Uploaded July 2024 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago

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This talk, presented by guest speaker Prof. Theresa Martinez, focuses on American music that has reflected on social justice themes. Various music artists and bands have spoken to serious societal issues over the past century, including the rights of working and marginalized people, Civil Rights, the Vietnam war, structural racism, sexism, police violence, homophobia, environmental justice, and many others. Join us as we listen to voices of social justice then and now.

Theresa Martinez is Associate Professor of Sociology and former Assistant Vice President for Academic Outreach at the University of Utah. She is an award-winning teacher whose classes and research focus on issues of race/class/gender/sexuality, as they inform and are informed by societal institutions and are reflected in cultural productions/expressions such as poetry, prose, and music lyrics.

This program was recorded on June 30, 2024, as part of the annual Summer Forum series at the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City. Special thanks to moderator Lee Shuster for hosting this installment of Summer Forum.

00:00 Opening Sequence
00:27 Introduction – Lee Shuster
04:41 Chalice Lighting – Lissa Lander
05:49 Presentation, Part 1 – Prof. Theresa Martinez
19:02 Q & A, Part 1
24:02 Presentation, Part 2 – Prof. Theresa Martinez
24:14 🎵 "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie (American, 1912–1967)
25:53 🎵 "Joe Hill" – words by Alfred Hayes (American, 1911–1985); music by Earl Robinson (American, 1910–1991); performed by Utah Phillips (American, 1935–2008)
26:55 🎵 "Bread And Roses" – words by James Oppenheim (American, 1882–1932); music by Mimi Fariña (American, 1945–2001); performed by Judy Collins (American, b. 1939)
29:07 🎵 Excerpt from "Pride" (2014 film)
33:15 🎵 "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)" by Woody Guthrie (American, 1912–1967); sung by Arlo Guthrie (American, b. 1947)
35:35 🎵 "Strange Fruit" by Abel Meeropol (American, 1903–1986); performed by Billie Holiday (American, 1915–1959)
38:35 🎵 "Lift Every Voice and Sing" – words by James Weldon Johnson (American, 1871–1938); music by John Rosamond Johnson (American, 1873–1954); arr. Kirk Franklin (American, b. 1970)
41:37 🎵 "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan (American, b. 1941)
42:29 🎵 "Respect" by Otis Redding (American, 1941–1967); re-arranged and performed by Aretha Franklin (American, 1942–2018)
45:05 🎵 "Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac Shakur (American, 1971–1996)
48:23 🎵 "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish (American, b. 2001)
47:16 🎵 "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman (American, b. 1964)
51:20 Q & A, Part 2
57:21 🎵 Sing-along: "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie (American, 1912–1967)
1:00:05 Wrap-up & Announcements – Lee Shuster
1:01:00 End Credits

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