Freedom! What a magnificent word! What a glorious concept!
Freedom! The only possible acceptable mode of existence!
Freedom! Never to be taken for granted!
Freedom! So hard won by those who came before us—and our duty to maintain!
Freedom! A way of thinking about life! The only acceptable way!

Prelude: Liberty Fanfare by John Williams (Book 6, page 161, CD 4:2)
(Time: Approximately 3:00)

Suggestion: Dim the auditorium lights and display photos gathered by the students, or art work by the students, depicting the broad spectrum of seekers of freedom saluted through the content of this program. (American Revolutionaries, South African freedom fighters, African American slaves, Jewish concentration camp prisoners, South Asian refugees, celebrants at the falling of the Berlin Wall, and so on) At the end of the music, auditorium lights come up and the students sing the next song without further introduction. The music could also be used to accompany the entrance of the performers, or the performers could enter a group at a time during the next song.

"Everybody Rejoice!" from The Wiz by Luther Vandross (Book 5, page 120, CD 2:53)

Suggestion: Guide the students in developing and performing choreography for this song.

Narrator:

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread... They offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one's own way." —Viktor Frankl

Narrator:

Araminta Tubman (nicknamed "Harriett") played an important part in helping others gain freedom. A runaway slave herself, she became a "conductor" on the network of people known as the "underground railroad." She helped nearly 300 others to freedom. Her nickname then became "Moses."

Narrator:

Among those who continued to fight for freedom into this century was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said:

Narrator:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Narrator:

Freedom is never easy to achieve—or to keep.

Narrator:

"Liberty is always unfinished business." —American Civil Liberties Union

Narrator:

"The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right.—Judge Learned Hand

Narrator:

"Liberty is always dangerous—but it is the safest thing we have."—The Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick

Narrator:

The struggle for freedom—in any part of the world—affects, and is felt by us all.

Narrator:

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. —President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Narrator:

For nearly thirty years, the city of Berlin, Germany, was divided by a wall separating East from West. It was forbidden to cross this wall, and many lost their lives in trying to do so. When it at last fell in 1989, the rejoicing of the newly freed East Berliners, and of all lovers of freedom, was enormous. As part of the celebration commemorating this historical and joyous happening, the American composer, Leonard Bernstein, led a performance of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony, the "Choral" symphony, which includes the song, "Ode to Joy." In honor of this great event, Maestro Bernstein altered one word in the text. He changed the German word for "joy," Freude (Froy-duh) to Freiheit (Fry-hite), the word for "freedom." Here is the song with English words by Henry van Dyke.

"Oh, Great Spirit, we come to you with love and gratitude for all living things. We now pray especially for our relatives of the wilderness—the four-legged, the winged, those that live in the waters, and those that crawl upon the land. Bless them, that they might continue to live in freedom and enjoy their right to be wild. Fill our hearts with tolerance, appreciation, and respect for all living things so that we all might live together in harmony and in peace."

Narrator:

Our continued freedom, now and in the future, depends on every one of us. This is as true now, as it was in Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania, in 1863.

Narrator:

"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. . . We here highly resolve . . . that this nation . . . shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."—President Abraham Lincoln

Narrator:

These words from the Gettysburg Address have inspired many people. The composer of the next song was one of these.

Narrator:

Freedom is our heritage. Listen to these words, spoken during the darkest days of the Second World War:

Narrator:

"We look forward to a world founded upon the four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship . . . in his own way—everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world."—President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Narrator:

Freedom! A way of thinking about life! The only acceptable way!