Bernie Sanders didn’t win the Democratic nomination for president, but Our Revolution lives on. The organization, a political action network formed in the wake of his campaign, will continue grassroots efforts to promote progressive causes. It aims to organize ordinary people to engage in politics at a local level, and launched in Texas on December 5.
North Texas goth pop singer Jessie Frye has been chosen as a committee member for the Red River Valley region, which includes Denton.
In February, Frye performed for a crowd of thousands at a Bernie Sanders rally at Verizon Theatre. Now she will be organizing meetings and fundraisers, recruiting, and addressing state and local issues with other committee members. Frye will also be traveling to Our Future’s other regions.
“Honestly, I’m a little intimidated,” Frye says. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m approaching it humbly.”
Most of the other committee members are politicians and activists.
“I feel like I’m the millennial of the group,” Frye says. “But I’m using my voice to change Denton and Texas as a whole.”
Taking action beats complaining on Facebook.
“I’m interested in being an integral part of Texas at large and helping to make a difference about something I believe in,” she says.
The decision to step out of her music and become so directly involved in a political movement wasn’t easy. Frye’s music has never been political, and the current climate is polarizing. But she has always been passionate about women’s rights, in particular.
“It creates a little bit of worry,” Frye says. “Are [my fans] still going to accept me? Will they hate me because of my political beliefs? But I really do care about using my voice for more than just music.”
Her local star power will be used to bring attention to Our Revolution, although Frye insists that her music and politics will remain separate. Her social media feed will not become a political platform. She has no plans to record an Ani DiFranco album.
Jim Hightower asked Frye to sit on the committee. The writer, activist, and former Texas Agriculture Commissioner introduced Sanders at the rally in February. He first met Frye when she performed at a rally in Denton.
“It was not just a perfunctory sort of gig for her,” Hightower says. “She was really committed to this grassroots effort to try to restore a measure of democracy to our nation. She volunteered her time.”
Our Revolution will be a national network for grassroots politics. But why start with Texas?
“Bernie understands something that I’ve been preaching for a long time,” Hightower says. “This is not a right wing state. It’s a non-voting state. The heart of politics among the people here is progressive populism. Our state was founded by mavericks, mutts, and malcontents—people fleeing death. Our first state constitution outlawed banks. That spirit is alive in people and we can appeal to it.”
Big states like California, New York, and even Florida are blue. Adding Texas would be a huge factor in presidential elections. Hightower believes that Frye’s music will play an important role in progressive politics here.
“Politics should not be committee meetings,” he says. “We need to put the party back in politics. We need music, food, beer, and wine to lubricate the movement. We need to get people together in a serious way—to actually have fun together and talk together. She gets that without even having to think about it. That was a huge component of the populist movement and it began here in Texas. We’re trying to revive that populist movement at its origin.”
Frye is young, enthusiastic, and smart. She conveys it in her music. Over the years, Hightower has worked with artists like Willie Nelson, Joe Ely, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Musicians are often populists, living real lives, often without healthcare. They can deliver a message in a way that is very different from speeches.
“Some people think performers have a responsibility in general to be political or a role model,” Frye says. “I don’t think that’s fair. You should create art, first and foremost, for yourself—to be happy. If you choose to take it to the public, that doesn’t change the fact that you are making art as an expression of your thoughts and life. And I’m going to use my voice the way I want to.”
