The Gospel According to The Jeffersons – The Power of Your Voice

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Writer Norman Lear created some awesome classics: “Good Times”, “Maude”, “One Day at A Time”, and more. But today, let’s focus on a particular show, “The Jeffersons.” The Jeffersons, a middle-class family based in New York, included George Jeffersons (Sherman Hemsley), Louise (Weezy) Jefferson (Isabell Sanford), and Lionel Jefferson (Michael Evans). The Jeffersons were neighbors to the Bunkers.

Norman Lear also created the controversial show “All in the Family” that ran for nine seasons (1971-1979), which was followed with a spin-off months later called “Archies Place” that last until 1983. “All in the Family”, starred Carroll O’Connor, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers, and Rob Reiner; Archie Bunker, his wife, daughter, and son-in-law.

Archie Bunker was a man that we can recognize even more in today’s political climate. Bunker was a racist, prejudice White man that believed the world was his oyster. He constantly argued with his wife and daughter and especially with his son-in-law Michael often called Meathead. But the larger conflict was with his neighbors, the Jeffersons, especially George Jefferson. Norman Lear made sure he addressed issues and forced conversations to take place in the 1970s-1980s that people never would talk about on the air. 

As the show progressed, the Jeffersons move to the 12th floor of a Manhattan, New York 3bd room apartment known as Apt 12D. George Jefferson’s successful cleaners, Jefferson Cleaners, had multiple locations and was doing well… so well that his wife Louise no longer had to be a maid. The Jeffersons met their new neighbors The Willis’: Tom a successful book publisher, and his wife, Helen who came from an influential African-American family. Norman Lear kicked the episode off by addressing the Willis’ interracial marriage, the n-word, and the word honky. They concluded that episode by showing the Willis’ kissing each other which again inevitably forced America to have tough conversations.

Appearances were made by George’s mother, Mrs. Jefferson whose character had a major conflict with daughter-in-law Louise. Mrs. Jeffersons saw no wrong in her son. Even when Louise would rarely agree with her mother-in-law, Mrs. Jefferson would then disagree with her initial stance just to not agree with her. They brought on Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs) as a part-time maid. The ratings were doing pretty well in the 70s. Zara Cully (Mother Jefferson) was diagnosed with a terminal illness and the cast knew their time with Zara would be short.

After the first season, Michael Evans (Lionel) went back to working on his show that he co-created “Good Times.” At the time, Marla Gibbs was working as a flight attendant at United Airlines while playing a part-time maid as Florence. To replace the void of Mother Jefferson; the producers decided to ask Marla Gibbs if she still worked for the airlines, which she said of course.  Producers said I thought you quit and Marla Gibbs responded, “Why would I, you have not given me a reason to… unless there’s something you want to tell me.” The producer asked her how much was she getting paid to work at United Airlines? Once Gibbs told them her wages from the Airline; they agreed to pay her part-time wage with the show and pay her salary at the airlines. And Gibbs decided to leave the airlines and never regretted it. The show decided to write Florence in as a live-in maid. 

The ratings were on a good path, but CBS decided to move the show multiple times to different time slots. Marla Gibbs said, “If you leave the show in one spot the people can find us.” Well, of course, CBS moving the popular show to different time slots impacted ratings and they dropped significantly. Sherman Hemsley pushed to get Black writers on the show. Norman Lear had done an amazing job creating the show but the writers were becoming out of touch. CBS was in the era of Knots Landing and Hotel & Dallas, and they wanted to silent the Black voice. When “The Jeffersons” hired more Black writers they hit topics like KKK and other important topics again and the show became funnier and the ratings went up to #1. Michael Evans returned to “The Jeffersons” as Lionel. I failed to mention that the second Lionel was played by Damon Evans (no relation to Michael). But Damon had never seen “The Jefferson” before when he got the job.  Damon asked if he could watch some episodes so he can learn and get familiar with Lionel’s character, but he was told by producers to just create your own Lionel. That explains why their characters were completely different. They set Damon up for failure and he never really connected with the cast like Michael did. 

A few things people may not know about The Jeffersons

1. Sherman Hemsley was an introvert and very shy and only opened up for the camera. He also was known as one of the kindest and giving persons. He would even buy lunch to feed other staff that he thought were not fed properly.

2. Isabel Sanford was the main character, not George.  The show was about her life transcending from “All in the Family” to “The Jeffersons.” It is also why her name is first on the credits and she had the most lines

3. Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford did not get along with each other for a long time at the fault of Isabel.

4. Isabel Sanford & Zara Cully (Mother Jefferson) were really close in real life.

5. Ja’net Dubois (aka Willona Woods from Good Times) was not just the singer of The Jeffersons Theme song “Moving on Up”, but she was also the co-composer of the song with Jeff Barry.

