Description
“I Will Not Look Away” encourages us to break recurring cycles of violence through mindful, informed, and nonviolent action, and to stand with those experiencing physical and systemic oppression.
I Will Not Look Away ( Text by Lloyd Reshard Jr. )
No soothing words can comfort
from a screen or a chair;
No empathy can be felt
from the silence in the air.
The warning signs keep ringing
Like their ears after the blast.
How can we keep tuning out
the pains of the present,
the wrongs of the past?
The warning signs keep ringing
and I am not okay.
Powerless and paralyzed,
I cannot look away.
Who can bear
this awful cost;
A family’s grief,
a loved one lost.
So many shots fired…
So much bloodshed…
Why should someone’s ignorance lead to
another person dead?
Today, I will educate myself,
and I will raise my voice.
I will raise my voice for them.
Doing nothing is a choice.
To take a stand is to be in sight;
To speak the truth is to be defamed;
To protect another is to take a fist;
To be an ally is to be an accomplice.
I have something to lose, but,
I will NOT look away.
I’m raising my voice.
I will NOT look away.
Recordings
I Will Not Look Away – recording
CHOR ANNO
Sydney Guillaume, guest conductor
Nelson Green, soloist
Holy redeemer Catholic Church
Vancouver, Washington
September 15, 2024
I Will Not Look Away
Demo recording by Michael McDonald
Perusal Score
Performance Videos
Practice Tracks