They called her Morning Glory
She was eighteen years and strong
She died in the early Florida morning
Some lives are reel but aren’t long
And is Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
En el corazón de America
La lucha continuará
La lucha continuará
Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
Deep in the heart of America
The struggle goes on and on
The struggle goes on and on
While most of us were sleeping
Her day had already begun
Talking to the truckers
Working with the strikers
Waiting for the rising of the sun
Waiting for the rising of the sun.
Now the man who owns the canefields in Belle Glade
Same man who owns the sugar mill
Thinks he even owns the sugar workers
And he believes he always will.
And is Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
En el corazón de America
La lucha continuará
La lucha continuará
Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
Deep in the heart of America
The struggle goes on and on
The struggle goes on and on
She was my sister
And a sister of the Black Eagle too (*)
And now the fieldworkers who used to be forgotten
Have a union that's for the many, not just the few.
Some lives are measured out in silver
Others are measured out in gold
But the lives that are given out in sharing
These are the richest ones I know.
And is Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
En el corazón de America
La lucha continuará
La lucha continuará
Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
Deep in the heart of America
The struggle goes on and on
The struggle goes on and on
She was eighteen years and strong
She died in the early Florida morning
Some lives are reel but aren’t long
And is Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
En el corazón de America
La lucha continuará
La lucha continuará
Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
Deep in the heart of America
The struggle goes on and on
The struggle goes on and on
While most of us were sleeping
Her day had already begun
Talking to the truckers
Working with the strikers
Waiting for the rising of the sun
Waiting for the rising of the sun.
Now the man who owns the canefields in Belle Glade
Same man who owns the sugar mill
Thinks he even owns the sugar workers
And he believes he always will.
And is Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
En el corazón de America
La lucha continuará
La lucha continuará
Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
Deep in the heart of America
The struggle goes on and on
The struggle goes on and on
She was my sister
And a sister of the Black Eagle too (*)
And now the fieldworkers who used to be forgotten
Have a union that's for the many, not just the few.
Some lives are measured out in silver
Others are measured out in gold
But the lives that are given out in sharing
These are the richest ones I know.
And is Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
En el corazón de America
La lucha continuará
La lucha continuará
Huelga, Huelga, Huelga
Deep in the heart of America
The struggle goes on and on
The struggle goes on and on
(*) La "black eagle", un'aquila nera, è il simbolo dell'United Farm Workers (UFW)
inviata da Alessandro - 8/4/2010 - 15:34
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Album “Broadside Ballads, Vol. 7”, Folkways Records.
Nan Freeman (1953-1972) era una studentessa di Boston, Massachusetts Era molto giovane, bianca ed ebrea, ma nel 1972 aveva risposto all’appello dell’United Farm Workers, il sindacato di braccianti e contadini nato soprattutto tra i lavoratori filippini ed ispanici, che stava conducendo boicottaggi e scioperi nelle piantagioni di canna da zucchero di Belle Glade, in Florida, dove i lavoratori erano sfruttati e privi di diritti. Nella notte del 25 gennaio 1972, Nan Freeman, la sua amica Pam Albright e l’attivista dell’UFW José Romero fermarono uno dei camion che entravano ed uscivano dalla Talisman Sugar Plant, cercando di convincere l’autista ad aderire allo sciopero… Costui, infuriato, risalì sul grosso autoveicolo e lo rimise in moto travolgendo i tre: Nan Freeman, diciottenne, morì un’ora dopo all’ospedale dove era stata portata…
Questo il ricordo che di Nan fece il leader storico dell’UFW, César Chávez: “On Tuesday, January 25, 1972, Nan Freeman, a young Jewish woman from Boston, gave her life for Farm Workers. She was 18 years old when she died.
To some she is a young girl who lost her life in a tragic accident. To us she is a sister who picketed with farm workers in the middle of the night because of her love for justice. She is a young woman who fulfilled the commandments by loving her neighbors even to the point of sacrificing her own life.
To us, Nan Freemen is Kadosha in the Hebrew tradition, "a holy person," to be honored and remembered for as long as farm workers struggle for justice.
How can we measure the gift she has given to our cause? Will God give her another life to live?...God has given Nan Freeman just one life and now that life is ended. Think of that, all who cherish our farm workers' union: Nan Freeman, our young sister has poured out her one life so that farm workers everywhere might be more free.
There is no way to repay her immeasurable gift. There are no words to thank her for what she's done. Some things we can do: our whole movement is declaring a period of mourning that will correspond to the traditional 7-day period of mourning.
We can remember Nan Freeman. We can honor her life and express our thoughts to her family. We can give more of ourselves just because she has given everything. We must work together to build a farm workers' union that is worthy of her love and her sacrifice.”
Una storia minore, certamente, ma che credo valga la pena di essere ricordata…
Oltre tutto, la giovane età della protagonista e la sua scelta di essere dalla parte degli sfruttati ed oppressi, nonché le circostanze della sua morte, mi hanno ricordato The Lonesome Death Of Rachel Corrie.