Toshi Seeger facts for kids

Toshi Seeger was an American filmmaker, producer, and environmental activist. She was born Toshi Aline Ohta on July 1, 1922, and passed away on July 9, 2013. Toshi was known for making films about folk music.

Some of her famous works include the 1966 film Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison. She also produced the Emmy Award-winning documentary Pete Seeger: The Power of Song in 2007. This film was shown on PBS.

In 1966, Toshi and her husband, folk singer Pete Seeger, started the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. This group works to protect the Hudson River and its nearby wetlands. They also co-founded the Clearwater Festival, officially called The Great Hudson River Revival. This big music festival happens every year at Croton Point Park in Westchester County, New York.

About Toshi's Life

Toshi Aline Ohta was born in Munich, Germany, on July 1, 1922. Her mother, Virginia Harper Berry, was from Washington, D.C.. Her father, Takashi Ohta, was from Shikoku, Japan.

Her Japanese grandfather had to leave Japan because of his writings. Her father, Takashi Ohta, took his place and also went into exile. He met Virginia Berry while traveling, and they got married in Munich.

Toshi and her parents moved to the United States when she was six months old. She grew up in Greenwich Village and Woodstock, New York. She went to the Little Red School House in Manhattan. In 1940, she graduated from The High School of Music & Art.

Meeting Pete Seeger

Toshi met her future husband, Pete Seeger, at a square dance in 1939. They got married in 1943. Pete bought her engagement ring with money he borrowed from his grandmother.

In 1949, they moved to a log cabin that had no running water or electricity. It had a beautiful view of the Hudson River. Many people say Toshi was a huge reason for Pete Seeger's success in his life and career.

During the 1950s, Toshi and their children went with Pete to his hearings in Washington. Pete faced questions from a government committee. He was found to have not cooperated with the committee in 1961, but this decision was later changed.

Toshi's Work and Contributions

Toshi Seeger helped create the Newport Folk Festival in the early 1960s. She also helped discover Mississippi John Hurt, a country blues musician, around the same time. In 1965, she took part in the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

She became a filmmaker and producer. She often focused on folk music and the musicians who played it. Many of her films are kept safe at the Library of Congress.

Filmmaking and TV Shows

In 1966, Toshi released Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison. This film showed the traditional songs sung by Texas prison inmates as they chopped down trees.

Pete Seeger had been banned from appearing on television because of his political views. This ban was lifted in 1965. From 1965 to 1966, Toshi produced and directed a public television series called Rainbow Quest. Her husband hosted the show. Her official title for the show was "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer."

Protecting the Hudson River

Toshi and Pete Seeger started two important things together. They founded the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and its music festival, The Great Hudson River Revival. This festival is also known as the "Clearwater Festival".

Toshi used the festival to get people excited about cleaning up the Hudson River. She also made sure the festival was welcoming to everyone. In the 1970s and 1980s, the festival was one of the first to have sign language interpreters. It also had wheelchair accessible areas and recycling programs.

She invited new and rising musical artists to perform at the festival. Some of these artists, like Tracy Chapman, became very popular later on. Today, the Clearwater Festival brings more than 15,000 people to Croton Point Park every summer.

Later Achievements

Toshi Seeger was an executive producer for the 2007 PBS documentary, Pete Seeger: The Power of Song. This film won an Emmy Award. Toshi was 85 years old when the documentary was made.

She was also part of many groups that worked on community, environmental, and art projects. One of these was the New York State Council on the Arts.

Toshi's Passing

Toshi Seeger passed away at her home in Beacon, New York, on July 9, 2013. She was 91 years old. This was just nine days before what would have been her 70th wedding anniversary.

She was surrounded by her husband, their children Daniel, Mika, and Tinya. She also had six grandchildren, including singer Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, and one great-grandson. Pete Seeger passed away six months later, on January 27, 2014.