by John Ellis
As a general rule, my wife and I do not share the same musical taste. Over the years, though, we have discovered bands and musicians that we both enjoy. The brilliant singer, musician, and songwriter Rhiannon Giddens sits near the very top of the list of musicians that my wife and I both love.
We’ve had the privilege of seeing Giddens perform live twice. Once with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and then a few years later as a solo artist promoting her beautiful album Tomorrow Is My Turn. Trained as an opera singer at Oberlin Conservatory, she quickly pivoted to African American roots music and remains an important ambassador for roots music as well as traditional musical instruments. The Grammy winner recently won a Pulitzer for her opera Omar. There’s no question that Rhiannon Giddens is an impressively talented and accomplished musical artist.
As talented and accomplished as she is musically, her artistic integrity has shone brightly throughout her career. Unafraid of alienating squeamish consumers, Rhiannon Giddens is quick to use her platform and talents to highlight social justice issues while calling for systemic change. “Another Wasted Life” on her latest album You’re the One is the epitome of using one’s talent and voice to confront audiences with systemic injustices without sacrificing artistic merit. Stemming from her work with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, the song is as haunting as it is beautiful and is as moving as it is challenging.
From her website, Giddens explains, “I wrote ‘Another Wasted Life’ after reading about the tragic suicide of Kalief Browder – another poor soul caught up in the incarceration system for a crime he didn’t commit. He was put into solitary for almost 2 years, a torture no one deserves, no matter what they did or did not do. The whole for-profit prison industrial complex – an outgrowth of slavery – is a stain on the American story; the people and families caught up in it, and in the numerous gaping holes in the social safety net, need incredible amounts of support.”
I encourage you to listen to the song (video embedded below) and to mourn for the many injustices and structural imbalances that dominate our country. What happened to Kalief Browder, and what’s happened and is happening to scores of others, is a sinful tragedy in the eyes of King Jesus who is returning one day to reap the whirlwind on those responsible – directly or indirectly – for the injustices. Full justice will come one day, but until that final Day, followers of King Jesus should pray for and work towards our King’s justice being seen and accomplished in the here and now. The first step towards that is awareness, and Rhiannon Giddens is doing King Jesus’ work in using her talents and platform to spread that awareness.
Practically Known Theology 