Bob Dylan at the White House on February 10 to celebrate Black History Month. Details here Other performers attending include Natalie Cole, John Legend, Smokey Robinson, Seal, and Jennifer Hudson. Actors Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah will serve as emcees. Dylan is honored for the role that his music palyed in the civil rights movement, including his performances at Dr. King's historic March on Washington, and in the South during the civil rights movement in the 60s.
All things considered, watching President Obama's speech last night, itself a historic moment, brought to mind, as it did for the author of the above article, Dylan's lyrics for "The Times They are a' Changin'." As the Senators and Congresspersons, held back by partisan politics and rooted in their disparate ideologies, left and right, Dem and GOP, sit on their hands, despite the call for change at a time that seems to represent new possibilities:
Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt, will be he who has stalled
The battle outside is ragin’
It’ll soon shake your windows, and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’