More people need to hear HuDost’s stunning modern protest song
Veteran ensemble HuDost, led by Montreal and Kentucky-based musicians and activists Moksha Sommer and Jemal Wade Hines, have created a powerful video for their modern-day protest anthem “Our Words Will Be Louder.”
The new song is a vital message for positive, collective action to be taken in this vulnerable and polarized time.
“Our Words Will Be Louder” was co-written with Dan Haseltine of the Grammy Award-winning band Jars of Clay and Guitar World magazine’s Acoustic Guitarist of the Year, Christie Lenée.
Specifically, the song addresses how inadequate people can feel until they give their voices to a larger purpose, and the video has several cameo performances from artists and activists — including Jars of Clay, Kevin Hearn (The Barenaked Ladies), Kevin Clash (creator of Elmo), Cy Curnin (The FIXX), Gangstagrass, Jai Uttal, Hymn for Her, The Accidentals, JP Durand, Liza Carbe (Incendio), and others.
Proceeds from “Our Words Will Be Louder” got to the Poor People’s Campaign, a non-profit organization committed to lifting up and deepening the leadership of those most affected by systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, and ecological devastation as well as to building unity across lines of division.
At the end of HuDost’s music video is riveting footage of peaceful protests and the voice of the Poor People’s Campaign’s main leader, Reverend William J. Barber II.
The power of his voice and his unyielding proclamation summarizes the message of the song and music video.
Moksha and Jemal both have learned a great deal by acting for six years as congressional district representatives in Kentucky for ONE, a non-profit advocacy organization working to end extreme poverty globally. Through advocacy work, they have come to know how to be a voice for people who are not being heard and have been amazed by what can happen with the power of collective voice. In this desperate time, they feel profoundly pushed and inspired to work locally and nationally. Their music is a direct expression of this drive, and they hope that it will be part of what motivates others to take action in this time.
