Si Kahn
Encyclopedia
Si Kahn is an American singer-songwriter
, activist, and founder and former executive director of Grassroots Leadership
.
. When he was 15 his family moved to the Washington, DC area, where he graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
. His grandfather Gabriel Kahn, his mother Rosalind Kahn, and his father Benjamin Kahn, a rabbi
, instilled a strong sense of the family's Jewish heritage as well as teaching him the rudiments of rhythm
and harmony
as a child. His uncle, Arnold Aronson
, executive secretary of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
, helped inspire and shape Kahn's career. Kahn earned a bachelors degree from Harvard University
. In 1995 he completed a Ph.D. in American Studies from the Union Institute.
. Kahn is the founder and former director of Grassroots Leadership
, a non-profit organization
that advocates for several causes, including prison reform, improved immigration detention policies, and violence prevention. He retired May 1, 2010. Most of the profits from Kahn's musical performances benefit this group. He has also been involved with Save Our Cumberland Mountains
, an environmentalist
group opposed to strip mining
in Appalachia
.
Though Kahn writes songs about a variety of topics, he is especially known for songs about workers
and their families, like "Aragon Mill" (1974). He frequently writes songs, and occasionally performs, with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
John McCutcheon
. Kahn usually accompanies himself on a steel-string acoustic guitar, played with brass fingerpick
s.
, was President of DC Comics
for 26 years until she stepped down in 2002.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, activist, and founder and former executive director of Grassroots Leadership
Grassroots Leadership
Grassroots Leadership is a nonprofit organization founded in 1980 by Si Kahn, a Pennsylvania-born songwriter/activist who has lived for many years in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the purpose of helping to create an "infrastructure for a progressive Southern movement." Grassroots Leadership's...
.
Early life and education
Kahn grew up in State College, PennsylvaniaState College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
. When he was 15 his family moved to the Washington, DC area, where he graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School is a Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, public school named for two of the towns it serves along with Kensington and Silver Spring, Maryland. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda, an unincorporated community in Montgomery County...
. His grandfather Gabriel Kahn, his mother Rosalind Kahn, and his father Benjamin Kahn, a rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, instilled a strong sense of the family's Jewish heritage as well as teaching him the rudiments of rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
and harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
as a child. His uncle, Arnold Aronson
Arnold Aronson
Arnold Aronson was a founder of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and served as its executive secretary from 1950 to 1980. In 1941 he worked with A. Philip Randolph to pressure President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8002, opening jobs in the federal bureaucracy and in...
, executive secretary of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights , formerly called The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, is an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups.-Organizational history:...
, helped inspire and shape Kahn's career. Kahn earned a bachelors degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. In 1995 he completed a Ph.D. in American Studies from the Union Institute.
Musician and activist
Kahn moved to the south as an activist in the Civil Rights Movement, and he now lives in Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
. Kahn is the founder and former director of Grassroots Leadership
Grassroots Leadership
Grassroots Leadership is a nonprofit organization founded in 1980 by Si Kahn, a Pennsylvania-born songwriter/activist who has lived for many years in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the purpose of helping to create an "infrastructure for a progressive Southern movement." Grassroots Leadership's...
, a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that advocates for several causes, including prison reform, improved immigration detention policies, and violence prevention. He retired May 1, 2010. Most of the profits from Kahn's musical performances benefit this group. He has also been involved with Save Our Cumberland Mountains
Save Our Cumberland Mountains
Save Our Cumberland Mountains, or SOCM, is a Tennessee activist group best known for their opposition to strip mining. They were founded in 1972 to oppose what they said were unfair imbalances in property taxes, described by a group of Vanderbilt students, between small and large landowners in the...
, an environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
group opposed to strip mining
Surface mining
Surface mining , is a type of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed...
in Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
.
Though Kahn writes songs about a variety of topics, he is especially known for songs about workers
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
and their families, like "Aragon Mill" (1974). He frequently writes songs, and occasionally performs, with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
John McCutcheon
John McCutcheon
John McCutcheon is an American folk music singer and multi-instrumentalist who has produced 34 albums since the 1970s. He is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, and is also proficient on many other instruments including guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, and...
. Kahn usually accompanies himself on a steel-string acoustic guitar, played with brass fingerpick
Fingerpick
A fingerpick is a type of plectrum used most commonly for playing bluegrass style banjo music. Most fingerpicks are composed of metal or plastic. Unlike flat guitar picks, which are held between the thumb and finger and used one at a time, fingerpicks clip onto or wrap around the end of the fingers...
s.
Personal life
Kahn's younger sister, Jenette KahnJenette Kahn
Jenette Kahn is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to President. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of Editor-in-Chief while retaining the office of president...
, was President of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
for 26 years until she stepped down in 2002.
Discography
- New Wood (1974, Philo Records)
- Home (1979, Flying Fish Records and June Appal RecordingsJune Appal RecordingsJune Appal Recordings was established by Appalshop to record and distribute music of and from Central Appalachia. Artists with June Appal releases include Buell Kazee, Morgan Sexton, Lee Sexton, Carla Gover, Nimrod Workman and others. Over the last thirty years, June Appal has released more than...
) - Doing my Job (1982)
- Unfinished Portraits (1984)
- Signs of the Times, with John McCutcheonJohn McCutcheonJohn McCutcheon is an American folk music singer and multi-instrumentalist who has produced 34 albums since the 1970s. He is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, and is also proficient on many other instruments including guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, and...
(1986, Rounder Select) - Carry It On (1986, Flying Fish Records)
- I'll Be There (1989, Flying Fish Records)
- I Have Seen Freedom (1991, Flying Fish Records)
- Good Times and Bedtimes (1993, Rounder select, family album)
- In My Heart: A Retrospective (1994, Philo Records)
- Companion (1997, Appleseed Records)
- Been a Long Time (2000, Sliced Bread Records)
- Threads (2002, Double Time Music)
- We're Still Here (2004)
- Thanksgiving, with Annemarieke Coenders and Linde NijlandLinde NijlandFor 15 years Linde Nijland was part of harmony singing folk duo Ygdrassil. 2007 marked the preliminary end of the group and Linde continued her career as a solo singer/songwriter. She has toured The Netherlands, UK, Austria, Belgium and Germany...
(2007, Ygdrassil) - Courage, with Kathy MatteaKathy MatteaKathleen Alice "Kathy" Mattea is an American country music and bluegrass performer who often brings folk, Celtic and traditional country sounds to her music. Active since 1983 as a recording artist, she has recorded seventeen albums and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot...
(2010)
Books authored
- How People Get Power: Organizing Oppressed Communities for Action (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970).
- Organizing: A Guide for Grassroots Leaders (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982). ISBN 0-07-033199-5
- The Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy, with Elizabeth Minnich (Berrett-Koehler, 2005). ISBN 978-1-57675-337-8
- Creative Community Organizing: A Guide for Rabble Rousers, Activists, and Quiet Lovers of Justice (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2010). ISBN 978-1-60509-444-1
Sources
- Larkin, Colin. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 3rd edition, Macmillan, 1998.
- Press, Jaques Cattell (Ed.). ASCAP Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors and Publishers, 4th edition, R. R. Bowker, 1980.