In the spring of 1965 Mary, with her mother, rejoined Martin Luther King, marching from Montgomery to Selma, in the process singing If I Had a Hammer under threat of violence. Two generations of protestors. Years later that number expanded to three, when Mary, her mother and her daughter all were arrested at an anti-apartheid protest. Mary referred to this as an example of "bridging the generation gap".
Later in 1965 the trio introduced Canadian Gordon Lightfoot to the United States, including in their See What Tomorrow Brings album his Early Morning Rain. In my opinion one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs ever performed:
Mary sang with a voice that was sometimes subdued but always powerful. Powerful to the extent that, for many years, she leaned forward and sang to Peter's and Paul's microphones. Two years later they did America another great favor - by introducing John Denver to the country, with their rendition of his Leaving on a Jet Plane.
In 1969 Peter helped organize the March on Washington, where Peter Paul and Mary sang Give Peace a Chance and Blowin' in the Wind at the National Mall.
Mary participated in missions to Nicaragua during Reagan's wars for his version of "freedom and democracy", and to El Salvador, with her daughter, a former Vista volunteer. In 1983 Mary visited the Soviet Union in support of Russian Jews. In 1985 she accompanied exiled South Korean leader Kim Dae Jung back to his country. In 1985 Yarrow wrote Light One Candle for the trio. Proceeds went to the Sanctuary Movement and self-determination effort in Central America. In 1986 the trio issued No Easy Walk to Freedom in support of the anti-apartheid movement and were honored by the Free South Africa Movement benefit held at Washington's Kennedy Center. The album cover features a photo of the three being arrested for protestng apartheid.
Over the years, Peter Paul and Mary have actively supported a wide range of worthwhile causes, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Children's Defense Fund, Greenpeace, the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, the Beth Israel Institute for Neurosurgery, Live Aid, One World, Public Broadcasting Service, World Hunger Year, Human Rights Watch, Second Harvest, the NAACP, the National Coalition for the Homeless, United Farm Workers Union, United Nations Children's Fund, Bread and Roses, Farm Aid, Project Momentum, Easter Seals and Crop Walk. Throughout those years, the trio performed Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind, with its phrase:
"How many years can a people exist, before they’re allowed to be free."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8U6Oh9uSY8As Mary explained:
"When you sing that line in a prison yard for political prisoners in El Salvador; if you have sung it to a group of union organizers – who have all been in jail – in South Korea; if you’ve sung to Jews in the Soviet Union who have been refused exit visas; if you’ve sung it with Bishop Tutu protesting apartheid, the song breathes. It lives, it has a contemporary currency."
In 1997 the trio joined with the federal Department of Agriculture in an effort to fight hunger in America. In 1998 they performed at a benefit in support of United Farm Workers in California. On March 19, the 30th anniversary of the benefit they performed for Cesar Chavez at Carnegie Hall.
In 1999 the trio recorded Songs of Conscience and Concern, sold in a jacket with an explanation of the trio's choice of venue:
"Folk music springs from the lives of people, telling of their hard times and triumphs, their heroes and outlaws, their loves and loves lost. It not only tells the story of how we got here, but reveals the bond we share with past generations. They, too, had hopes and dreams similar to our own. They, too, sought to heal the world in their own time, ridding it of war and injustice--and they, too, were nurtured by the songs that bound their mutual vision, that helped to renew them in the wake of loss and disappointment."
"Let the music tell its story and perhaps you, too, will be moved to join your voice with others who are committed to the realization of a better world."
A portion of the proceeds were donated to the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Children's Defense Fund and Oxfam, which fights global hunger.
Throughout, Mary found time for a wide variety of interests, all in furtherance of her long battle against all forms of social injustice. She recorded solo albums and toured, hosted a syndicated radio show, wrote newspaper columns and created the BBC series Rhymes and Reasons, which dealt with social traditions and changes.
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