Contact: Mollie Michel, mmichel@momscleanairforce.org, 267.981.1648
For the past six summers, Moms Clean Air Force has hosted their annual Play-In for Climate Action in Washington, DC, welcoming hundreds of families from across the country to advocate for clean air protections to their members of Congress. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Play-In moved to a virtual platform, and Moms Clean Air Force hosted multiple Stay-In & Speak Out for Climate Action events with lawmakers and their constituents to continue to advocate for clean air and climate action.
This effort culminated Saturday, September 12, with a live-streamed event showcasing recorded video reflections on our summertime conversations Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-02), Congresswoman Kim Schrier (WA-08), and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-13); messages from climate leaders in the Senate, including Senator Bob Casey (PA) and Senator Tom Udall (NM); and a lively concert with Latin Grammy Award-winning artist, author, and activist Mister G as well as Chilean jazz vocalist Claudia Acuña. The two perform for a virtual audience in the historic Academy of Music in Northampton, MA.
Joining Mister G and Claudia are Moms Clean Air Force’s Mollie Michel and her 11-year-old daughter Caia Farrell, who co-hosted the event from their home South Philadelphia.
Lastly, Moms Clean Air Force’s Arizona field organizer Columba Sainz and Claudia Acuña enjoy a heartfelt conversation (in Spanish) about the power of motherhood, the need for clean energy, and the urgency of voting. And National Field Director Heather McTeer Toney offers closing remarks and reminds the audience to speak with justice in every breath and pledge to vote.
Watch the recording of the concert here.
About Mollie Michel: Mollie Michel is Project Manager for Moms Clean Air Force. She has 20 years of experience in advocacy and communications on issues ranging from access for low-income children to arts and cultural programs in New York City, to equity in public education funding in Philadelphia to climate change and air pollution. Mollie lives in South Philadelphia with her husband and two daughters.
About Caia Farrell: At just 11 years old, Caia is a seasoned climate advocate and has spoken at rallies in Pennsylvania’s State Capitol and at Philadelphia’s City Hall. She is a bilingual Spanish speaker and attends sixth grade (virtually for now) at Southwark School in South Philadelphia, where she lives with her parents and younger sister.
About Mister G: Ben Gundersheimer (MISTER G) is a Latin GRAMMY Award-winning artist, author, activist, and educator. Hailed as “a bilingual rock star” by The Washington Post, he has released twelve albums for children and families, and earned 5 Parents’ Choice Gold Awards. Ben has published two picture books with Penguin Random House, the first of which is based on the song “Señorita Mariposa,” which appears on Ritmo y Rima.
Watch Mister G’s new video for the song “Washing Our Hands,” a funk track that aims to turn hand washing into a celebratory ritual. The song appears on his new album Children of the World, a collaboration with the Global Citizen Ensemble, which is made up of musicians across 5 continents and 14 countries who he reached out to during the pandemic to help him create new music filled with hope and energy.
About Claudia Acuña: When Claudia Acuña arrived in New York City in 1995, she quickly gained recognition as a leading voice on a jazz scene rapidly being transformed by a wave of brilliant Latin American musicians. A landmark signing to the legendary Verve recording label led to the 2000 release of her acclaimed debut Wind from the South. Twenty years later, she has released Turning Pages, an exquisite reintroduction to a singer who has thrived at the cusp of jazz and Latin American music. The project captures an artist in the process of both reintroducing and reasserting herself, with a program of strikingly melodic original songs expressing her singular vision. Acuña’s first new recording in a decade makes a compelling case that while keeping a lower public profile she’s been exploring new emotional depths.
English
Spanish