Activist, poet, columnist (or fifth columnist, depending on who you're asking), founder of the White Panther Party, marijuana enthusiast and evangelist, manager of the equally infamous rock group the MC5 (RIP) and all around trouble-maker 😄, John Sinclair passed away last Tuesday, March 2, 2024 of heart failure. Condolences to the surviving family. 😞
Obligatory music, brothers and sisters!…
- John Lennon - John Sinclair
- MC5 - Ramblin' Rose
- John Sinclair & Cary Loren - PeyoteMind (2012)
- Bonus: John Sinclair (1941-2024) & The MC5 - From the Film "MC5 - A True Testimonial" (2002)
The Freep reports on the upcoming memorial services for Sinclair…
A memorial will take place at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), featuring performances by musicians and speakers who were friends of Sinclair — a storied poet, counterculture activist and Detroit music fixture who was embedded in the city’s rock and jazz scenes. […] MOCAD is at 4454 Woodward, Detroit. […] A reception will follow at the Trinosophes café at 1464 Gratiot, Detroit.
From The News…
In a Detroit News interview in 2021, on the 50th anniversary of the freedom rally for Sinclair, the activist said he was surprised it took Michigan so long to legalize marijuana.
"The truth prevailed," he said. "People didn't quit using it, you see? And more and more people got on the side of the felons and pretty soon they had to remove the felony. It just didn't make any sense."
Sinclair had been living in the Cass Corridor in recent years. He was able to see marijuana not only be legalized in his home state, but become so available that dispensaries dot the entire landscape from county to county.
From CBS News…
Sinclair also promoted concerts and festivals and helped to establish the Detroit Artists Workshop and Detroit Jazz Center. He taught blues history at Wayne State University; hosted radio programs in Detroit, New Orleans and Amsterdam; and wrote liner notes for albums by artists including The Isley Brothers and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.
He helped create Hash Bash, a yearly pot celebration at the University of Michigan, and served as state coordinator of the Michigan chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
And finally, from The Metro Times' article…
At the time, cannabis activist Rick Thompson reportedly asked Sinclair, “Things have come full circle, haven’t they, John?” Sinclair retorted, “It would be more full if they came and gave me back the weed that they took.”
More information is available at the Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors website.
Alt links for your convenience: