by Suzanne Sawyer, Atlantic City, New Jersey

During November, 1978 the city of San Francisco experienced two back to back tragedies, first the Jonestown mass suicides in Guyana, involving the members of San Francisco’s Peoples Temple, followed within days by the assassinations of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay City Supervisor and the Mayor, George Moscone. On a cold, gray Sunday in early December, Joan Baez gave a musical Christmas gift to the city, a free concert on the steps of City Hall.

Thinking about her voice soaring over the grieving crowd as she sang “Amazing Grace” brings tears to my eyes. As a member of the audience I felt the power of music to reach out to all of us in the crowd who were in pain and help us all to begin healing.