|
Comment on this article |
View comments |
Email this Feature
|
|
News :: Arts |
|
Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
Current rating: 0 |
by Various Sources via PK
Email: herringb (nospam) prairienet.org (unverified!) |
24 Jan 2005
|
|
Several obituaries in memory of activist and musician Jolie Rickman, who died of cancer on January 19, 2005. |
akb posted the following on Demand Media:
According to the New York City chapter of CISPES activist musician Jolie Rickman has died after a struggle with cancer.
On Wednesday, January 19 we received some very sad news regarding the passing of our dear friend, longtime activist and musician Jolie Rickman. She died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after a valiant year fighting an extremely aggressive strain of cancer.
Jolie was the New York CISPES Chapter Coordinator from 2001-2003, where she brought her creative mind and positive energy to our struggles for justice and peace. It was Jolie's inspiration to launch the New York City People's Referendum on Free Trade, in order to give voice to the excluded and build a stronger community around economic fairness. Her dedication to making the world better for the downtrodden and to promoting true democracy were genuine and remarkable.
For those of us who knew Jolie, her expressive music, angelic voice, and beautiful spirit will always continue to inspire and rejuvenate our lives. Our love is with you, Jolie, as you move on to your next adventure.
_________
The New York City SOA Watch website published the following:
Longtime SOA Watch activist and musician Jolie Rickman passed away on Wednesday, January 19, in New York City. The New York Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) sent out the following letter:
We are writing today to share some very sad news regarding the passing of our dear friend, longtime activist and musician Jolie Rickman. She died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, on Wednesday, January 19th, after a valiant year fighting an extremely aggressive strain of cancer.
Jolie was the New York CISPES Chapter Coordinator from 2001-2003, where she brought her creative mind and positive energy to our struggles for justice and peace. It was Jolie's inspiration to launch the New York City People's Referendum on Free Trade, in order to give voice to the excluded and build a stronger community around economic fairness. Her dedication to making the world better for the downtrodden and to promoting true democracy were genuine and remarkable.
For those of us who knew Jolie, her expressive music, angelic voice, and beautiful spirit will always continue to inspire and rejuvenate our lives. Our love is with you, Jolie, as you move on to your next adventure.
In Jolie's honor, CISPES is compiling a memoir. If you have any anecdotes, stories, or other remembrances of Jolie, please email LaDawn Haglund at ladawn.haglund (at) nyu.edu.
_________
Pacifica Radio's "Democracy Now" memorialized Jolie's work on its Monday morning broadcast, with an exerpt from "Romero," a track from Jolie's 1999 release SING IT DOWN.
http://www.jolierickman.com/songwriter/discSingItDown.html
http://www.democracynow.org/index.pl?issue=20050124
_________
The hearts of many in Urbana-Champaign go out in deep sympathy to Jolie's sister Aimee and to all of Jolie's family and activist community. |
This work is in the public domain. |
Comments
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by Carol
carolinskeep (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
24 Jan 2005
|
I'm so sad to hear of Jolie's death. I got to hear her sing several times, and was really impressed by her sincerity and deep desire to do her part to make this world more just. She did that, and more...
My deepest sympathy to her sisters and her Mom.... |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by Meg
blue2 (nospam) net66.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
25 Jan 2005
|
Sincerity is the first word that came to my mind, too, followed closely by the word humor.
I will remember the humor and sincerity Jolie brought to the many troubled topics in our society she addressed. I'm so glad these gifts of hers will be with us and those who follow us for some time to come.
My heart goes out to you, Aimee. |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by Sascha Meinrath
sascha (nospam) ucimc.org (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
25 Jan 2005
|
|
Jolie was one of the warmest people I've ever met. Always cheering for the underdog, helping out so many different people, and smithing a (playfully) biting social commentary about the myriad societal oppressions we all labor under. Both realist and utopian, the inspiration she's fostered through her art and interactions is a testament to the incredible wealth of personality she possessed. And through her music and our remembrances I'm quite certain she'll continue her life's work. |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by pm
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
25 Jan 2005
|
Does anybody know if donations in Jolie's name are being collected anywhere?
