Congrats to Lenny Kravitz for finding a way to both express himself while reminding us of the single thing we can do together as a united community against the WAR that will have a direct effect on our country's future in the years ahead:
vote him out of office in 2004!
(And by voting as many of "his people" out in all the little elections at every step along the way. )
(Um. When's that next election again?:)

WE WANT PEACE

Here's what this is all about.

Rock the Vote and Lenny Kravitz today announced a new song by Kravitz called "We Want Peace," which is available exclusively at Rock the Vote's website, http://www.rockthevote.org.

The song, which says, "There won't be peace if we don't try" is an urgent call from Kravitz for America to be a peaceful leader in the world. Kravitz wrote the song and performed it with Kazem Al Sahir, Iraq’s #1 pop music artist, who is better known as Iraq’s Diplomatic Ambassador to the world and hailed as a true legend of Arabic Music. In addition, the song features Palestinian musician Simon Shaheen on the 'oud and violins and Lebanese artist Jamey Haddad’s on djembe and tambourines.

Rock the Vote praised Kravitz for speaking his mind about the importance of peace and issued a call to action for young people to work for peace and defend free expression. Noting that artists, actors, activists, journalists and the world’s people have come under attack for their views on the war, Rock the Vote re-affirmed its commitment to supporting those who have the courage to speak out-- and to mobilizing young people to shape the future of our world. Rock the Vote's website, where the song will be released, also urges visitors to register to vote and to join the Rock the Vote Community Street Teams, which will be organizing "free expression" events and rallies in dozens of cities across the country in the coming weeks.

Here is the full text of the article in case the link goes bad:
(3-26-03)
http://www.rockthevote.org/statement.php

ROCK THE VOTE RELEASES NEW SONG BY LENNY KRAVITZ
" WE WANT PEACE "

With exclusive, free, web release of Kravitz' new song in response to the war on Iraq, Rock the Vote calls on young people to defend free expression

Los Angeles, March 25, 2003 - Rock the Vote and Lenny Kravitz today announced a new song by Kravitz called "We Want Peace," which is available exclusively at Rock the Vote's website, http://www.rockthevote.org.

The song, which says, "There won't be peace if we don't try" is an urgent call from Kravitz for America to be a peaceful leader in the world. Kravitz wrote the song and performed it with Kazem Al Sahir, Iraq’s #1 pop music artist, who is better known as Iraq’s Diplomatic Ambassador to the world and hailed as a true legend of Arabic Music. In addition, the song features Palestinian musician Simon Shaheen on the 'oud and violins and Lebanese artist Jamey Haddad’s on djembe and tambourines.

Rock the Vote praised Kravitz for speaking his mind about the importance of peace and issued a call to action for young people to work for peace and defend free expression. Noting that artists, actors, activists, journalists and the world’s people have come under attack for their views on the war, Rock the Vote re-affirmed its commitment to supporting those who have the courage to speak out-- and to mobilizing young people to shape the future of our world. Rock the Vote's website, where the song will be released, also urges visitors to register to vote and to join the Rock the Vote Community Street Teams, which will be organizing "free expression" events and rallies in dozens of cities across the country in the coming weeks.

"I came to Rock the Vote because of its strong stance with young people as defenders of free expression," said Lenny Kravitz. "This song for me is about more than Iraq: It is about our role as people in the world and that we all should cherish freedom and peace."

Jehmu Greene, Rock the Vote's executive director, said "Lenny Kravitz is a true patriot, and Rock the Vote is proud to support his artistic expression. We are here to rally young people to their sacred duty as patriotic Americans to speak out and participate in our democracy. To all the young people who might feel intimidated in the present political environment, pay attention to what Lenny Kravitz is doing. He is leading in this difficult time and so can you."

According to Ms. Greene, "Rock the Vote supports the young men and women in our military whose lives are now at risk. We hope the war will come to a swift conclusion with minimum loss of human life and that we can move on to build a better future for the Iraqi people. The millions of young people who hear this song should take Kravitz' message to heart and stand up for what they believe. As Lenny Kravitz says, 'we're at the crossroads,' and we need to defend democracy right now here at home."

ABOUT ROCK THE VOTE
Rock the Vote is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and empowering young people to change their world. Over the past decade, Rock the Vote has registered over three million new young voters and called on young people to recognize their role in creating significant political and social change.

CONTACTS:
Rock the Vote — Jamie Falkowski / Sarah Evans
310-444-7041 / 310-444-7039

Lenny Kravitz — Carleen Donovan
212-582-5400
CarleenD@ksapublicity.com