Even as our audiences grew large, our mission remained focused on building community through shared stories, songs, and conversations. Here Don and Lynn Yansen of First Parish meet Sam Berman, who told the story of how he wrote one of the most popular protest songs of all time – Charlie and the MTA. The song was originally written to protest the impending raising of fares on public transit.
From the beginning, we have seen our role as strengthening not only our own community but the larger community of which we are part. One of the ways we do that is by formally and publicly recognizing important organizations in the community and sharing our proceeds with them. Here, David Rose recognizes Margot Fleischman and Erin Freeborn of Communities for Restorative Justice and provides a donation to support their work.
Michelle Olsen
Storyteller
Michelle Olsen was a Wall Street quantitative strategist before leaving the corporate world. After the 2016 election, She was one of the founding members of Minuteman Indivisible, an organization dedicated to civic engagement and protest over the most corrosive, undemocratic practices of the Trump administration. Now one of the organizers of Indivisible-MA, Michelle is building the network of Indivisible groups across Massachusetts into a sustainable organization.
Sam Berman
Storyteller
Sam Berman was a local folk singer from the late 1940’s. He helped to form a folk group called The Peoples Artists of Boston which was very active in supporting local progressive candidates and causes. He was in the Air Force in WWll and attended the University of Wisconsin, after which he returned to Boston and ran a local trucking company until he retired in 1986.
Suzanne Adams
Storyteller
Suzanne Adams has been an active member of First Parish, as a worship associate, a youth leader in the Coming of Age program, and a facilitator of a creative writing circle. For the past ten years she has served as archivist at Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives in Watertown.
Bestor Cram and Nancy Earsy
Storytellers
Nancy Earsy is a long time member of First Parish. She was arrested in 1971 on Lexington Green along with 457 others who were peacefully protesting the Vietnam War. She later worked with Lexington Oral History Projects to create a permanent record of that historic Peace Protest.
Bestor Cram has over thirty years experience as a director, producer and cinematographer of non-fiction films. In 1982 he founded Northern Light Productions, which has produced over 30 feature documentaries for television including most recently Birth of a Movement. A new documentary in progress looks at the aftermath of the war in Vietnam through the work and voice of Vietnamese artists.
Erin Freeborn and Margot Fleischman
Storytellers/Community Partners
Erin Freeborn is the Executive Director of C4RJ. She has a decade of study and experience in both the practice of restorative justice and nonprofit leadership. As a social entrepreneur she encourages programs to think about new ways to create positive change in society. She is an attorney who helped found the Massachusetts Restorative Justice Collaborative.
Margot Fleischman is the President of the Board of Directors of C4RJ. As a local elected official in Bedford where she is currently Chair of Selectmen. Margot believes strongly that municipalities can and should support the health and wellness of their citizens, and that local law enforcement has an important role to play in promoting healthy communities.
Nick Page is the founding director of The Mystic Chorale. He sang in the youth and adult choirs at First Parish and was interim choir director before moving to Chicago to conduct the Chicago Children’s Choir. Nick has over 100 published choral pieces and 3 books. He has conducted at Carnegie Hall and his COMIC BOOK OPERA premiered at Lincoln Center. He leads sings at schools, places of worship, rallies and for business team building.