This is very very sad news. |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by Dave Steele
ds21(nospam)interchange.ubc.ca (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
25 Jan 2005
|
|
Jolie was one of the most beautiful people i have ever known. The world has lost one of its brightest lights. My heart goes out to you, Aimee, and to your sisters and mother and to Bill and to all who knew and loved Jolie. |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by jennifer banister
jennifer (nospam) teenempowerment.org (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
26 Jan 2005
|
|
i am grateful for this memorial... jolie's joyful spirit of resistance touched me back in the day in syracuse, ny, & continued to each time we connected at SOA november protests over the years. i am crushed by our loss of her presence on this plane, & something in me echoes the CISPES statement wishing her well "in her next journey." peace to all of us whom she touched, & esp. to bill & others whose lives were filled by her daily. we all need to step it up in the struggle as we've lost a powerful sister in the movement. |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by aimee
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
26 Jan 2005
|
thanks to everyone for sending out your love. it's all of our loss. and we are all fortunate to have had her cross our paths in her own way.
info on donations and other things below. and a MLK quote she held dear:
"Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood (sic). But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this. We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all
perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I
can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way God's universe is made; this is the way it is structured."
(from the speech “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” given by Martin Luther King, Jr., March 31, 1968, at The National Cathedral in Washington D.C.)
xo
Jolie Christine Rickman July 9, 1970 - January 19, 2005
Peace and social justice feminist musician, activist, and humanitarian watchdog Jolie Christine Rickman of Brooklyn, New York passed away January 19, 2005 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City, eleven months following her diagnosis of ovarian cancer. She was 34 years old.
Jolie is survived by her loving husband Bill Mazza, her mother Jacqueline Rickman of Chicago, father Donald Rickman of California, three younger sisters Aimee Rickman, Elisabeth Williams and Margaret Mary Rickman, her beloved dog Roo, and many very close friends and family far and wide, including in her homes in Australia, Syracuse, Chicago, Champaign-Urbana, and New York City. She was the first grandchild of John and Christine Dreznes of Beverly.
Jolie gave freely of her voice, compassion, humor, and empathetic leadership to actively support human rights and social justice action, most recently in such organizations as SOAWatch and CISPES, where as New York City’s Chapter Coordinator (2001-2003) she initiated the now on-going Spanish Camp for Activists, an alternative Fourth of July weekend immersion in language and Latin American issues, and the People’s Referendum on Free Trade which mobilized people from all sectors in the New York City area to struggle for economic fairness and equity. Early on into her life-long study of non-violence, Jolie took on an internship with The King Center in Atlanta. She often spoke of her work under Coretta Scott King as a key factor that inspired her to music.
Pronounced legally blind at age 11 due to juvenile onset macular degeneration, Jolie went on to graduate with honors from Richards High School in Oak Lawn in 1988, and suma cum laude from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Department of Political Science in 1992. While at UIUC, Jolie took part in many politically progressive efforts, including the movement that launched the University YMCA’s Alternative Spring Break program, which, to this day, continues to connect young people with important nation-wide social justice issues. She later earned a graduate degree from Syracuse University’s department of Peace Studies.
Jolie was the driving force and artistic genius behind such music-based projects as ArtCar, the HEN Foundation, and Sing it Down! – all designed to connect music and social movements in effective and educational ways that reached diverse audiences throughout the country. She released four original CDs including Sublime Detonation (1998), Sing it Down!: Songs to Close the SOA (co-produced with Colleen Kattau, 1999), and Suffer to Be Beautiful (2000). Her original composition, “Romero” remains a signature song of the movement to close down the US Army School of the Americas (WHISC), while her song “Emma Goldman (Rosa’s Pride)” continues as an anthem of hope in struggle for young and old alike.
