Meet Debra Torok, PhD, Global Feminist, Circle Member, activist, musician, and professor of social justice education, arts activism, and music. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
What led you to joining The Circle?
Like so many during COVID, I became more active on social media. Seeing the Circle’s first Girls’ Global Dance Hour, I was intrigued. I signed up and danced my way into the organization! There was an instant connection with a tight-knit and caring group of committed people.
What inspired you to become an activist and a feminist?
Growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, I witnessed intense overt hatred. This continued into my teenage years as I participated in community theatre. There I became close to our sound and light technician, a wounded Vietnam War veteran who, shortly after being drafted just out of high school, was sent back home. I watched him struggle with life-altering injuries. During one rehearsal, someone ran into the theatre yelling that four students protesting on the Kent State campus had been killed. From then on, I wore my father’s Marine Corp fatigue jacket with a tear-shaped peace metal attached and joined the peace movement.
As a young girl studying classical piano, I watched the New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts. Not seeing any women in the orchestra, disillusionment turned to anger as I continued to witness consistent inequity, including in my own family. At that time, a female concert pianist gave a performance on TV. This fierce feminist argued in a press interview during the “Battle of the Sexes” in the U.S. in the 1970s that if she and a man played behind a curtain, one would not be able to distinguish the difference. This prompted an unintended challenge between an internationally acclaimed and revered male pianist and her that never materialized. Regardless, this once contentious idea has become a commonplace practice for selecting musicians. Coincidentally, I ended up studying with her when I attended music college. I was inspired and empowered.
Can you tell us about your work with Artists as Activists?
While working on my PhD, I joined the music faculty of New York University and, surprisingly, felt right at home with college-age students. Subsequently, I taught at Lehigh University. As a result of my activism and long-term relationship with Amnesty International, including performing benefit concerts, I was asked to develop undergraduate and graduate courses in social justice education, activism, and music at Moravian University, an institution founded by a sixteen-your-old girl. I integrated music and literary components into Artists as Activists, an undergraduate course.
Almost immediately, Artists as Activists began extending beyond the university campus with the creation of posters for Amnesty International USA in 2012. Posters were selected by the International Visions Gallery in Washington, DC to be auctioned for a benefit at the George Washington Club. Continuing, we participated in actions and conferences in Washington, DC, New York, Baltimore, Pennsylvania, and eventually on the West Coast with projects such as collaborative poetry, graphic art, music, and photography. We took part in the Arts for Human Rights workshops and performances at the Freddie Gray Empowerment Center in Baltimore. We were also involved in the long-term action to ban fracking in the Delaware River Basin spearheaded by documentary filmmaker, Josh Fox. Working on the AIUSA Peace River in Canada campaign, graduate students, elementary school children, and Artists as Activists collaborated on a year-long project to stop a proposed dam that would negatively alter the lives of the indigenous community. This included the creation of a large mural and other works for an exhibit, portions of which traveled to New Mexico. For the youngsters, it was their introduction to activism. We continue to expand as more in the visual, literary, and performing arts contribute and become involved. The actual university course is currently completely online. Ongoing partnership development includes public online course access, collaboration with arts organizations, especially those working with underserved young people who cannot afford college or arts training, and mentoring upcoming activists and artists.
What challenges do you face?
Seeing the emergence of additional hate groups in my own polarized country is more than alarming. As a global citizen, I often encounter narrow views in the U.S. I encourage students to explore human rights and environmental issues using the arts as a vehicle while evaluating personal moral positions. Asking for this type of introspection from those about to embark as independent adults in an unstable world is a responsibility I take very seriously. The path of my own life would have taken a disastrous turn if it had not been for my mentors. Although objectivity is a goal and a challenge, I do not apologize for my stand and action on issues. As a musician, an ongoing challenge is prioritizing while balancing time for my own creative projects and practicing.
Who inspires you to keep going?
There are countless activists that have inspired me over the years. Many worked tirelessly on international campaigns over long periods of time enduring disappointments and hardships. One of them was Harry Wu, a Chinese dissident, activist, and author who spent 19 years in labour camps for voicing negative opinions about the party as a university student. After his release, he came to the U.S. and testified before the Senate about forced-labour. He returned in an attempt to expose illegal practices in China, such as the selling of human organs, most from young executed political prisoners, and received an additional 15-year sentence. With the help of Amnesty International, his release was secured, and I met him shortly after when he agreed to join me as a speaker at one of my benefit concerts. The fact that he had a six-year-old son prompted me to ask him why he continued. His response startled and alarmed me: “Debra, what else can they do to me?” Considering the controversial events that occurred prior to his death and having been placed on the Chinese watchlist as a result of my association with him, these words haunt me. However, his courage and resilience encourage me.
As I was driving the other day, I saw a convoy of cars displaying signs protesting the selling of human organs in China and recalled those long-term activists who continue on. I recently started participating in nonviolence workshops hosted by Rev. Lawson, a key Civil Rights leader. He just celebrated his 94th birthday.
What advice would you give to other activists to create change?
Acquire as much knowledge as possible since this is the greatest tool in the activist’s toolkit. The best way to present a good argument is to anticipate the counter-argument, so stay informed. There are always alternate nonviolent ways to create change, so listen to others. Be patient, resilient, and tenacious. Any small action results in some type of course correction and everything is interconnected. Believe in yourself, do something, and be creative. Simple actions make a difference.
Back to News