6. The Jeffersons was on for 11 Seasons from 1975-1985. It is the 2nd longest-running African-American after Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. The Jeffersons was canceled with no big send-off like MASH. One of the most popular and groundbreaking shows during that era was literally just canceled. They were never notified properly. They found out the show was canceled by reading it in the newspaper.

The Power of Our Voice

For years CBS tried to control the voice of the Black Voice of “The Jeffersons”. The cast, along with Norman Lear and Sherman Hemsley, fought to have a voice and ratings only peaked when they had their own voice. 

The power of Oprah Winfrey was proven when she bought Harpo Studio in Chicago. It’s one thing to have your own show, but it’s another to own the studio where you do your own show. The latter translates into major control over what you have and the power of your own voice. 

If we own the studio we own you is the ideology and reality for many of our Black creatives and producers. The real fear was that if Oprah owned her own studio then one day she may own her own Network. Many years later, Tyler Perry was able to use his voice on a larger platform in a similar fashion. Although he doesn’t have his own Network, he owns his own studio; therefore, he controls the narrative of his work and has power over his voice.

Four years before The Jeffersons ended, Isabel Sanford became the second Black actress to win a Primetime Emmy Award and the first to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. After The Jeffersons ended, she played many roles on African-American shows such as “Living Single” & “The Fresh Prince”. Marla Gibbs starred in 227 and went on to play in many others roles on TV shows and movies. Sherman Hemsley starred in the TV show Amen and also played in many other roles, such as Martin & The Fresh Prince.

Most of the main cast has passed away with exception of Marla Gibbs and Berlinda Tolbert (Jenny Willis Jefferson). Sherman Hemsley, who helped so many people that took advantage of him, died alone in his modest home in El Palso, Texas in 2012 worth only $50,000. Nonetheless, TV history shows us that despite being disgracefully canceled, “The Jeffersons” voice and perspective created a bridge that made “The Cosby Show” possible in 1984. And the success of “The Cosby Show paved the way for “A Different World”, “Martin”, “Living Single”, “The Fresh Prince”, and so on. Wealthy African-American families dealing with and addressing real issues that impact them daily was much needed on the big screen during that time.

I am sure you are curious… what in the world is the point or the connection? The network gave “The Jeffersons” a chance because of Norman Lear, but as it succeeded CBS tried to muzzle and control their voice. However, because the cast fought for their voice there were many successful TV African-American family shows to follow. In 2020, the White House, Justice Department, US Congress, Supreme Court, state and local politicians alike, are doing everything in their power to muzzle and control our voices. Your VOTE is your voice. Just like “The Jeffersons”, if you have a voice it will speak for generations and open a bridge for others to follow in your footsteps. Do not let anyone steal, stop, or muzzle your voice. Control your narrative.

Racism

by with No Comment CultureFeaturedRace Relations

Racism hurts both sides. One side is antagonized unjustly (because having a different skin color is not a crime!) and one side lives in fear of retribution for the senseless injuries they have caused… fear of justice.

Racism robs us of potential friends, spouses, business partners, and soldiers.

Racism has no merit, no historical benefit, no positive outcome.

The athletes who peacefully protested were always kneeling against racism.

Not the police.
Not the flag.
Not our country.

But racists (yes, racists) who are afraid of change, afraid of admitting historical atrocities, afraid of justice… racists made what is called a “straw man argument.” This is a bad-faith and illogical way of arguing where one MISREPRESENTS an opponent’s position so it is easier to pull apart (like a straw man).

So racists said, “They hate the police.”
Racists said, “They hate the troops.”
Racists said, “They hate our country.”

No. They hate the poison of racism. And so do I.

Racism is like an addiction. You can’t overcome it if you don’t admit you have a problem. You’ll lie to yourself to maintain it. You’re afraid to confront it.

“Well, I don’t think I’m a racist.”

Well nobody does! It’s not the point. “Racist” isn’t something you permanently are or you aren’t. Racism is something you have to constantly fight and try to defeat.

Did you judge that person by their skin color alone and no other context? That was a racist thing to do. At that moment you are a racist.

Did you see video of police killing an innocent Black man and feel the need to somehow defend the police officers? That’s racist. You’re a racist.

Until you can see how their heinous act was clearly murder and an abuse of the sacred power that law enforcement is granted for the betterment of society, you remain a racist.

And that makes you poison; to yourself and to this country which is and always has been a melting pot of diversity.

Can anyone even fathom the goodness we have gained from cultural exchange? The music alone… how can we ignore the benefits of bringing together all of the peoples of the world to create America?

Diversity is good. Diversity is beautiful. Diversity is healthy.

The tribalism must end. The exclusion must end. The racism must end.

