Film still from Wé tlʼátk áwé át sa.áx̱ - Listen to the land, 2020 by Nicholas Galanin
MCA Chicago
Meshell Ndegeocello
Chapter & Verse: The Gospel of James Baldwin
Inspired by James Baldwin’s truth-telling treatise on justice in the United States, The Fire Next Time, and our endlessly changing world, Chapter & Verse: The Gospel of James Baldwin is a 21st century ritual tool kit for justice. A call for revolution. A gift during turbulent times.
1. Call Dial 1-833-4-BALDWIN (1-833-422-5394) or visit the call page for international dialing and access using our digital phone pad. Discover songs, meditations, and chants to ease your mind any time, day or night, when you need it most.
2. See Experience visual testimonies of Baldwin’s text with original music created by Meshell and our artistic collaborators, including Suné Woods, Nicholas Galanin, Adebukola Bodunrin, and Charlotte Brathwaite.
3. Read Download our monthly broadsheet featuring Baldwin's words and calls to action. Available as a printable PDF.
Wé tlʼátk áwé át sa.áx̱ - Listen to the land, 2020, 4 minutes, 54 seconds
By Nicholas Galanin
“Ḵaa ée dultóowu g̱aneix̱x̱ sitee. Ḵaa ée dultóow latseenx̱ sitee. Ḵaa ée dultóowu ḵaa jín woosh alshát átx̱ sitee. Wooch kát kaduchákx̱; hél aax̱ gax̱dutee. Ḵusax̱án tin ḵaa kagéiyi yís wooch een yéi jineiyí áwé. Chʼa tleix̱ wooch nax̱toohéin!”
“Teaching people is salvation. Teaching people is strength. Teaching people is a thing that holds peoples’ hands together. It is piled upon itself; it is not taken from. It is working together with love for the benefit of people. Letʼs share it forever!”
– Nicholas Galanin
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Written and Directed Nicholas Galanin
Translation and Narration X̱’unei Lance Twitchell
Camera Merrit Johnson
Music Tlingit Rowing Song
Arranger Michael O. Ossorgin
Choir Mt. Edgecumbe School Boys Chorus
Recordist Michael O. Ossorgin
Date 1950
Song Hatred by Meshell Ndegeocello