Editing Joan Baez (section)

==Social and political involvement==
[[File:Joan baez01.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Baez in 2003]]

===Civil rights===
In 1956, Baez first heard [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] speak about nonviolence, civil rights and [[social change]] in a speech that brought tears to her eyes.<ref name="American Masters" /> Several years later, the two became friends,<ref name="American Masters" /> with Baez participating in many of the [[Civil Rights Movement]] demonstrations that King helped organize. When she was a senior in high school, Baez met anti-war activist [[Ira Sandperl]] and through their interests in various philosophies and political causes they developed a friendship. In 1965 they founded together the Institute for the Study of Non-violence in [[Carmel Valley Village, California|Carmel Valley, California]] with Sandperl running the general operations and funding coming from Baez.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irasandperl.org/wordpress/?page_id=19|title=Friends of Ira Sandperl » Obituary|access-date=October 13, 2019|archive-date=October 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019104927/http://www.irasandperl.org/wordpress/?page_id=19|url-status=live}}</ref>

The early years of Baez's career saw the [[Civil Rights Movement]] in the U.S. become a prominent issue. Her performance of "[[We Shall Overcome]]", the civil rights anthem written by [[Pete Seeger]] and [[Guy Carawan]], at the 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]] permanently linked her to the song.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/we-shall-overcome-the-theme-song-of-civil-rights-12766/|title='We Shall Overcome': The Theme Song of Civil Rights|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=January 13, 2012|accessdate=February 5, 2022|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205102630/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/we-shall-overcome-the-theme-song-of-civil-rights-12766/|url-status=live}}</ref> Baez again sang "We Shall Overcome" in [[Sproul Plaza]] during the mid-1960s [[Free Speech Movement]] demonstrations at the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in [[Berkeley, California]], and at many other rallies and protests.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Andrew|last=Marantz|url=https://www.alaska.edu/freespeech/How-Social-Media-Trolls-Turned-U.C.-Berkeley-Into-a-Free-Speech-Circus-_-The-New-Yorker.pdf|title=How Social-Media Trolls Turned U.C. Berkeley Into a Free Speech Circus|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date=July 2, 2018|accessdate=February 5, 2022|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205102631/https://www.alaska.edu/freespeech/How-Social-Media-Trolls-Turned-U.C.-Berkeley-Into-a-Free-Speech-Circus-_-The-New-Yorker.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Her recording of the song "[[Birmingham Sunday]]" (1964), written by her brother-in-law, Richard Fariña, was used in the opening of ''[[4 Little Girls]]'' (1997), [[Spike Lee]]'s documentary film about the four young victims killed in the 1963 [[16th Street Baptist Church bombing]]. In 1965, Baez announced that she would be opening a school to teach nonviolent protest.<ref>{{cite book|last=Swanekamp|first=Joan|title=Diamonds & Rust: a Bibliography and Discography on Joan Baez|year=1980|publisher=The Pierian Press|isbn=978-0-87650-113-9|page=9}}</ref> She also participated in the 1965 [[Selma to Montgomery marches]] for voting rights.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2014/dec/17/1965-selma-montgomery-march-stephen-somerstein | title=Freedom Journey 1965: Selma to Montgomery March in pictures | work=The Guardian | date=December 17, 2014| access-date=December 20, 2014| archive-date=December 10, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210021100/https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2014/dec/17/1965-selma-montgomery-march-stephen-somerstein| url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2017, as part of a release of documents from the National Archives that were supposed to relate to the [[JFK assassination|assassination]] of [[John F. Kennedy]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Harrell |first=Donovan |date=November 3, 2017 |title=JFK files: FBI documents allege Martin Luther King Jr. had secret lovechild |url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article182651026.html#storylink=cpy |work=Sacramento Bee |access-date=January 8, 2017 |archive-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903142213/https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article182651026.html#storylink=cpy |url-status=live }}</ref> a 1968 [[FBI]] report alleged that Baez was involved in the 1960s in an intimate affair with King, an accusation described by history professor Clayborne Carson, the director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, as "part of a [[smear campaign]]" against King.<ref>{{cite news |last=Porter |first=Tom |date=November 4, 2017 |title=JFK File: FBI Monitored Martin Luther King's 'Abnormal' Sex Life of Orgies, Hookers and Joan Baez |url=http://www.newsweek.com/declassified-jfk-file-details-fbi-sex-smears-about-martin-luther-king-701996 |work=[[Newsweek]] |access-date=January 8, 2018 |archive-date=August 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827085908/https://www.newsweek.com/declassified-jfk-file-details-fbi-sex-smears-about-martin-luther-king-701996 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{quote box | quote=I went to jail for 11 days for disturbing the peace; I was trying to disturb the war.|source= —Joan Baez, 1967 [[Pop Chronicles]] interview.<ref name=pc19>{{cite web |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19769/m1/ |title=Show 19 – Blowin' in the Wind: Pop discovers folk music. [Part 2&#93; : UNT Digital Library |publisher=Digital.library.unt.edu |access-date=November 12, 2011 |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118165901/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19769/m1/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

