In this article, we will share a brief biography of Joan Beez, an icon of his generation in both music and social activism.
Boez was born Joan Chaudas Boez in New York City in 1941. From an early age she was involved in several civil cases, probably because of the influence of her family’s pacifist ideals.
- Your weapon of combat is music.
- In more than half the world.
- He has already led a great deal of protests and social demands.
- Traveled to several countries to become the voice of the marginalized.
- The persecuted.
- The missing and the massacred.
He has also founded many organizations against war and violence, putting his life at risk countless times. Joan has been a very relevant figure in social activism since the 1960s, a woman who lived and worked according to her ideals, a convinced pacifist.
The daughter of a Scottish mother and a Mexican father, her family moved several times thanks to the work of the father of the family, a renowned scientist, passed through the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
Joan Beez’s father turned down several important offers to work in the arms race, he was a man of strong convictions, a characteristic inherited by his daughter.
Joan began composing music from a young age that allowed her to express her protests against wars and all forms of violence and social oppression.
During his teenage years, he was an active participant in the March in Washington for Work and Freedom, heavily influenced by martin Luther King Jr. ‘s speech. In fact, it was on this walk that he was forever linked to his song We Shall Overcome.
He also took a strong stand against the Vietnam War and supported the tax resistance initiative, which intended for citizens to withhel 60% of their income taxes from being earmarked for war. In 1965, he founded the Institute for Non-Violence.
In the 1970s, Joan helped found Amnesty International’s American subsidiary and soon after founded Humanitas International, a highly active human rights group.
On the other hand, it has disseminated a critical view of humanitas International’s democratic governments and authoritarian regimes, after all, it received numerous attacks from right-wing and left-wing factions.
Gradually, it became increasingly critical of American politics in the Vietnam War. He has edited publications in america’s most important newspapers, expressing disagreement with his country’s attacks on Vietnamese soil.
Finally, he joined a peacekeeping delegation in 1972
During the 1980s, Joan Boez traveled to several countries under totalitarian regimes, in which she received several death threats, so her safety was seriously compromised.
In 1981 she made a trip to South America and, upon her return to the United States, became the voice of the mothers and grandmothers of the thousands of missing in Chile and Argentina, as well as presenting a report on the subject to the United States government.
“We can’t choose how we’re going to die or when we’re going to die. We can only decide how we’re going to live. ? – Joan Beez-
In 1989, he composed the song China, inspired by protests in Beijing against Chinese regime violence, and embarked on another humanitarian trip to Asia, bringing food and medicine to Cambodia.
A short time later, he actively participated in demonstrations against the U. S. invasion of Iraq, the death penalty, and the repression of the gay community in the United States.
In the 21st century, Joan Beez, far from retiring and resting, continued to participate in various initiatives, encouraging young university students to vote for pacifist leaders.
In addition, it has launched several anti-poverty and marginalization movements in the United States, particularly the immigrant community.
He has received the Thomas Norton Award and many other awards for his tireless activism. She is a woman who has unlimited energy and faith and who knows how to inspire others very well.
Her struggle for life and human rights has been constant, even today, at 75, she has actively participated in American feminist marches against the Trump administration and remains the inspiration for many young people and those who are not so young in the world.