Music Thief

Defying police intimidation, Andrew Laties testified he'd seen a Black man murdered by cops. They went to prison. Why was this white Yale dropout on the South Side? Studying Great Black Music with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Tracing Laties' childhood love of music and long-haired protest against the Vietnam War, suspension for a newspaper and election to the school board, and travels in Asia and Europe studying music and seeing American militarism and racism through the world's eyes, The Music Thief reveals direct action as a means of improvising a life of impact. Keywords: Questioning authority, arts activism, police brutality, children's rights, cultural appropriation, race and class, US militarism.