===Vietnam War===
Highly visible in civil-rights marches, Baez became more vocal about her disagreement with the [[Vietnam War]]. In 1964, she publicly endorsed [[tax resistance|resisting taxes]] by withholding sixty percent of her 1963 income taxes. In 1964, she founded the Institute for the Study of Nonviolence<ref>{{cite web |title=Institute for the Study of Nonviolence Collected Records |url=https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/scpc-cdg-a-institute_for_the_study_of_nonviolence |website=Tricollege Libraries, Archives and Manuscripts |access-date=October 14, 2023}}</ref> (along with her mentor Sandperl) and encouraged draft resistance at her concerts. The Institute for the Study of Nonviolence would later branch into the Resource Center for Nonviolence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.joanbaez.com/links.html |title=The Joan Baez Web Pages |publisher=Joanbaez.com |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316164626/http://www.joanbaez.com/links.html |archive-date=March 16, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1966, Baez's autobiography, ''Daybreak'', was released. It is the most detailed report of her life through 1966 and outlined her anti-war position, dedicating the book to men facing imprisonment for resisting the draft.<ref>{{cite book|last=Swanekamp|first=Joan|title=Diamonds & Rust: a Bibliography and Discography on Joan Baez|year=1980|publisher=The Pierian Press|isbn=978-0-87650-113-9|pages=9–10}}</ref> Baez was arrested twice in 1967,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/16/newsid_2535000/2535301.stm | work=BBC News | title=1967: Joan Baez arrested in Vietnam protest | date=October 16, 1967 | access-date=May 6, 2010 | archive-date=June 11, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611044928/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/16/newsid_2535000/2535301.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> having blocked the entrance of the Armed Forces Induction Center in Oakland, California, and spent over a month in jail.<!-- See also [[Joan Baez#David Harris|David Harris]] section below. --> She was a frequent participant in anti-war marches and rallies, including:
* Numerous protests in New York City organized by the [[Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee]], starting with the March 1966 Fifth Avenue Peace Parade;<ref>{{cite news |title=Antiwar Protests Staged in U.S.; 15 Burn Discharge Papers Here; Hundreds Cheer at Union Square Rally Arrests Made Across the Country 5th Avenue Parade Set Today |author=Robinson, Douglas |work=The New York Times |format=$ |date=March 26, 1966 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/26/archives/antiwar-protests-staged-in-us-15-burn-discharge-papers-here.html |access-date=February 3, 2008 |archive-date=March 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301050000/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/26/archives/antiwar-protests-staged-in-us-15-burn-discharge-papers-here.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* A conversation with husband [[David Harris (protester)|David Harris]] at [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] in 1968 discussing the resistance to the draft during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt3t1nc5mg/|title=UCLA Students. Student Activism materials. 1927–2014.|website=oac.cdlib.org|access-date=March 4, 2020|archive-date=March 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304001050/https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt3t1nc5mg/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* A free 1967 concert at the [[Washington Monument]] in Washington, D.C., that had been opposed by the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] which attracted a crowd of 30,000 to hear her anti-war message;<ref>{{cite news |title=30,000 in Capital at Free Concert by Joan Baez; Folk Singer Chides D.A.R., Which Protested U.S. Site |author=B. Drummond Ayres Jr. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/15/archives/30000-in-capital-at-free-concert-by-joan-baez-folk-singer-chides.html |format=$ |date=August 15, 1967 |access-date=February 3, 2008 |archive-date=March 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301050052/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/15/archives/30000-in-capital-at-free-concert-by-joan-baez-folk-singer-chides.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The 1969 [[Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam]] protests.

