Politics

You might not know the name “Little” Stevie Van Zandt, but yet may be familiar with his “art.” Van Zandt first gained prominence back in the 1970s as the lead guitarist in Bruce Springsteen’s East Street Band. He also hosts a long running radio program called Little Steven’s Underground Garage. And during the turn of the 21st century, he reached a whole new audience as an actor. He played the role of Silvio Dante, Tony Soprano’s consigliere on The Sopranos. Van Zandt has a long history of working to fight racism. For example, in 1985 he authored and co-produced the protest song “Sun City,” one of the era’s anti-apartheid anthems. In conjunction with that, he supported the entertainment industry’s boycott of Sun City, a performance venue created by the racist South African government. So, can Stevie Van Zant be racist? Of course he can, as recently witnessed by a series of tweets in which he claimed that black musicians, while being instrumental in the founding of rock n roll, “did not elevate the rock idiom into an artform”  

Democratic politicians must feel the breath of our voices so that they can finally learn which way the wind blows.