This presentation is from a student in the online class, "Acting Up - Using Theater & Social Change," Spring 2012, from DePaul's School for New Learning. Tom Tresser, instructor, tom@tresser.com.

1. H o lly N e a r
Singer
Songwriter
Social Justice Activist

2. Song: I Am Willing

3. H o lly N e a r ’ s C h ild h o o d
 Born in Ukiah, California in 1949
 Parents were community organizers
 Always loved to sing and perform
 Had a finely tuned sense of justice from a very
young age
 Started UCLA Theater School in 1967

4. P e r f o r m e r ’ s P r a y e r , b y H o lly N e a r
Why am I up here in front of all of these people?
It is a wild notion to perform in front of people!
Ah yes, I remember I am not here for me,
I am not here to promote my ego,
I am here to serve the great spirit,
To be a voice for those afraid to speak,
To be movement for those who are stuck.
I am here to reveal a mystery,
To learn something new about myself.
I give my talent to the wind.
I give my weakness to the rocks.

5. P o e m , c o n t i n u e d ……
I give my fear to the stars.
I give my confidence to the moon.
I give it all away, so if I am great,
It is not my greatness – it is the wind that will celebrate.
And if I am not great, it is not my failure –
It is up to the rock to carry the pain and disappointment.
I am a channel here to do the work,
To make the discoveries, to shout the joy,
To call my mistakes “Teacher”.
I am here to give it away to the people
Who come to watch and listen and feel.

6. P o e m , c o n t i n u e d ……
So that we will remember more than the time of day.
Why am I up here in front of all these people?
So that the great spirit may paint a picture on my face.

7. H o lly ’ s C a r e e r :
A r t a n d A c t iv is m
S ong : N o More
G e n o c id e
In 1971, Holly joined the “Free
The Army” show, which was
produced by Jane Fonda,
Donald Sutherland, and
Francine Parker. This was
Holly’s first step into blending
her music and her political
activism.

8. H o lly f o u n d e d h e r o w n r e c o r d
c ompa ny
Though LA music industry reps were impressed by Holly’s talent and
ability to sell out LA folk clubs, they would not give her a record deal
unless she changed her material from political to pop. She wouldn’t so
she started her own record company.

9. H o lly ’ s f ir s t a lb u m , s e lf
produc e d
“ H a n g In T h e r e ”
When Holly returned from her tour with FTA, she
began to write songs “as though I was on fire.”

10. S o n g : It C o u ld
H a ve B e e n M e
Holly was asked by the
organizers of a Kent State
Memorial Ceremony to write
a song commemorating the
four students killed in 1970
when the Ohio governor
ordered the National Guard
to open fire on an anti-war
demonstration.

11. S o n g : S in g in g F o r O u r L iv e s
In 1978, Harvey Milk, an openly homosexual city
supervisor in San Francisco, was killed, along with
the San Francisco mayor, by another city
supervisor, Dan White.
On the way to the candle-lit vigil the night of the
deaths, Holly penned this song, which has become
a standard for many social justice causes.

13. W o m e n ’ s M u s ic
Holly began singing about feminism and women’s
issues following her own awakening after her
experiences on the FTA tour.
She was known as an anti-war activist first, and
when she came out as a lesbian, the lesbian
community embraced her as a spokes-person.
She continues to this day to sing about all issues of
injustice, not confining herself to be a speaker for
one particular cause.

14. “ A n d S t ill W e S in g ”

15. S o n g : F ir e d U p !
Holly Near has recorded 29 albums to date in her forty-
year career as a performing artist.
She has consistently written songs that express her
political belief in equality and justice for all.
She has unapologetically but gently invited her
audiences to join her in forever seeing more ways to
make this world a better place.
She has freely used music as a means of educating
about little-known issues, as a means for soothing
painful experiences, as a means of letting listeners know
that they are not alone, as well as a way of poking fun
and having fun.