About Freedom Songs

Our Mission

Freedom Songs is an event that seeks to reflect upon the many forms of freedom, especially concerning race, for different groups, contexts, and individuals. We aim for an opportunity in which we can listen to stories that have gone untold, voice our desire for justice, and open conversation for the next step towards freedom as a more caring, compassionate community.

We also believe that freedom comes at a price -- that the freedom we currently have is due in large part to the sacrifices of previous generations, and that the freedom we hope to see requires engagement and consequences on our part. Thus, Freedom Songs seek to join gratitude for what we have with action for the freedom we desire. While empowering minorities and marginalized groups, we hope to engage our entire community in a thoughtful discussion of how we can effect change in our immediate lives, our specific community at Whitman College and Walla Walla, and our collective future for America.

What is the Freedom Songs Concert?

The Freedom Songs Concert focuses on music, dance, and other types of performances that are important to the performer’s culture. This event often features a selection of songs by artists of color and deals with issues of race, privilege, and different forms of oppression. Our goal with this event is threefold:

1. To expand diversity in the music that is performed and heard on campus.
2. To exchange perspectives, bringing people together with music and starting conversations about these topics beyond symposiums and classroom discussions.
3. To empower minority voices by creating a space that expresses the experience of marginalized identities on campus and in our society.

What is the Freedom Zine?

The Freedom Zine is our official zine that pairs with the Freedom Songs Concert to provide another perspective on the year’s theme. The Zine compiles individual writing, art that can be printed, and interviews conducted by the year’s Zine Editor-in-Chief.

What is the Reflection Party?

The executive team invites the audience to join them once again at a later date, to reflect and chat about the Concert and Zine. More information will be coming to you soon.