Life Onboard LAST UPDATE  February 5, 2006
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January 22, 2006 Apartheid: The system rocked by the power of song – Lee Hirsch
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Lee Hirsch’s 2002 Sundance Film Festival Grand Prize winning documentary: Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony.
What exactly is a Protest Song?! The Encarta Encyclopedia describes it as one “which expresses criticism of the political or social order and support for the civil rights, antiwar, feminist, environmental, and other progressive movements.” But what about the fuel retained within these songs? Can such powerful music simply aspire to inspire? Or could it truly play a key note within the orchestration of a revolution? Lee Hirsch’s stunning documentary Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony has continually rocked audiences into believing in the true power of song.
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Non-violent resistance at its best: dancing in front of Apartheid troops (still image from Amandla!)
In 1948, the South African white regime began implementing a brutally racist policy known as Apartheid. Over the next few years, indigenous Africans were evicted from their lands and driven into impoverished government-run townships. Intolerance and racism ruled, segregating South African society into three classifications: whites, blacks, and coloured – the latter group comprising Asians and racially mixed peoples. On the brink of the third millennium, racial discrimination and human rights violations reached horrendous heights while much of the world simply stood by. After more than 40 years of struggle, however, the bigoted regime faced its demise. And, as the introduction to Amandla! states: “throughout the struggle, there was music.”
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Lee Hirsch answers a question during an onboard lecture
During his early teenage years in the 1980’s, New Yorker Lee Hirsch discovered the power of media in order to create awareness. Local environmental concerns were the first causes to catch his interest. Even though he was not even 15 years old, he tackled such issues by writing editorials to large newspapers and documenting them with photographs. To his satisfaction, the hard work invested paid dividends and inspired him to continue working for progressive change.

Having always been an outsider, Lee felt a strong draw from civil rights struggles seeking social equality. In 1990, he participated in the North American Indian Sacred Run throughout Europe. Such opportunity allowed him to view first hand societies in radical change, as the Berlin Wall had just fallen. Yet, since the age of 15, his heart and mind were truly focused on another global hotspot where drastic transformation was taking place: South Africa.
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Children dancing protest songs in a Community Hall in Soweto (still image from Amandla!)
The son of a plumber and a housewife from Long Island, Lee was not sure just how much he could contribute. But participating in the anti-apartheid struggle developed into a near obsession. He became heavily involved with anti-apartheid solidarity movements in the United States and eventually met a delegation of South Africans who related the importance of protest music throughout the struggle. Despite not having concentrated solely on film projects, the vision of Amandla! developed. So, in 1992, the then 20-year old moved to Cape Town in order to begin work on his documentary. Financial difficulties, uncertainty, and grueling work dominated most of the following ten years. But in 2002, however, Lee found himself well rewarded as Amandla! received the Grand Prize at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
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The Toyi-Toyi, a combination of dance-march and chant, played a key psychological role during the anti-apartheid campaign in the 1980’s (still image from Amandla!)
From Mombasa to Cape Town, Lee joined Peace Boat’s 52nd global voyage in order to share with participants his knowledge, experiences and in particular ideals regarding the power of song. During the anti-apartheid struggle, music created a spiritual connection between the ideals of liberation and concrete action. As music producer and activist Sifiso Ntuli says in the film: “Song was something we communicated with people who otherwise would not have understood where we were coming from. You could give them a long political speech and they would still not understand… But I tell you, when you finish that song, people would be like damn… I know where you guys are coming from: Death unto apartheid!”
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Lee and Peace Boat participants developing new protest and peace songs
In addition to sharing his experiences, Lee led several workshops onboard which focused on developing new methods of involvement, activism, and the creation of awareness. A particularly successful seminar gave way to the conception of protest and peace songs by Peace Boat participants, reflecting their current angst and concerns. As Lee states: “if you have respect and come from the right place, you can honor a struggle even if you’re not from there.”

Lee’s current and future projects include The Color of Honor, a documentary spotlighting the unusually high percentage of young Latinos in the U.S. Military, as well as a project highlighting the courage of corruption whistleblowers.