For the sake of all.

This article was originally published on 29 May 2020.

Similar Read: DIPLOMACY AND WAR: KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

DIPLOMACY AND WAR: KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

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If you find yourself in a conflict with someone else and you can’t escape, there are two options:

  1. Convince your opponent (Diplomacy).
  2. Force your opponent (War).

DIPLOMACY…

Convincing requires tact and patience. You must determine “what is right?” instead of “who is right?”

You should always give your opponent the benefit of the doubt. Be polite because antagonizing someone will only make them become defensive and dig into their position instead of considering yours.

Do not be the criminal defense attorney whose job is to defend a client even if guilty. If truth is your goal, you should cling stubbornly to no position on any issue. Always concede a good point. Listen.

Effective Diplomacy will hopefully produce a positive or at least neutral result for both sides. But if no agreement or compromise is possible, War might be the only option. 

Related: America, Why So Stubborn?

WAR…

If you must fight, fight to win. Do whatever it takes.

“That’s unfair.” Of course it is. Fairness implies rules. In War, there are no rules. You win or you lose. You live or you die.

During the American Revolution, the British Army thought that the “fair” way to wage War was to line up and shoot at one another with muskets until one side was dead. The Americans instead used the military tactics of the Indigenous Peoples and fought “unfairly” by employing Guerrilla Warfare (ambushes, sabotage, raids, hit-and-run) breaking with British Military Traditions. Spoiler alert: The British lost.

The people in power (the status quo) want to dictate the rules of the game and ensure that they always favor themselves. They want everyone to line up with muskets and fire at each other until the side with more muskets wins. Guess who has more muskets?

Hypocrisy does not matter in War because the highest morality is victory. One side will outlaw protesting, but immediately protest when out of power; condemn hate speech, but say the most vulgar things about their enemies; lambast the media for being biased, but endorse all favorable coverage; point out every time their enemy lies, but lie a hundred times more. It is foolish to point out your enemy’s inconsistencies when they only care about beating you by any means necessary.

Perhaps you feel that moral consistency is more important than victory and that certain actions are off the table. But as you consider this, also consider something as “unquestionably wrong” as committing genocide, and then please enjoy another day of extreme peace, prosperity, and comfort inhabiting the lands of America’s Indigenous Peoples.

Moral consistency matters amongst friends and allies because developing trust is paramount to building relationships. But enemies will not respect any moral boundaries that you believe to exist.

THE DIFFERENCE…

I am not advocating for violence. I am advocating that we all recognize the vast difference between War and Diplomacy and know when to use which.

Diplomacy, if possible, is always the best solution. Even the greatest military strategist of all time said:

“The supreme Art of War is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

For if you choose War against a potential ally, you may create an enemy.  And if you choose Diplomacy against a certain enemy, you may lose before the War even begins.

The genius of America is that our government allows War to be waged first at voting booths, in courts of law, and via public opinion. Though non-violent, these are battles none-the-less that require a deep understanding of warfare in order to win (I suggest reading Sun Tzu and Machiavelli).

46% of Americans did not vote in 2016 so stop trying to get your enemy to philosophically agree with you (when they have proven they will not change) and start inspiring your allies to vote.

Ignore any talk of “fairness” from your opponent. If a tactic is working to your advantage and your allies endorse it, keep using it. Your enemy will never endorse your tactics, fair or not.

But, above all, know who your enemy truly is and fight them (at the polls). Politely engage potential allies. Know the difference. Good luck. 

This article was originally published on 14 June 2018.

The 37th Best Place to Live in America

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In the late ’90s, my parents brought me home to a suburban town in northern Connecticut near the Massachusetts line. The town was quaint, with old houses touting 18th century New England, and a community that seemed to protect and serve one another. This was the town I always wanted to be a part of, and in many aspects today would like to have felt nostalgic for. However, when we celebrate the past, we always seem to glorify the beautiful parts, the memories that make us feel good rather than the brutal truth – and the truth is if I had grown up in 18th century New England, I would have been a slave – one of 5 in the town at the time.

But instead, I grew up in a town that was 92% white. The seemingly perfect town filled with church members, soccer moms, lovers of their community, has a glaringly dark past with racism. All that to say – that the town where I grew up is a place where black people make up only 2% of the total population and no one seemed to care.

We don’t talk about what it means to be such a small minority in a place that is reportable “safe” and a great place to live. I don’t disagree that it is “safe”, but these statistics are made by and for white people. My memories of the town are distorted but I know of the trials and tribulations that my family went through and other Black people, even if they try to hide behind high-end cars and responsibility politics. The truth is that towns like mine are “perfect” in theory because they intentionally exclude others who threaten their collective identity. They run away from the issues at hand and instead put on a shiny smile like parents attending their kid’s fundraising event, to deflect that they are in fact not perfect and sustained oppressive systems. If you are “perfect” then issues such as mental health, poverty, sexism, racism, and more don’t exist.

