Opponents of the Trans Pacific Partnership are turning to social justice rappers and a Canadian actress to block the passage of the trade deal.
Liberal activists from Fight for the Future and Public Citizen have organized a four-city concert series titled Rock Against the TPP that will feature free concerts with headliners such as political punk band Anti-Flag and #woke rapper Talib Kweli.
Fight for the Future’s Evan Greer said the group aims "to harness the power of art" to advance opposition in Congress to the deal negotiated by the Obama administration. The goal is to "garner media attention and put pressure where pressure is needed," he said.
Organizers have booked venues in Denver, Seattle, Portland, and San Diego and expect between 700 and 2,000 attendees in each city. Concertgoers will be required to sign an anti-TPP petition in lieu of purchasing tickets. After the concerts, attendees can visit "teach-ins." Evangeline Lilly, a Canadian best known for her work in the last two Hobbit movies is emceeing the event in Denver.
Lilly, whose long-time partner is an American, was motivated to join the group by her two young children, as well as the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement passed by President Bill Clinton.
"I don’t want my kids to have to compete with Vietnamese workers who make 65 cents an hour and have no rights," she said. "I have watched my country crumble under the weight [of trade dispute lawsuits]. … Be smarter than we were on the other side of the border. Don’t sign away your sovereignty to corporations."
Lilly and the event’s organizers take issue with the backdoor negotiations between the United States and representatives from more than a dozen Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea. The deal could also force governments that interfere with trade to pay restitutions to corporations using taxpayer dollars, according to critics.
"This corporate power grab is so overreaching that it’s hard to begin to touch upon the injustices," said Justin Sane, lead singer of Anti-Flag, "one of the premier political punk bands in the country."
Organizers have not reached out to any political candidates who have been vocal TPP critics, such as socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders or Republican nominee Donald Trump because of the effort’s nonprofit status, but that has not kept them from working with a number of politically influential liberal groups. Attendees spurred to action by Lilly’s teach-ins of Anti-Flag’s lyrics will be directed to partner organizations at the local level, including the Sierra Club, Teamsters, Communication Workers of America, Steelworkers Union, Friends of the Earth, and Credo Action, according to Greer.
Participants are confident that the tour will yield political dividends.
"The opportunity for a real victory that transcends political ideology … is extremely exciting," Flobots rapper Jonny 5 said. "[We will] help the people practice their power by literally raising their voices in unison."
Greer asked Mr. 5’s rap partner, Brer Rabbit, if he had anything to add.
"Yeah what he said," Mr. Rabbit said. He paused before adding, "The way we’re going to help the people practice their power is by bringing back the practice of people singing together."
Rock the TPP will hold its first event at Denver’s Summit Music Hall on Saturday.