Donation protected
Friends, if you are reading this message it means that you have a copy of my new album, Slow Drift. This album took three years to make and it feels good to be sharing it with you. Thank you for supporting me in my songwriting and recording over the years. It means a lot.
The vinyl and the digital download are free to anyone that wants one. If you would like to pay something for the album, please consider donating to Friends of the Freedom House, a National Historic Landmark in New Orleans that was a safe house to Civil Rights legends like James Baldwin, Lena Horne, Stokley Carmichael, and many more. It was a "safe" house where people could take shelter and rest as they crossed the country working for justice in dangerous and sometimes life-threatening environments.
The story of how this place was "rediscovered" 60 years later is a beautiful one.
My friend Divine bought the house knowing nothing about its history. About six months after she moved in, a community elder came over to say hello. "We sat on rocking chairs and he told me the history," says Divine, "about how he was a Freedom Rider and needed a safe house to stay while in New Orleans." He and many others used the home as a shelter during these turbulent times. Divine realized that she had been entrusted with a historic space and it has become her life's work.
Divine has a deep commitment to saving the home's history and sharing it broadly. Divine's home - now a museum, community space, and restored safe house - tells a story about these Freedom Riders and the dangers that pursued them in life. It's a beautiful and important part of the fabric of our history here in the US, and I have committed all proceeds from this vinyl album to supporting Friends of the Freedom House. "We're grateful for the support," says Divine. "We will use it to build out our community centered healing center for activists, organizers, and individuals in community carrying on the work done by those who stayed in this house before us."
There are 500 Slow Drift vinyl records sitting in my basement. If everyone who receives one donates $20 or more, we will be able to donate more than $10,000. So please, donate what you can, become a member of Friends of the Freedom House, and of course . . . enjoy the music.
Organizer and beneficiary
Chris Bosch
Organizer
New Orleans, LA
Candice Divine Henderson
Beneficiary