I went to school from kindergarten to high school here. I only had one black teacher in middle school who wanted to make me feel like I belonged. I didn’t. I knew it. And he did too. But he tried because he knew what I would be facing throughout my life. But the other teachers and neighbors were stronger, using their polite demeanors to constantly surveil and harass me into knowing my place. The racism tied with sexism, wealth discrimination, and prejudice because of my family’s status as black immigrants was psychological warfare served with a smile.

Fast forward to today while black men and women are killed constantly and our ideals of democracy for all are crumbling. I’m bombarded with fake activism on my social media feed and then puppies or someone’s trip to Long Island. It’s a weird type of dystopia. Justice still has not been served – not to Breonna Taylor, not to Trayvon Martin, not to George Floyd, and not to the 2% of Black alumni who attended these primarily white institutions alone. They all deserve better. We deserve better and I am empowered by the lives of other Black alumni and people of color across the nation; whose parents worked to put them into systems that would benefit them, only to realize those systems were not created for them. We are resilient, and we won’t be held to the standards of the systems that oppressed us. Now is the time to act. We are the 2%. Support black alumni in Connecticut and across the nation by signing the petition now.

Petition: Improve Racial Inclusivity in Tolland Public Schools

My Heart Bleeds for Breonna

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My heart bleeds for Breonna, and every Black woman in this country. A country where Black women are betrayed at every turn. 

No justice (no peace)? 

How do you explain Breonna’s murder and a 6-month investigation that renders no charges or indictments directly related to her murder? 

A Black AG, who just spoke at the Republican Convention last month, who’s also on Trump’s shortlist to replace RBG on the Supreme Court, wants us to believe he’s sincere in his attempt to bring justice? He wants us to believe that it actually wasn’t a no-knock warrant, they just decided to do it at 12:30 am in the middle of the night? That every one of Breonna’s neighbors except 1 failed to hear them announce themselves prior to entering? Despite the officers being in plainclothes when they entered the apartment and Breonna’s boyfriend assuming it was a home invasion, he shouldn’t have acted in self-defense and opened fire with his legal firearm… and because he did, the officers were justified in returning fire? 

That’s that. “We sympathize with the family… so much that we’re going to give you $12 million dollars of your fellow neighbors hard-earned tax money.”

To make this horror story even worse, no drugs were found in the apartment, and the actual (no knock) warrant in question targeted another individual who was in police custody prior to the raid. 

Case closed. A young Black woman with dreams and aspirations… murdered by the state. No justice. 

Breonna deserved better. Black women deserve better. And until this country, specifically law enforcement and our criminal justice system, start treating Black women with basic humanity, respect, and dignity, these systems and institutions deserve hell, their budgets need to be re-examined, and distrust will only grow as more people witness the bold and corrupt state that literally gets away with cold-blooded murder. 

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Similar Read: Breonna

Dreams of Wakanda

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I’ve never been an avid comic book reader. I’ve never participated in cosplay. I’ve never felt a strong sense of Afrocentrism. Nevertheless, although feeling a little sheepish, I found myself in a dashiki joined by three close friends bubbling with excitement to see Black Panther on opening night during “Black History Month.” Similar to how I felt when I bused down to Washington D.C. to witness Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, I knew that I wanted to be a part of this monumental moment in cinematic history. Although this was more than just cinematic history, this was history.

I walked into the movie theatre in downtown Brooklyn and immediately saw a group of ladies wearing heels and African print dresses. The theatre was buzzing and it was at that moment where I realized that the excitement that I had read about on the internet was not only palpable but I was apart of the experience as well. I’ve probably seen hundreds of movies in the theatre but I had never experienced this level of excitement within the black community since Obama’s inauguration. Strangers were dapping each other, positively affirming each other’s clothing, staging photoshoots in front of the film’s poster, and for the first time ever there was an anti-bootlegging movement. In other theatres, they began the film by singing the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing.

Over the last ten years, our community has witnessed videos of fatal violence against black bodies in American streets. We’ve seen the bodies of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and Terrence Crutcher – to name a few – all lifeless in American streets. Something that I must painfully and dangerously admit that our culture has become desensitized to. If you’re like me and you view cinema as an escape from reality, then you know that most Black actors have largely not been portrayed in positions of prestige. Hollywood seems to only cast and awards us for subjugated roles as slaves, gangsters, and maids which only seem to reiterate false narratives of my community. We have and will always be more than the images in which Hollywood portrays us.

