160 years of the Spirit of 1848: Critical reflections, celebration, and inspiration

Back in 1998, the Spirit of 1848 organized an extravaganza to commemorate 150 years of the Spirit of 1848. This year, to mark 160 years of the Spirit of 1848, we are organizing a mini-extravaganza, featuring (like the one 10 years ago) a combination of music, poetry, dramatizations, photography, and academic presentations to stimulate reflection on and commitment to public health activism. Our closing song (you can download the words and melody from the Spirit of 1848 website, at: http://www.spiritof1848.org/activities.htm) will be “Step by Step,” based on the preamble of the 1863 constitution of the American Mineworkers Association, with the music arranged and adapted in 1948 by Waldemar Hill and Pete Seeger:

Step by step the longest march

Can be won, can be won.

Many stones can form an arch,

Singly none, singly none.

And by union what we will

Can be accomplished still.

Drops of water turn a mill,

Singly none, singly none.

In the spirit of “Step by Step,” we seek in this session to regalvanize the Spirit of 1848 – by asking participants and audience to think critically about the past 160 years in terms of the struggles and accomplishments we can recognize and celebrate, the setbacks endured and the suffering they have caused and, ultimately, the work we need to do now, in our generation, in our own times, to advance the agenda of social justice and public health.