On Sunday, June 28th, over 50 artists and tens of thousands of fans came together for Justice Comes Alive, a one-day, virtual festival harnessing the power of music to bring about collective change in response to racial inequality. The donation-based streaming event generated $55,000 and counting in funds for the participating artists, who remain out of work as the pandemic continues, as well as a number of social justice-oriented causes via PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund.
The 12-hour live-stream marathon featured new contributions by an array of amazing artists from around the world including guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan, who performed an original song and took some time to talk about the societal issues facing this country with regard to race.
The segment began with an introduction by Stanley, who explained, “I’ve always been a firm believer in letting one’s freak flag fly. In fact, that’s what I’m about to do. I’m all about being who you are, being how you are, and expressing yourself in any way that feels good to you.”
After touching on the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness afforded to Americans by the Constitution, Jordan launched into an instrumental composition inspired by those rights, “Freedom To Be”. Using the two-handed tapping technique that’s made “Stanley Jordan” a household name in music circles, the guitarist opened the song delicately before embarking on a nearly seven-minute odyssey. While the song may not have featured any lyrics, Jordan’s emotion shined brightly through the impassioned instrumental.
Related: 5 Mystifying Instrumentalists Performing At Justice Comes Alive [Videos]
In the days following Justice Comes Alive—and, particularly, over this past weekend—Stanley Jordan recorded some additional thoughts on the streaming event and its mission in a broader context. In these additional comments, included in the video below, Jordan used the notion that people celebrate “July 4th” rather than “Independence Day” as a jumping-off point to examine the true nature of “independence” in the U.S. and make note of the fact that not everyone gets to experience “independence” equally. Over the ensuing 13 minutes, Jordan examines how the modern fight for that independence still continues over 200 years after our country became free from tyrannical rule.
Relive the Stanley Jordan segment of Justice Comes Alive and the newly-added commentary below. If you enjoyed the performance and have the means, consider making a donation to Plus1 For Black Lives Fund via www.JusticeComesAlive.com.
Stanley Jordan — “Freedom To Be” & Comments — Justice Comes Alive
Presented by Live For Live Music in partnership with PLUS1 and Nugs.TV, Justice Comes Alive was conceived as a way to harness the power of music to bring about collective change in response to racial inequality. All funds raised from Justice Comes Alive will be split evenly between the artists on the bill and the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund, which was developed to address and continue the fight against anti-Black racism and violence in the U.S.
Directly supporting organizations like Equal Justice Initiative, Impact Justice, and The Bail Project, the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund focuses on empowering Black communities, movement building, keeping people out of the criminal justice system while dismantling it more broadly, and a collective, international narrative change toward the equitable treatment of Black people. 30% of the PLUS1 for Black Lives Fund is also committed to small grants for Black and Indigenous-led grassroots efforts combating racism. For more information on Justice Comes Alive, head here.