Even though I had always been a huge fan of past superhero movies The Meteor Man, Blankman, and Blade as a kid, I knew the importance of seeing a big budget superhero film written, directed, and staring black artists. Seeing the images of people that look like you as superheroes is critically important for the subconscious of little boys and girls. After all, the first time I ever dressed up for Halloween at 24-years-old was as Green Lantern.

In 1975, a relatively unknown 27-year-old Director directed a movie that became a blockbuster hit. Jaws launched the now iconic and wildly lucrative career for famed Director, Steven Spielberg. My hope is that after also directing Fruitvale Station and Creed that this is the road that lies ahead for Black Panther Director Ryan Coogler’s career.

That said, I have always been skeptical of anything that has hype surrounding it. So I won’t lie, I was skeptical of actually how good the storyline of this film would be. Less than an hour into this film, I knew that this was on the way to being my favorite movie ever. Not kidding, Hitch has been my favorite movie for over a decade and I remember seeing that film in theatres too. For those that know me well, know that this is a big deal. A positive black film that portrays African and American black people displaying power, love, happiness, fatherhood, national pride, loyalty, intellect, innovators of technology, a dope dap and a tribal monarchy that is founded on physical strength delighted my soul and aligned with who I am. In a lot of ways, that narrative is what the Soulful Silverback blog is all about. So you could imagine that I almost leaped out of my seat when I saw M’Baku, leader of the Jabari Tribe, on screen!

After the excitement and love of the post-film photoshoot subsided, I left the film saddened that the streets of Brooklyn weren’t the streets of Wakanda. I was even more saddened that as a result of colonization, revisionist history, the genocide of the slave trade, and corruption – Wakanda was just a figment of Stan Lee’s imagination and not a real place. My mind began to soar with the idea that what if Wakanda could have been real? What if Erik Killmonger’s idea of black liberation came true and the continent of Africa united to become a military and economic world power? What if our African brothers and sisters had come to rescue us? What if those of us across the diaspora all across the Americas engaged in the healing process with our dear African brothers and sisters to restore the years that the locusts have eaten to make the dream of Wakanda a reality? What if…?.What if…? What if…? ..but until our liberation is a reality then Wakanda Forever!

This article was originally published on 1 March 2018. 

Similar Read(s): LCR Perspectives on Black Panther

Black Panther Is Our Solar Eclipse

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“The representation of black people in Hollywood, from actors to writers to directors to cameramen, pales in comparison to white representation. However, as when given the right path the Moon can eclipse the Sun, black talent can loom just as large as their white colleagues.” 

Back on August 21, 2017, a lot of folks, mostly white folks, woke up giddy as schoolgirls for what was going to be a very special day. What was all the excitement about? Well for the first time in 100 years the entire contiguous United States would experience a full solar eclipse. [A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and by doing so the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun.] In the words of Jay Z, it’s “lights out ladies” for about two minutes, and then its back to the regularly scheduled program. Millions of people brought special glasses because you can’t look directly into the Sun (cough Donald Trump), thousands traveled hundreds of miles to certain areas in the country to catch a glimpse of the total blockage of the Sun as opposed to a partial blockage – all of that for two minutes of joy. Granted the next eclipse expected to cover the entire US again won’t come until 2024 and then not until 2045, so one can understand why all the activity. And speaking of Trump, isn’t it really embarrassing our idiot president was out there looking at the eclipse holding his hands above his eyes and painfully squinting looking directly at the sun! With his wife beside him with the proper solar eclipse glasses on!

While the buildup for the solar eclipse was taking place, most didn’t understand the hype around it. A lot of black folk didn’t understand why white folk were getting so excited. The excitement should have been across racial lines; but this is America and there’s always a race factor. An eclipse is not only something to experience because of the rarity of the event, but it’s also the amazement that the Moon being 400 times smaller than the Sun can block the Sun and cause a total blackout – even if only for a few moments.

So now for what’s been a trending topic for some time and will continue to be, and no I’m not talking about that terrible rendition of the National Anthem Fergie did during the NBA All-Star game. I’m talking about the release of the movie “Black Panther.” By now you’ve probably read dozens of articles regarding the movie that have quite the range of topics and intent. Most have been lighthearted and fun like comparing “Black Panther” characters to Black Greek organizations, or to the Spike Lee heavy-handed styled articles in which folk are caught in their feelings about moviegoers wearing African garb and not fully knowing their history and purpose of said garb. [Side note, Killmonger would have supposedly pledged my frat, given his Black Panther suit was the flyest outfit in the movie, makes sense.]

For those who have a problem with people wearing African attire to see “Black Panther,” stop it! I can bet dollars to donuts the same people upset about African attire being worn are the same people who only bring that one bag of half-melted ice to the cookout, talks about how overcooked the food is”; yet, walks away with the most plates. So, let’s not mind them.

