The Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change (ISSSSC) and The Wall of Song Project invite you to sing FEELING GOOD—the song made famous by Nina Simone—as a call-to-action, an anthem of solidarity for women’s athletics and a more equitable, racially just community.
An ongoing collaborative art project, FEELING GOOD acknowledges, celebrates, and builds upon the deep legacy of athlete activism at SJSU. Join us as we explore the ways in which art and collective singing rituals can, despite our social realities, embolden our voices to work towards a more inclusive community, particularly for Black and Indigenous women, girls, and non-binary athletes of color, who live at the intersection of racial injustice and gender inequity.
To add your voice and learn more about our latest and upcoming events, please visit wallofsongproject.com.
Register for our National Girls & Women in Sports Day 2021 event presented by San José Museum of Art, San Jose Jazz
Feb 18, 2021 7:00 PM (Free)
Including a Sports Conversation for Change with Dr. Akilah Carter-Francique, soprano soloist Danielle Marie and featuring 12x Grammy-nominated jazz powerhouse, Ledisi.
Join the San José Museum of Art, San Jose Jazz, the Institute for the Study of Sport, Society & Social Change (ISSSSC), and the Wall of Song Project as we explore the power of art, sport and the rituals of collective singing to create positive social change. In celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD), this online, multidisciplinary event will feature an interview with Grammy-nominated jazz powerhouse Ledisi, a solo by special guest soprano Danielle Marie and Dr. Akilah Carter-Francique, PhD (ISSSSC) hosting a Sport Conversation for Change, focusing on the importance of NGWSD to “inspire girls and women to play … and realize their full power.” Everyone is invited to add their voices to the Wall of Song Project by singing FEELING GOOD—the song made famous by Nina Simone—as a call-to-action, an anthem of solidarity, mental and physical wellbeing for all, and advocacy for women’s athletics and a more equitable, racially just community.
ABC News coverage of Wall of Song Project’s FEELING GOOD from Mel Day on Vimeo.
Inaugural Half-time Flash Singing Event at Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose:
Share your voice and join our cause at www.wallofsongproject.com
ABOUT
Since 2019, San Jose State University’s renowned Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change and The Wall of Song Project have been inviting athletes, fans, students, and community supporters to sing FEELING GOOD—the song made famous by Nina Simone—as an anthem of solidarity and a call to action for women’s sport and a more equitable, racially just community. At heart a collaborative project, hundreds have already added their voices to our growing, inclusive video chorus.
This ongoing collaborative art, film, performance, and sports stadia singing project of FEELING GOOD acknowledges, celebrates, and builds upon the deep legacy of Black athlete activism at SJSU. Through it, we explore the ways in which art and collective singing rituals can, despite our social realities, embolden our voices to support women’s athletics and work towards a more inclusive community—particularly for Black and Indigenous women, girls, and non-binary athletes of color, who live at the intersection of racial injustice and gender inequity.
WHY SHARE OUR VOICES FOR WOMEN’S SPORT?
While there has been some progress since the enactment of Title IX, we continue to see disparities in access, pay equity, working conditions, leadership and coaching opportunities, sports coverage (and the largely invisible work of athlete activists in women’s sports). We also have noticed the well-documented ways in which collective singing can help to cultivate joint perspectives, charge our courage, and touch each other at a distance (as we have especially seen during this time of physical distancing.)
WHY SING ‘FEELING GOOD’ RIGHT NOW?
Nina Simone sang about “a bold world, a new world” in 1965. The invitation is to be emboldened by Simone’s courageous and radical example in the midst of our need for a more equitable and racially just kind of future.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The Wall of Song project is participatory and interactive. The first step invites athletes, fans, students, and community allies to sing “Feeling Good” online at https://wallofsongproject.com/sing-2/. It only takes a few minutes and you don’t need to be able to sing–it’s not a solo!
CONNECTION TO ATHLETE ACTIVISM
San José State University, is a unique and special place in which to launch and grow FEELING GOOD due to its legacy in athlete activism as the birthplace of the Olympic Project for Human Rights, a movement led by Dr. Harry Edwards and Ken Noel that culminated in the iconic protest of 1968 Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos.
SONG AS A BRIDGE TO EMBODIED ACTION
This collaborative art, athlete activism, and civic singing platform is designed to build an inclusive community over time by drawing upon the ways in which song can help cultivate well-being and embolden our voices to work towards positive social change. We are developing an action toolkit and a series of calls-to-action with our collaborators and affinity groups.
In song and solidarity,
Dr. Akilah R. Carter-Francique, PhD, Co-organizer
Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change (ISSSSC)
Associate Professor, Department of African American Studies, San José State University, CA
Former collegiate athlete in track and field at the University of Houston
Mel Day, Co-organizer
Artist, filmmaker, co-founder of The Wall of Song Project
Interdisciplinary Art Lecturer, Department of Art & Art History, San José State University, CA
Former collegiate water polo goalie at Queen’s University, Canada
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CREDITS: For an updated list of our affinity partners and special thanks, please visit wallofsongproject.com
SJSU Partners & Campus Affinity Groups
Athletics, The Spartan Marching Band, SJSU Choirs (Spartan Glee Club, SJSU Choraliers, SJSU Concert Choir, SJSU Treble Choir), PRIDE Center & Gender Equity Center, Department of Art & Art History, Mosaic Cross-Cultural Center, Chicanx/Latinx Student Success Center
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
The Women’s Sports Foundation
Provident Credit Union Event Center.
SPONSORS
Artistic Excellence Project Grant from SJSU’s College of Humanities & the Arts
California State University Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Award
PRIDE Center & Gender Equity Center
Mosaic Cross-Cultural Center
Department of Art & Art History
FEELING GOOD is a registered National Girls & Women in Sports Day Event, powered by the Women’s Sports Foundation.
Share your voice and join our cause at www.wallofsongproject.com
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VIEW the updated list of collaborative partners and affinity groups.
Video still courtesy: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Ron Kroon / Nederlands: Collectie /
Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo / 14 December 1965
Custom arrangement license: #353609 “Feeling Good” [from ‘The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd’]; Songwriters: Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley. ‘Feeling Good’ was made famous by Nina Simone and can be found in the album “I Put A Spell On You” [1965] produced by Hal Mooney.