There were many others, culminating in Phil Ochs's [[The War Is Over (Phil Ochs song)|The War Is Over]] celebration in New York City in May 1975.<ref>{{cite news |title=End-of-War Rally Brings Out 50,000; Peace Rally Here Brings Out 50,000 |author1=Montgomery, Paul L. |work=The New York Times |date=May 12, 1975 |author-link= Paul L. Montgomery}}</ref> During the Christmas season 1972, Baez joined a peace delegation traveling to North Vietnam, both to address human rights in the region, and to deliver Christmas mail to American [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]]. During her time there, she was caught in the U.S. military's "[[Operation Linebacker II|Christmas bombing]]" of Hanoi, North Vietnam, during which the city was bombed for eleven straight days.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwenkel |first1=Christina |title=Building Socialism The Afterlife of East German Architecture in Urban Vietnam |date=2020 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-1-4780-1106-4 |page=45}}</ref> She was critical of Vietnam's government and organized the May 30, 1979, publication of a full-page advertisement (published in four major U.S. newspapers)<ref>{{cite news |title=Joan Baez starts protest on repression by Hanoi |work=The New York Times |date=May 30, 1979 |page=A14}}</ref> in which the government was described as having created a nightmare. Her one-time anti-war ally [[Jane Fonda]] refused to join in Baez's criticism of the Vietnamese government,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/01/archives/peace-activists-attack-vietnam-on-rights-a-painful-nightmare-heard.html|title=Peace Activists Attack Vietnam on Rights|date=June 1, 1979|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 1, 2017|archive-date=September 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904062438/http://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/01/archives/peace-activists-attack-vietnam-on-rights-a-painful-nightmare-heard.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://historynewsnetwork.org/blog/11490|title=Joan Baez v. Jane Fonda|website=Historynewsnetwork.org|date=April 22, 2005 |access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-date=August 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828102300/http://historynewsnetwork.org/blog/11490|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/joan-baez-and-jane-fonda|title=Joan Baez and Jane Fonda|work=Dissent|first=David|last=Bromwich|access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-date=August 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828062719/https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/joan-baez-and-jane-fonda|url-status=live}}</ref> leading to what was publicly described as a feud between the two.

===Prison and death penalty reform===
In December 2005, Baez appeared and sang "[[Swing Low, Sweet Chariot]]" at the California protest at the [[San Quentin State Prison]] against the execution of [[Tookie Williams]].<ref>Jenifer Warren, Jenifer and Dolan, Maura (December 13, 2005). [https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-execution13dec13-story.html Tookie Williams is executed] . ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved June 17, 2010.</ref><ref>Felix (December 13, 2005). [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2005/12/13/17899151.php Thousand Protest Execution of Stan Tookie Williams] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312213741/http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2005/12/13/17899151.php |date=March 12, 2007 }} (photo).  ''Indybay.org''. Retrieved June 17, 2010.</ref> She had previously performed the same song at San Quentin at the 1992 vigil protesting against the [[execution of Robert Alton Harris]], the first man to be executed in California after the death penalty was reinstated. She subsequently lent her prestige to the campaign opposing the execution of [[Troy Davis]] by the State of Georgia.<ref>{{citation|publisher=Amnesty International |quote="Dear (Recipients) Any day now, an execution date could be set for Troy Davis. On March 28, 2011 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Troy Davis' appeals, setting the stage for Georgia to try to execute him again. Thousands of you have once again rallied to ward off the unthinkable. Music artists such as R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, the Indigo Girls, and rapper Big Boi (all Georgians), as well as Steve Earle, Joan Baez, State Radio and actor Tim Roth have joined us by signing the petition ..."|author= Laura Moye – Director, Death Penalty Abolition Campaign |title=Open letter of May 4, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.amnestyusa.org/amnesty/joan-baez-amnesty-and-you/ |title=Joan Baez, Amnesty and You &#124; Human Rights Now |publisher=Amnesty International USA Blog |date=September 8, 2011 |access-date=November 12, 2011 |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927014647/http://blog.amnestyusa.org/amnesty/joan-baez-amnesty-and-you/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2016, Baez advocated for the [[Innocence Project]] and [[Innocence Network]]. At each concert, Baez informs the audience about the organizations' efforts to exonerate the wrongfully convicted and reform the system to prevent such incidents.<ref name=":0" />