“Black Panther,” its success, and the celebratory feeling around it got me thinking it was akin to last summer’s eclipse. For months there’s been a buildup of excitement and eagerness for the release of the movie, much like there was for the solar eclipse. “Black Panther,” with a majority black cast filled with subliminal messages as well overt black issues, has already broken many box office records. The representation of black people in Hollywood, from actors to writers to directors to cameraman, pales in comparison to white people. However, like the Moon, when given the right path, black people can loom just as large as their white colleagues. Like the rarity of a solar eclipse in a specific location around the world, in the United States, the rarity for black people to circle around a positive event is sporadic.

Many Black people did not understand the jubilance around the solar eclipse just like many non-Black people will not understand the excitement our community felt when “Black Panther” was released, not to mention the rush to discuss every scene and cultural nuances in detail. Nuances and issues from the division between Black people in the Americas vs Native Africans, to African nations historically having agendas rooted in rarely wanting to mettle in affairs outside their own borders. Many non-Black people and even some Black people will say, “It’s just a movie, it’s not that serious,” and how can all of that be derived from a movie? This is true, inevitably it’s just a Hollywood movie about fictional characters and a fictional place – only so much should be taken from it. In comparison, a solar eclipse has been documented to have little or no impact over the area it passes. Granted, it’s how one judges impact. Impact doesn’t have to be permanent. Impact is equally about the attention and resonation something gives. A solar eclipse quickly happens, and if not timed right one can easily miss it. The celebratory feel for “Black Panther” will promptly leave as well and some will miss it. It will be up to those who traveled far and away, brought special glasses, and wore event T-shirts and saw the spectacle to tell others what they missed out on and why it’s vital to not miss it again. But as history has shown us with the solar eclipse, it usually takes a while for something that special to happen again.

This article was originally published on 22 February 2018. 

Fascism 101

by with 2 Comments CultureFeaturedPoliticsRace Relations

President Trump recently tweeted this in regard to the four freshmen Congresswomen who oppose his policies: 

“Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

And added this today:

“If you’re not happy, you can leave.”

These statements are fascistic in nature and seek to do two things: 

1. Create division in this country so that Trump can align himself with the more powerful side. 

If everyone got along, we would have no need to hire a strong man to enact our wishes on those who disagree with us. Trump wants sides and he will claim the more violent, outspoken, loyal, consistently voting, and ruthless one.

“You’re with the police or against us.”

“But there is clear video evidence of racist motivations driving police officers to murder minorities recently and while obviously, the majority of cops are not racist, we should probably examine this and try to improve…”

“NOPE! You’re against us!”

“You support the troops or you are against us.”

“But I want to raise awareness about an issue so I consulted with U.S. Veterans about how to properly honor the flag and our country while still protesting the deficiencies we might still need to address…”

“NOPE! You’re against us!”

“You’re a capitalist or a communist.”

“But we already have a dozen socialist programs in this country like (ironically) the police, the military, fire, infrastructure, public schools, parks, etc., and while the free market is an incredible mechanism that should drive MOST industries, maybe we should consider taking healthcare out of the private sector because Insurance Companies prioritize wealth over health.”

“NOPE! You’re a communist.”

“You’re a Christian or the Devil.”

“But I’m Jewish/Muslim/Atheist/Hindu/Buddhist/etc.”

“NOPE! You’re the Devil.”

“You’re either American, or you don’t support me.”

“But I don’t support you.”

“NOPE! Then you’re not American, go back to where you came from!”

When you tell someone, “go back to where you came from,” what does that even mean!? My ancestors came to the United States mostly from England and Belgium and I don’t know how I would even begin to “go back” to those countries. This is an impossible statement and obviously racist since Trump has never said it to any White American.

2.  Destroy Any Criticism or Descent. 

The other horrific quote about leaving if you are not happy is the idea that you essentially cannot criticize the United States or the President. “If you don’t like it, you can leave (or die). We’re never changing, no matter how corrupt, cancerous, or callous we have become.”

This is indicative of narcissists who tend to do major damage to those around them and get furious when their behavior is criticized. I’ve come up with my own personal definition that I think states the condition clearly:

“A narcissist is someone who punches you in the face repeatedly and when you ask them to stop, they say, ‘don’t tell me what to do!’”

Trump is obviously a narcissist, but most of his supporters are narcissists as well. They have no regard for others, only their collective identity which they believe is the “real” America. The President thinks he and his minority bloc of supporters own the country.

What Trump does not realize is that when he says, “If you don’t like it here, you can leave,” what he is really saying is, “If you don’t like it here, vote for my opponent in the 2020 election.”

Because that’s how a Democracy like America works best: We fight each other on the ballot, not the battlefield.

