Barre | Songhoy Blues | Live Outside

As we continue to honor and celebrate Black History, we'd like to share a song and band from the roots of West Africa...

This video features Malian blues rock band Songhoy Blues performing "Barre," an original song from their latest album Optimisme, live outside in Bamako, Mali. Barre—meaning "change" in Songhai—calls on the youth to rise up and take action. "In the song we are inviting the youth to get involved in politics and government to bring about change because they understand the actual challenges we face today," says Songhoy Blues. "It’s like how yesterday gave today a chance, today needs to give tomorrow a chance."

We must learn from the past so that we do not repeat our mistakes and so that the future is better than the present. We all rise when we lift each other up so let's keep rising, one heart and one song at a time.