Legendary 1960s protest singer Joan Baez will headline an Occupy Wall Street rally Friday.
“It’s official. Joan Baez will be here tomorrow,” said organizer Aaron Black. “She’s an icon. We are unbelievably excited. In the ’60s, protests and music went hand and hand.”
The “11/11/11” Veterans Day Rally will be held at at Foley Square from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The slogan for the day: “Honor the Dead, Fight Like Hell For the Living.”
Ignoring the weekday timeslot and the short notice, Black said he expects big crowds – possibly tens of thousands of people.
“It’s going to be our biggest gathering yet. The whole world is watching now,” he said.
“It’s going to be an unbelievable celebration of music and culture.”
Baez, born a New Yorker, is an icon of the 1960s who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez, dated Bob Dylan and Steve Jobs, and sang about civil rights, human rights and the Vietnam War.
Her performance of “We Shall Overcome” at the 1963 March on Washington made her rendition a classic.
The concert/rally was originally planned for Washington Square Park but city officials balked. They allowed Foley as a compromise.
Famed civil liberties crusader Norman Seigel was helping out.
He came to Foley Square with Black to review the protocol for the concert.
“We have a lot of work to do. This is going to be huge,” said Black.
Siegel said he is working the case for free.
“I believe in the principles and goals articulated by the movement,” he said.
The final lineup for the rally was not final, but others appearing are: Marine Sgt. Shamar Thomas, who became famous in a YouTube clip berating NYPD cops for their lack of honor in arresting protesters in Times Square; folk singer Ryan Harvey; activist Max Rameau from “Take Back the Land;” and a speaker from the Iraq Veterans Against The War.