This article was originally published on 15 July 2019.

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Can Music Programs Survive COVID-19?

by with No Comment CultureFeaturedGen Z

[New Contributor]

Even during quarantine, people are still trying to continue activities that have been affected by the virus. Basketball players are practicing at home, teachers are using distance learning applications, and waitresses are learning to wear masks and constantly wash tables. But one often untouched area that is having trouble adapting from quarantine is the school music organizations. Clubs like jazz band and choir have to practice in close proximity with each other in order to practice harmoniously. Now, with quarantine and the new back to school restrictions, the student musicians will have to switch to online rehearsals. 

According to the CDC, COVID-19 is transmitted from person to person through microscopic droplets in the air. Activities like singing or talking in loud voices spread these types of droplets, eliminating the possibility of the choir practicing in proximity with each other. 

With the advent of video conferencing technologies like Zoom, people don’t necessarily need to be in the same room to communicate effectively. Numerous groups have joined together on virtual platforms and sung together already. For CNN’s 2020 graduation special, high school students from the choir joined together to sing the Star Spangled Banner. There are numerous Youtube Channels, such as Quarantine Choir, that continue to sing despite the distance. 

In addition, music teachers have still found ways to continue music lessons. The Choir teacher at Round Rock High School compiled video footage of her students singing and displayed them to the school.

Closing choir has more implications than just for schools. Many religious ceremonies involve singing, such as Sunday Mass at Church. A study found that singing caused 53 of the 61 choir members testing positive and 102 of 130 members of an Amsterdam choir developed COVID-19 after a performance, and four people associated with the choir died. In Austria, 43 of 44 participants in a choir seminar tested positive. 

Regardless of the distance between the musicians, harmony comes with dedicated, supervised practice. In an uncontrolled setting with distractions, dedicated practice is impossible. However, musicians also gain something by practicing at home. In a comfortable, relaxed environment they may be able to play better. Whether good or bad, stay-at-home musicians will give their audience a unique performance as they perform in the comfort, or discomfort, of their own home. 

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An Imposter at the Homegoing

by with 4 Comments CultureFeaturedPolitics

Perseverance in the face of tragedy is a staple of the Black community. Surviving devastation has become so engrained in the Black psyche, it’s hard to separate the two. Events that appear insurmountable for many are often anticipated, a literal rite of passage. “How old were you the first time you experienced . . . (insert horrific event)?”

The Black “Homegoing” is a microcosm of that same Black experience in America. Early in the African Slave Trade, slaves were much more closely tied to their ancestral roots. Traditions were carried with human cargo during the Middle Passage. The newly-enslaved Africans believed death signified a return of the soul to the Homeland with the ancestors. Considering the horror they now faced, death was easily a much better existence. It mandated a celebration.

True to its DNA, the Black community persevered through centuries of the worst treatment of human beings in documented history. Relegated to the status of permanent livestock, hope for a life free from bondage sustained generations. That freedom could be in the physical form on Earth, living life as a “freedman” or it could mean a symbolic freedom with the soul released to a better place.

Forced cultural assimilation could never extinguish the will of the Black community to hold on to its humanity. The Black community now practiced a corrupted and modified version of Christianity. This form of population control sought to subjugate Blacks to permanent subordinate status by coupling their physical bondage with a far more insidious form of domination, mental servility.

Despite the clear objective of mental castration, the Black community still held traditions as sacred. Full forms of music, methods of cooking, story-telling, and manner of style/dress survived centuries of extensive efforts to sever any tie to the Black ancestral home(s). The Black community took this corrupted form of Christianity imposed upon them to further white supremacy and turned it on its head. The same Bible that was only presented to them in an abridged form (though never allowed in their exclusive possession) still provided hope to Blacks living a literal hell on Earth.

It is upon this backdrop that the Black Homegoing must be analyzed. One cannot overstate just how sacred the tradition is. After generations, Blacks in America replaced the African ancestral homeland with the heaven they heard preached in the Bible. They became synonymous and after generations, the Black community knew more of slavery than their actual bloodline. Sadly, slavery became the entire existence of the overwhelming majority of Black people in America.

Hope for something greater was all many had. Survival required them to hold on to the hope of reaching the “Promised Land,” lest they only exist to be subjected to daily torture. Whether that land be physical or spiritual, it was a blessing many sang of and sought daily. It sustained them. So one can only imagine the literal joy many felt to see another subjected to the same nightmarish existence, finally free. The celebration that “sent” that human being “home” was a recognition of them finally at peace. It was simultaneously providing hope for others. One day they too would no longer have to toil in the abyss of bondage.