=== LGBT rights ===
Baez has been prominent in the struggle for [[LGBT rights|gay and lesbian rights]]. In 1978, she performed at several benefit concerts to defeat the [[Briggs Initiative]], which proposed banning openly gay people from teaching in public schools in California.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ariel|last=Min|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/joan-baez-75th-birthday-celebration-8-things-you-didnt-know-about-joan-baez/4904/|title=8 Things You Didn't Know About Joan Baez|website=[[PBS]].org|date=April 29, 2016|access-date=February 5, 2022|archive-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130211844/https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/joan-baez-75th-birthday-celebration-8-things-you-didnt-know-about-joan-baez/4904/|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that same year, she participated in memorial marches for the assassinated San Francisco city supervisor, [[Harvey Milk]], who was openly gay.<ref>{{cite news|first=Cynthia|last=Gorney|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/11/29/this-is-a-city-trying-to-climb-out-of-a-nightmare/14611505-503c-4413-a3da-4b01bc655acc/|title=This Is a City Trying to Climb Out of a Nightmare|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 29, 1978|access-date=February 5, 2022|archive-date=March 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307144347/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/11/29/this-is-a-city-trying-to-climb-out-of-a-nightmare/14611505-503c-4413-a3da-4b01bc655acc/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1990s, she appeared with her friend [[Janis Ian]] at a benefit for the [[National Gay and Lesbian Task Force]], a gay lobbying organization, and performed at the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride March.<ref>{{cite web|first=Stephen|last=Rutledge|url=https://worldofwonder.net/queerquote-i-went-to-jail-for-11-days-for-disturbing-the-peace-i-was-trying-to-disturb-the-war-joan-baez/|title=#QueerQuote: "I Went to Jail for 11 Days for Disturbing the Peace; I Was Trying to Disturb the War." – Joan Baez|website=worldofwonder.net|date=January 9, 2022|accessdate=February 5, 2022|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205101537/https://worldofwonder.net/queerquote-i-went-to-jail-for-11-days-for-disturbing-the-peace-i-was-trying-to-disturb-the-war-joan-baez/|url-status=live}}</ref> Her song "Altar Boy and the Thief" from ''[[Blowin' Away]]'' (1977) was written as a dedication to her gay fanbase.<ref>{{cite web|title=Blowin' Away|url=http://www.last.fm/music/Joan+Baez/Blowin%27+Away|access-date=October 17, 2013|archive-date=September 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904052142/http://www.last.fm/music/Joan+Baez/Blowin%27+Away|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Iran ===
On June 25, 2009, Baez created a special version of "We Shall Overcome",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3jWw-wGoaw | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/J3jWw-wGoaw| archive-date=October 30, 2021|title=Joan Baez 'We Shall Overcome' 2009 For Iran |via=YouTube |date= July 2, 2009 |access-date= August 25, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> with a few lines of [[Persian language|Persian]] lyrics in support of peaceful protests by Iranian people. She recorded it in her home and posted the video on her personal website and on YouTube.<ref>Baez, Joan (June 25, 2009). {{YouTube|kVCqPAzI-JY|Joan Baez "We Shall Overcome" (2009)}}; Google Inc. Retrieved June 17, 2010.</ref> She dedicated the song "[[Joe Hill (song)|Joe Hill]]" to the people of Iran during her concert at [[Merrill Auditorium]] in [[Portland, Maine]] on July 31, 2009.

