things we believe in. Hopefully you will share this with your friends and family."
Steve Holmes, Administrative Coordinator, Self-Advocacy Association of New York State and Advisor, Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), says "Respect: Songs of the Self-Advocacy Movement is a kick-ass collection of songs that really captures the spirit of the movement."
Professor Wolf Wolfensberger, Director of the Training Institute for Human Service Planning, Leadership, and Change Agentry, Syracuse University: "Quite striking songs... he poignantly captures the experience of being on the receiving end of society's oppression. We think his work should have a much broader exposure."
Mark Friedman, Coordinator and Jerome Iannuzzi, Board Member, Speaking For Ourselves: "The song you wrote for us touches peoples' experiences so Strongly, it is almost uncanny that you could get so much into so few words. It has had a powerful impact on our members; it brings people together and it makes us strong."
Here’s a look at some of the songs on the RESPECT CD:
Respect
People First
Stand Together
Heroes and Heroines
Sticks and Stones
The ADA Song
Anyway
Dance and Dance and Dance
Speaking for Ourselves
The Promised Land
Don't You Want to Do Right
Close the Doors
Ballad of David Wayne Lee
We'll Be Thinking of You
For more information about Karl Williams’ work, including song samples from the CD and excerpts from two autobiographies he has helped leaders in the movement write, visit www.karlwilliams.com.
Visit the SABE website at www.sabeusa.org to order the CD RESPECT: SONGS OF THE SELF-ADVOCACY MOVEMENT. | |