The means of the Black Homegoing has evolved over generations, but the end is always the same. It is mandatory to celebrate that person’s life and the reality that the Black oppression in America can no longer harm them. While it is true that slavery in its original form has ended, it is still very much practiced in every state of the Union. Oppression and denial of the Equal Protection of the Law is likewise denied the remainder of the Black community that is not currently incarcerated.

The Black Homegoing is a celebration of those realities no longer controlling the life of the person currently celebrated. This is true of any Black American, be it the homeless man that remains nameless or a Civil Rights ICON. So with this context in mind, the passing of the arguably the greatest remaining vestige of the Civil Rights Movement necessitated the greatest Black Homegoing imaginable in the world of COVID-19.

John Lewis fought his entire life for the Black community. Literally penning a letter of instructions to the people from his deathbed, Lewis always sought to advance the Black community from the tortuous reality he endured for 80 years. The path was slow and arduous and unfortunately too long for Lewis to see it to fruition. With this reality in mind, Lewis’s Homegoing was planned. It involved multiple locations and services on multiple days, one last crossing over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and his being honored by a who’s who of both the Black community and the world of social justice. Lewis was to be eulogized by the last President this country has seen, the first Black President of the United States, Barack Obama. It must be noted that the Obama Presidency likely never occurs without John Lewis and all he fought for, a reality that was never lost on neither Obama, nor the Black community.

However, before that sacred event could be concluded, America had to have one “last laugh.” In total, three former Presidents spoke at Lewis’s final service of his Homegoing. Ironically, the Republican former President knew full well what was and was not appropriate. George W. Bush’s words were eloquent and gracious, a far cry from his Presidency. His dialogue actually made many ponder on how far he had come, almost wishing the current occupant of the Oval Office could be more like him.

But true to form, White America had to make its indelible mark of despotism on the life of John Lewis one final time. Bill Clinton, a man that once joked he was the first Black President, is perpetually too comfortable in exclusively Black spaces. Indicative of his nature, Clinton would not waver during the sacred Black Homegoing for a sacred icon of the Black community. His words, reminiscent of the Willie Lynchism tactics imposed during slavery, sought to illuminate a perceived division in the struggle for Black liberation.

It was an underhanded and veiled slight, spoken quickly in a manner that would lead the passive listener to believe that John Lewis openly disagreed and clashed with another icon in the struggle for Black equity. While praising Lewis, Clinton referenced a division HE remembers in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). SNCC was an organization of student protestors and freedom fighters who sought nonviolent means to protest and resist segregationist practices in the South. SNCC was founded by 126 student delegates from various institutions. Among them were John Lewis and Stokely Carmichael. Their goal was uniform, direct-action challenges to civic segregation and the political exclusion of the Black community. SNCC sought to eradicate both with all deliberate speed.

Lewis and Carmichael may have personally favored different means of achieving their goal at times, but not to the point of pitting one against the other as an adversary. Put simply, they were fighting the same beast at the same time, seeking the same outcome. But, leave it to Clinton to impose revisionist history during the Homegoing for John Lewis. “Thankfully, Lewis prevailed…” were the words of Clinton, hinting that there was some struggle to “liberate” SNCC from the oppression of Carmichael. It was shameful and uncalled for.

Stokely Carmichael was a freedom fighter and not an oppressor. His contributions to the Civil Rights Movement cannot be quantified any more than those of John Lewis. Carmichael coined the phrase Black Power. A phrase many take for granted today, was unheard of when he first said it. One of the most revered alumni of Howard University, Carmichael set the world on fire with his powerful rhetoric. One cannot speak of the struggle for Black liberation without mentioning the name Stokely Carmichael (or Kwame Ture the name Carmichael took in later years). 

Much like John Lewis, Carmichael is a sacred icon. To speak negatively of Carmichael invites passionate debate or worse. It is an insult to the Black community to degrade its icons. Clinton did exactly that while on invite to an exclusively Black space, a sacred Black Homegoing for a sacred Civil Rights icon. He pitted one icon against the other without either of them alive to refute his subversive tactic. It was horrific.

However, the Black community will always survive. It will always endure. True to its character, the Black community brushed off this nasty tactic, which could have easily placed a stain on such a sacred moment. After all, those in attendance (either physically or virtually) were waiting for someone greater. While he is an imperfect human (a trait he wears on his sleeve openly), Barack Hussein Obama is a master of understanding the moment. Obama delivered one of his best speeches of recent memory, eulogizing the great John Lewis appropriately. By the conclusion of his speech, Clinton was a distant memory, as he should have been. John Lewis was appropriately sent “home.” He was finally at peace, no longer burdened by the cancerous disease that plagued his life. Racism could no longer harm him. He was finally free and no form of oppression, be it overt or the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” from Arkansas, could ever touch him again.

Long live John Robert Lewis, an icon and personification of the Black experience in America.

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