Chapter 03 · Activism
Two benefit albums, a relief concert after Hurricane Sandy, a local radio show and a 2020 march through Glen Cove — a decade of organizing, most of it set to music.
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Activism is “shining a light on issues that need a light shined on.”
— Jason Samel, Long Island Herald, 2018
Movements covered by
Lead Story · Occupy Wall Street2011–12
Occupy Wall Street, 2011
Jason conceived Occupy This Album in Zuccotti Park in the protest’s first days and executive-produced it: 99 donated songs, released in May 2012 to benefit the movement, from artists including Jackson Browne, Joan Baez, Crosby & Nash, Yoko Ono, Willie Nelson and Tom Morello.
Original coverage
Anti-Fracking Movement2015
Jason produced Buy This Fracking Album, a two-disc compilation with Bonnie Raitt, Indigo Girls, Michael Franti and Pete Seeger's last recording. Proceeds went to grassroots groups working to end fracking.
Black Lives MatterJune 2020
Jason was one of six organizers — the other five all under 24 — of a Black Lives Matter march that set out from Pratt Park in Glen Cove. He put the turnout at more than 3,000.
After the MarchJuly 2020
As Nassau County formed its Police and Community Trust, Jason told the Herald what he hoped would follow: a Glen Cove force that reflects its community, more Black history in schools, and mental health professionals on the street.
Closer to Home
A weekly one-hour show Jason created and hosted on WCWP 88.1 FM, LIU Post's station, from April 2018 — local politics, artists and activists, starting with residents fighting their water company's rates.
Weeks after Hurricane Sandy, Jason organized the Hurricane Sandy Relief Conscious Jam in Wantagh, with DJ Logic, to raise money for Occupy Sandy. The short film Guilty of Giving follows the relief effort.
Advocacy and support work connected to Summit School and the broader North Shore community.
Some things are worth making noise about.
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