===Environmental causes===
On Earth Day 1999<!-- per the citation-->, Baez and [[Bonnie Raitt]] honored environmental activist [[Julia Butterfly Hill]] with Raitt's ''Arthur M. Sohcot Award'' in person on her {{convert|180|ft|m|adj=on}}-high redwood treetop platform, where Hill had camped to protect ancient redwoods in the [[Headwaters Forest]] from logging.<ref>Rising Ground, Michael. (1999). [http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/julie2.htm "Bonnie Raitt and Joan Baez Tree-sit in protest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710170006/http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/julie2.htm |date=July 10, 2011 }}. ''EcoMall''; Ecology America. Retrieved June 18, 2010.</ref>

===War in Iraq===
In early 2003, Baez performed at two rallies of hundreds of thousands of people in San Francisco protesting the [[U.S. invasion of Iraq]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Simon|first=Mark|date=February 20, 2003|title=Joan Baez's long march to peace / '60s icon again takes on an activist role as she joins S.F. throng in bid to stop war|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Joan-Baez-s-long-march-to-peace-60s-icon-again-2632600.php|access-date=November 2, 2021}}</ref> In August 2003, she was invited by [[Emmylou Harris]] and [[Steve Earle]] to join them in London, England, at the Concert For a Landmine-Free World.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/concert-landmine-free-world-2463637|title=Concert for a Landmine Free World|newspaper=[[The Scotsman]]|date=August 11, 2003|accessdate=February 5, 2022}}</ref> In the summer of 2004, Baez joined [[Michael Moore]]'s "Slacker uprising Tour" on American college campuses, encouraging young people to get out and vote for peace candidates in the [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|upcoming presidential election]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Lewis|last=Wallace|url=https://www.wired.com/2008/09/michael-moore-t/|title=Michael Moore to Release Slacker Uprising for Free Online|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|date=September 4, 2008|accessdate=February 5, 2022|archive-date=January 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126214824/https://www.wired.com/2008/09/michael-moore-t/|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2005, Baez appeared at an [[anti-war]] protest in [[Crawford, Texas]], which had been started by [[Cindy Sheehan]].<ref>{{cite news|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=August 18, 2005|title=Joan Baez performs at Crawford anti-war vigil|publisher=[[NBC News]]|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9001021|access-date=November 2, 2021|archive-date=November 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102184621/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9001021|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Tree sit-in for urban farmers ===
On May 23, 2006, Baez once again joined [[Julia Butterfly Hill]], this time in a "tree sit" in a giant tree on the site of the [[South Central Farm]] in a poor neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, California. Baez and Hill were hoisted into the tree, where they remained overnight. The women, in addition to many other activists and celebrities, were protesting the imminent eviction of the community farmers and demolition of the site, which is the largest urban farm in the state. Because many of the South Central Farmers are immigrants from Central America, Baez sang several songs from her 1974 Spanish-language album, ''Gracias a la Vida'', including the title track and "No Nos Moverán" ("[[We Shall Not Be Moved]]").<ref>{{cite news|first=Andrew|last=Buncombe|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/a-new-protest-song-joan-baez-she-shall-overcome-479772.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220609/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/a-new-protest-song-joan-baez-she-shall-overcome-479772.html |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=A new protest song: Joan Baez – she shall overcome|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=May 26, 2006|access-date=February 5, 2022}}</ref>

===2008 presidential election===
Throughout most of her career, Baez remained apprehensive about involving herself in [[party politics]]. However, on February 3, 2008, Baez wrote a letter to the editor at the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' endorsing [[Barack Obama]] in the [[2008 U.S. presidential election]]. She noted: "Through all those years, I chose not to engage in party politics.&nbsp;... At this time, however, changing that posture feels like the responsible thing to do. If anyone can navigate the contaminated waters of Washington, lift up the poor, and appeal to the rich to share their wealth, it is Sen. Barack Obama."<ref>{{cite news |first=Joan |last=Baez|title=Leader on a new journey (Letter to the editor)|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/03/ED50UO8QM.DTL|work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=February 3, 2008 |access-date=February 3, 2008 }}</ref> Playing at the Glastonbury Festival in June, Baez said during the introduction of a song that one reason she liked Obama was because he reminded her of another old friend of hers, [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Mills |first=Paul |title=Joan Baez |publisher=[[Glastonbury Festival]] |year=2008 |url=http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/glastonline2008.aspx?id=3443 |access-date=July 27, 2008 |archive-date=December 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206134109/http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/glastonline2008.aspx?id=3443 |url-status=dead}}</ref><!-- CONTENT GONE -->

