Rep. John Lewis Remembers Pete Seeger

Folk singer Pete Seeger died Monday night in New York at the age of 94-years-old.  The news media once called him "the pied piper of musical dissent," as he became a fixture in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.  He led a resurgence in the popularity of folk music during the last half of the 20th century.  Rep. Lewis made these comments upon hearing about his death.

            "Pete Seeger was an amazing man.  He traveled all over America and the world calling for peace and civil rights.  He marched with us in Selma and in Mississippi.  He was a regular at Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee.  He and Guy Carawan are more responsible than any two people for making "We Shall Overcome" the theme song of the  Civil Rights Movement.

            "He believed in our mission and felt it was a part of his mandate to help build, not just a society, but a world community at peace with itself.  He popularized the songs of working people, the labor songs and folk music.  And when he would sing those simple, pure songs of the heart that came out of the everyday experiences of life, he helped us confirm the power of ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  Pete Seeger was one of a kind--a great musician, a man of the people, and a servant of the greatest good for all humanity."

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