Here's another recent headline, from yesterday, documenting the use of music to spread violent hate in the world. Let's use music in more positive ways. Spread peace and love.

The Oregon Music Therapy Social Justice book club is reading the book Our Bodies, Their Battlefield, which tells stories of how women are treated during times of war and genocide. We discovered some videos of how women are using music to recover from their traumas.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/womens-choir-sings-amid-nigerian-violence/story?id=23655540
 
https://youtu.be/0asbz-TIb5k 

#Ted Ficken, Author #Music Therapists for Social Justice #ADL #SPLC #AMTA #Speaker #Presenter #Life After Hate

If you are looking for an unusual, but timely Christmas gift idea, please consider my new book, Music of Hate, Music for Healing - Paired Stories from the Hate Music Industry and the Profession of Music Therapy. The book shares information about the dangers of music that is used to spread hate in the world, next to stories of inspirational music therapists who use music to help and to heal. The book is a good tool to open up discussion of issues such as systemic racism, discrimination, social injustice, extremist radicalization, and other pressing issues in our environment. Readers will find the book informative, thought provoking, and illustrative of both negative and positive uses of music. No matter what music you prefer, this book will give you some new info to consider.

As I have continued to study hate music, friends sometimes send me new information. Recently, I received copies of two obituaries for Jewish women who survived the Holocaust and then used music to express themselves, including commenting on their experiences with hatred.  The first was Inge Ginsberg, age 99, who was in a heavy metal band. You can view her on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OutYNpbKw
The second was Esther Bejarano, age 96, a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp, who fought racism and antisemitism with music. She also teamed up with a hip-hop group Microphone Mafia so spread an anti-racism message to German youth. You can hear a part of her story at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqRRwoQiVHA.
These two women are examples of how to stay active in old age, how to inspire others with music, and how to use music to fight hate.

I had a wonderful experience presenting a 6-hour continuing education workshop sponsored by Eastern Michigan University yesterday. Over 50 participants included EMU music therapy students, professional music therapists from Michigan and other places in the US, and music therapy faculty members. Great discussions and sharing. Thanks to everyone who made the day so rewarding.

I will be speaking about my book at three universities this week: University of Missouri/Kansas City, Pacific University in Oregon, and Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio. Looking forward to sharing with all three groups.

Also today, a Voices of Music Therapy podcast has been released on spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ivgVrlivTschAePt1Mjly?si=2JE70pogQoGASYnS1FM-jQ&nd=1


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I was very happy to provide two presentations to Radford University students and faculty two weeks ago. This week, I will be presenting a Faculty Seminar to students and faculty at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Stay tuned for additional presentations, coming up.