Home
Tribute to Sinèad O'Connor
- Details
Tune into Out-FM on Tues., August 1, 2023 from 8:00-9:00pm, on 99.5 FM WBAI/NY or listen live at https://www.wbai.org/listen-live/
Press Play button to stream, or green download buttons below - to download the sound file of the promo, or the program sound file.
Protest Singer Sinèad O'Connor
(photographer: Bryan Ledgard, Creative Commons)
Tribute to Sinèad O'Connor
Sinèad O’Connor, whom we lost on July 26th at age 56, was an iconic figure in the LGBTQIA+ community both because of her support for queer liberation and equality, and because she herself identified as non-heterosexual, or what some call bisexual or pansexual. Her specific identity has evolved over time. In 2000 she told the queer magazine Curve, “I am a lesbian” and explained, “I wasn’t necessarily comfortable about the whole world knowing about it because I hadn’t come to terms with it myself. Or understood myself. But actually there’s [f-ing] nothing wrong with it and in fact it’s a beautiful thing.”
In 2005 Entertainment Weekly quoted Sinèad, who over her life had four children by four men, as saying: "I'm three-quarters heterosexual, a quarter gay." A decade later, in an interview with the queer website Pride Source, she said, “I don’t believe in labels of any kind... If I fall in love with someone, I wouldn’t give an [s-word] if they were a man or a woman.” She also repeatedly paid tribute to the courage of the lesbian and gay community in fighting oppression and repeatedly helped raise funds to battle the AIDS pandemic.
Sinèad was also a strong feminist and one of the first woman cultural work to sport a shaved head. She was a fierce Irish woman who used her voice, her platform, in service to anti-racist and anticolonial struggles. That included the fight to end British colonialism in the northern part of Ireland, her repeated condemnation of police violence against Black people, both in the UK and the US – which later included her public support for Black Lives Matter – as well as her strong support for the Palestinian quest for self-determination.
Sinèad O’Connor spoke out against war and child sexual abuse and considered herself a protest singer. With 10 studio albums and 33 lead singles and many collaborations, she was a powerful musical force. In 2018 she converted to Islam and added another name: Shuhada' Sadaqat, which she used interchangeably with Sinèad O’Connor.
The incident she is most remembered for was the one least understood by a mass audience at the time: her October 1992 appearance on Saturday Night Live during which she sang Bob Marley’s song “WAR” – a denunciation of racist ideology -- and used it as a vehicle to criticize Pope John Paul II for his coverup of the child Sexual Abuse scandal that was beginning to unfold but was not widely known until several years later. For that bold, act, Sinead was condemned by establishment media.
The program includes an excerpt from Nothing Compares, a documentary about Sinéad O’Connor, on why she protested against the Pope. It also includes pieces of Amy Goodman's tribute to her on today's Democracy Now program.
TONIGHT'S GUEST:
Eduardo Lopez de Casas worked in two different parishes in the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese for over 15 years. As a music director at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Houston, Texas, he became aware that his boss, Father John Keller, had been accused of sexual abuse in the early 2000s. Father Keller was removed when the Galveston-Houston list of accused priests was released; shortly thereafter, another priest was removed from the same congregation. After speaking publicly about the history of abuse in his parish, Eduardo was told that his position no longer existed. To add insult to injury, he was denied unemployment benefits because the church is a “non-profit.” Eduardo Lopez de Casas is a 45-year-old survivor of sexual abuse and currently serves on the National Board of SNAP, serving as a liaison to the Spanish-speaking community and their particular issues.
About Out-FM
Out-FM is a weekly progressive, intersectional queer show on listener-sponsored, noncommercial WBAI/Pacifica Radio. It airs at 99.5 and wbai.org, generally on Tuesdays from 8-9 PM. Please support us by donating to WBAI. Become a member for $25 or a BAI Buddy (sustainer) for $10/month or more. Go to give2wbai.org or call 212-209-2950 and let the station know you listen to Out-FM by supporting the station with a donation. Be sure and mention our show when you donate. Sign up for Out-FM's Weekly Newsletter with show announcements.
A conversation with Transgender Activist Pauline Park
- Details