Although a highly political figure throughout most of her career, Baez had never publicly endorsed a major political party candidate prior to Obama. However, after Obama was elected, she expressed that she would likely never do so again, saying in a 2013 interview in ''[[The Huffington Post]]'' that "In some ways I'm disappointed, but in some ways it was silly to expect more. If he had taken his brilliance, his eloquence, his toughness and not run for office he could have led a movement. Once he got in the Oval Office he couldn't do anything."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/joan-baez-obama_n_3051163.html |title=Joan Baez on Obama |last1=Brummitt |first1=Chris |date=April 10, 2013 |website=[[HuffPost]] |access-date=September 28, 2015 |archive-date=September 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929112547/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/joan-baez-obama_n_3051163.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She performed at the White House on February 10, 2010, as part of an evening celebrating the music associated with the civil rights movement, performing "[[We Shall Overcome]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-video/video/joan-baez-performs-white-house?category=93 |title=The White House |access-date=November 3, 2011 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]]  |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415004627/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-video/video/joan-baez-performs-white-house?category=93 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Occupy Wall Street ===
On November 11, 2011, Baez played as part of a musical concert for the protestors at [[Occupy Wall Street]].<ref>{{cite news |date=December 14, 2009 |title=Folk music legend Joan Baez to perform at Occupy Wall Street rally |newspaper=Daily News|location=New York |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/folk-music-legend-joan-baez-perform-occupy-wall-street-rally-article-1.975888?localLinksEnabled=false |access-date=November 12, 2011 |archive-date=October 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028191909/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/folk-music-legend-joan-baez-perform-occupy-wall-street-rally-article-1.975888?localLinksEnabled=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Her three-song set included "[[Joe Hill (song)|Joe Hill]]", a cover of the [[Rolling Stones]]' [[Salt of the Earth (song)|"Salt of the Earth"]] and her own composition "Where's My Apple Pie?"<ref>{{cite news |last=Moynihan |first=Colin |date=November 11, 2011 |title=For Joan Baez, Another Protest |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/for-joan-baez-another-protest/ |accessdate=February 5, 2022 |archive-date=April 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409023426/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/for-joan-baez-another-protest/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Catalan independence movement===
Baez has been a strong defender of the [[Catalan independence movement]]. On July 21, 2019, she described jailed Catalan independence leaders as political prisoners.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 21, 2019 |title=Joan Báez: 'Sigo pensando que en España hay presos políticos' |language=es |newspaper=La Vanguardia |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/cultura/20190721/463624799708/joan-baez-espana-presos-politicos.html |access-date=July 21, 2019 |archive-date=July 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721091619/https://www.lavanguardia.com/cultura/20190721/463624799708/joan-baez-espana-presos-politicos.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Five days later, she visited former [[Parliament of Catalonia]] president [[Carme Forcadell]] in prison.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 26, 2019 |title=Joan Baez visita en la cárcel a Forcadell |language=es |newspaper=El Periódico |url=https://www.elperiodico.com/es/politica/20190726/joan-baez-visita-en-la-carcel-a-forcadell-7570977 |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726150011/https://www.elperiodico.com/es/politica/20190726/joan-baez-visita-en-la-carcel-a-forcadell-7570977 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=July 26, 2019 |title=Joan Baez visita a Forcadell en la cárcel y expresa su apoyo al independentismo |language=es |newspaper=La Vanguardia |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20190726/463703768827/joan-baez-visita-forcadell-carcel-apoyo-independentismo.html |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726183017/https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20190726/463703768827/joan-baez-visita-forcadell-carcel-apoyo-independentismo.html |url-status=live }}</ref>