Jolie’s emotively crafted lyrics, spectacular performance skills, and charismatic personality drew her many fans and brought her critical acclaim. Her inimitable voice and powerful spirit - optimistic and brave - will live on in her music:
You show up and you smile for no reason, like it’s all so simple and clear,
Like we’re the hope of a hundred generations,
Like you and I have no fear…
-Jolie Rickman “Emma Goldman (Rosa’s Pride)”
Following a commemoration gathering at her home in Brooklyn, NY, a memorial service will be held for Jolie Rickman on Sunday, January 30, at St. Gertrude Church, 1420 W. Granville Avenue, in Chicago. A subsequent celebration of her life and music will take place in Syracuse, NY in the near future.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that all donations be directed to either Friends of Dorothy, 212 Wayne St, Syracuse, NY, 13203, or to Jolie's partner Bill Mazza, 23 Virginia Place, Brooklyn NY 11213, to assist in deferring medical expenses. |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by deirdre caputo-levine
caputolevine (nospam) optonline.net (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
28 Jan 2005
|
I was so sorry to hear about Jolie's death. I met Jolie at the NYC Social Forum and then joined the NYC People's Consulta on the FTAA. Jolie was a driving force behind the Consulta and her gentle, loving demeanor made it easier for those of us who were shy or new to activism to become part of the group. Her presence will be greatly missed. The day she died - the snow fell gently, and sparkled in the street lights. That beauty was a poor trade for the beauty that was lost that day.
Deirdre |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by aimee
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
28 Jan 2005
|
Jolie Rickman post-memorial celebration drop-in gathering.
At The Heartland Cafe (7000 North Glenwood, Chicago*.)
Sunday, January 30. 9pm.
Join in on commemorating Jolie Rickman's beautiful spirit and voice by gathering with some of her friends and family, and taking part in a short, impromptu, free-form celebration of her music, and her life on one of her favorite stages.
All singers and non-singers, musicians and appreciators, instruments, social justice rebel rousers, non-violence advocates, and friends of Jolie, her work, her wildly optimistic peaceful nature, and her activism welcome to take part. Those who know her songs are most encouraged to share them.
Please pass this invitation along to others.
* Located 1 block north of the El's Red Line Lund stop in the Roger's PArk area of the city's north side, the Heartland Cafe actively supports many progressive efforts, and has featured Jolie many times over the years. Parking at the Trilogy Building on the corner of Estes and Glenwood, 2 blocks north.
www.heartlandcafe.com |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by Alex
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
31 Jan 2005
|
Jolie will be in the hearts of you all forever.
Thats a promise from her cousin!!!
XOXO
ALEX |
|
Re: Activist Musician Jolie Rickman Remembered |
by jacqueline rickman
jrickman (nospam) chicagolighthouse.org (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
11 Feb 2005
|
As Jolie's mother, I thank you all for your loving messages about Jolie. My heart is filled with deep grief. Her husband and sisters and I are devastated that we will no longer experience her joyful and gentle presence. At the same time, I am truly grateful for the blessing of being Jolie's mom. You know, she would want us to find healing and comfort in her words from Emma that "we are the hope of a hundred generations and you and I have no fear." So, please stand tall and stay strong as you go out together with your hearts and voices to bring about peace and justice. Sing joyfully , speak the truth boldly. That's how you can give meaning to Jolie's life's purpose, her cause, her reason for being. That's how you can remember her.
There will be a tribute for Jolie in at the Concert Theatre in Syracuse on Sunday, Feb. 27th. Anyone who would like to perform Jolie's songs are asked to get in touch with the planners of the event. If you are interested, e-mail me to get contact information. Jolie's CDs are out of print but will be reissued and another CD will probably be created at this event. Does anyone know how to contact Coretta Scott King or the relatives of Kate Wolf? Again, when you think of Jolie, smile and look for the light of her inspiration. You will find it.
Love to you! Jacqueline Rickman, Jolie's mom |
|
