CHARLIE MURPHY was
an American singer-songwriter who was born on this date (d:
2016); Growing up during the civil rights and anti-war movements,
Charlie devoted his life to social change. His conviction was fueled by
his experience at Camp Claggett, a summer camp led by a group of
extraordinary adult activists who were also involved in the human
potential movement. He worked as a camp counselor throughout his college
years while studying sociology at Loyola University in Baltimore. He
also received training in group facilitation at the Center for
mid-Atlantic Trainers, where he became their youngest facilitator.
After college,
Charlie chose to work with youth through the Roanoke Virginia mental
health services. Charlie soon discovered, however, that he was being
asked to help these young people to adjust to a world in turmoil rather
than to empower them to take an active role in making things better. So,
he left the world of mental health and chose to express his passion for
social change through music. From an early age Charlie loved music and
played the guitar. This unleashed a passion for writing and composing
songs.
In the mid
seventies, Charlie toured the country as a folk singer, inspiring
audiences with a passion for social change. He was a pioneer of the
men’s movement and sang openly about Gay rights, making him one of the
few out and proud Gay singer/songwriters of his day. He appeared on the
landmark 1979 album “Walls to Roses”, that featured both Gay and
straight men who supported the struggle against sexism. In the late
‘80s, Charlie founded the award-winning band, Rumors of the Big Wave, with creative partner and cellist Jami Sieber.
His AIDS anthem, I Choose Life, landed the band a spot as featured artists on a Barbara Walters special commemorating the 20th anniversary of the AIDS crisis. Rumors of the Big Wave
played with Ziggy Marley, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, and Midnight
Oil. They traveled nationally and internationally and produced several
award-winning albums.
Murphy's album Catch the Fire (1981),
released on the Good Fairy Productions label, contained the original
version of 'Burning Times', later covered by Christy Moore and Roy
Bailey. The album also contained the LGBT rights anthem 'Gay Spirit'.
The album is notable for addressing LGBT issues and pagan spirituality
within its lyrics. The song "Burning Times" concerns the persecution of
women accused of witchcraft in the Middle Ages and early modern periods.
Its chorus mentions several pagan female deities: Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali... Inanna. It also memorializes that nine million women died, ...in this holocaust against the nature people. The other key song, "Gay Spirit", expresses the frustration of growing up gay within a prejudiced society: When
we were born they tried to put us in a cage, and tell our bodies what
to feel, we have chosen to feel all the truth, that our bodies do
reveal.... The chorus is a rousing burst of optimism: There's a
gay spirit singing in our hearts, leading us through these troubled
times, There's a gay spirit moving 'round this land, calling us to a
time of open love.
In 1996, Charlie
and Langley resident, Peggy Taylor, a journalist and creative
development specialist, founded a creativity-based youth development
organization called the Power of Hope: Youth Empowerment Through the
Arts. Their Creative Community Model for integrating the arts into youth
development, quickly caught fire and began to spark a transformation in
youth work. In 2005, Charlie, was awarded an Ashoka Fellowship in
recognition of his life-long achievements as a change maker and for his
groundbreaking work in the youth development field.
In 2006, Charlie
and his husband, theater-artist Eric Mulholland, began traveling
internationally, leading Creative Community-based youth programs and
trainings in Uganda, South Africa, Italy, and the UK. Three years later,
with Peggy and UK-based entrepreneur Ian Watson, Charlie formed PYE
Global: Partners for Youth Empowerment to further spread the
international work. Charlie and Eric spent several years developing an
international network of PYE partners and facilitators dedicated to
bringing creativity and hope into the lives of young people. With over
one million youth impacted to date and thirty partners in fifteen
countries, Charlie’s influence continues to grow and promises to
flourish in years to come.
|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|
Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the
increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful
corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community
is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave
standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming
mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org
|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|
