Denton Singer Jessie Frye Embraces a Role in Progressive Politics

[Donkees]

Frye (center) performed at a Bernie Sanders rally in February. Courtesy photo by Marcus Junius Laws.


Excerpts:

Bernie Sanders didn’t win the Democratic nomination for president, but Our Revolution lives on. The organization, a political action network formed in the wake of his campaign, will continue grassroots efforts to promote progressive causes. It aims to organize ordinary people to engage in politics at a local level, and launched in Texas on December 5.

North Texas goth pop singer Jessie Frye has been chosen as a committee member for the Red River Valley region, which includes Denton.

In February, Frye performed for a crowd of thousands at a Bernie Sanders rally at Verizon Theatre. Now she will be organizing meetings and fundraisers, recruiting, and addressing state and local issues with other committee members. Frye will also be traveling to Our Future’s other regions.

---

Jim Hightower asked Frye to sit on the committee. The writer, activist, and former Texas Agriculture Commissioner introduced Sanders at the rally in February. He first met Frye when she performed at a rally in Denton.

“It was not just a perfunctory sort of gig for her,” Hightower says. “She was really committed to this grassroots effort to try to restore a measure of democracy to our nation. She volunteered her time.”

Our Revolution will be a national network for grassroots politics. But why start with Texas?

“Bernie understands something that I’ve been preaching for a long time,” Hightower says. “This is not a right wing state. It’s a non-voting state. The heart of politics among the people here is progressive populism. Our state was founded by mavericks, mutts, and malcontents—people fleeing death. Our first state constitution outlawed banks. That spirit is alive in people and we can appeal to it.”

Big states like California, New York, and even Florida are blue. Adding Texas would be a huge factor in presidential elections. Hightower believes that Frye’s music will play an important role in progressive politics here.

“Politics should not be committee meetings,” he says. “We need to put the party back in politics. We need music, food, beer, and wine to lubricate the movement. We need to get people together in a serious way—to actually have fun together and talk together. She gets that without even having to think about it. That was a huge component of the populist movement and it began here in Texas. We’re trying to revive that populist movement at its origin.”

http://www.dmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2016/12/denton-singer-jessie-frye-embraces-a-role-in-progressive-politics/