KUSHNER: The work, Ponder said, was sometimes frustrating and made her angry. PONDER: I often tell people there is no way I could be a public defender if I did not also have music.

KUSHNER: In a 2019 TEDx Talk, Danielle Ponder said music rejuvenated her, even while working a demanding day job. Her song 'Working,' from an earlier album, addresses the ever-present burden of student debt on working people. KUSHNER: Danielle Ponder has long written lyrics that affirm life's value in the face of institutions that have a history of beating people down. If you do nothing else but wake up and breathe, holding those two identities and walking in this world is bravery.

It's the fact that we exist in this intersection that makes us brave, the fact that we have to live in the world as both Black and as woman. PONDER: To me, there's also an implication that there is no choosing to be brave, right? That's what I say in the song. Some of us are brave is different than saying, be brave. KUSHNER: Like, the implication there is it requires an action. KUSHNER: I like that it's a challenge to - like, are you one of the brave ones, kind of? PONDER: (Singing) What a pity to be locked in a place. Like, just - I felt really seen in that book. It addresses the lack of representation of Black women in feminist and Black studies and touches on topics ranging from racism to prison reform. KUSHNER: The title is 'All The Women Are White, All The Blacks Are Men, But Some Of Us Are Brave.' It's an influential feminist anthology published in 1982. When I first read that book, I was in law school, and I was first just struck by the title. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, 'SOME OF US ARE BRAVE')ĭANIELLE PONDER: (Singing) If the sky were to fall, I'd be the first to call.

Her new album, called 'Some Of Us Are Brave,' is named after a book that changed her life. She's worked in the Monroe County Public Defender's Office for nearly 10 years. The album is called 'Some of Us Are Brave,' and WXXI's Daniel Kushner has more on the album and his hometown star.ĭANIEL KUSHNER, BYLINE: People in Rochester know Danielle Ponder as both a musician and a lawyer. But with her new album, Ponder has been enjoying critical raves and new attention from all over the country. Kazutora backstory booklet.: Īnd finally today, singer Danielle Ponder has been a much-appreciated presence in Rochester, N.Y.'s, music scene for more than a decade.

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