A World Without Black History...

This timely informative nugget is brought to you by MTV Decoded, hosted by the irrepressible Franchesca Ramsey -- and as usual, the hate spewed in the comments section is even more entertaining than the actual video.

The Real Harriet Tubman

 "I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves." -- Harriet Tubman




I LOVE Drunk History.  This episode describes The Combahee River Raid that freed more than 700 slaves, thanks to Harriet Tubman's brilliant strategies.  This show used to be a guilty pleasure but when they're telling the history that's usually ignored -- that is, when the drunk people are giving a more nuanced interpretation of what happened than what's usually taught in schools -- it should give everyone reason to pause, and tune in.  This should be required viewing for high school students. Whatever it takes to reach one and teach one, I'm all for it.

In a perfect world, there would be no Black History Month because if you tell the whole story, everyone is in it.  The problem is that, like Ben Affleck not facing his slave owning ancestry on PBS' Finding Your Roots by forcing the producers to erase it, Americans can't handle the ugly truth of how this country came to be. Instead, they tell their sanitized version, something they're comfortable with -- and ignore what actually happened.  Because white fragility.

You're not supposed to erase history or reimagine it because it makes you uncomfortable.



Until everyone can own their history -- Texas textbooks, anyone? -- Black History Month will be mandatory, for all of us.

If it's one name that gets thrown up in the air whenever it's time to teach black history, it's Harriet Tubman.  The sanitized version of her story is nothing in comparison to what actually happened. Context is everything -- especially when its historical. 

Here's a few fun facts that offer a glimpse of the real Harriet Tubman.

• Her first name is Araminta. Everybody called her Minty.
• Click here to read about how white people rented her out as a house slave from the age of five (her first job: winding yarn!) and how, amongst other things, she had to sleep on the kitchen floor at night and share leftover food with the dogs.
• Minty was only five feet tall.
• When she was an adolescent, Minty was inadvertently hit in the head by a 2 pound weight by her white master for not helping him restrain a runaway slave. It took her years to recover. This caused epileptic seizures, severe headaches and narcoleptic episodes that she endured for the rest of her life.
  
  In Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero, Kate Clifford Larson writes:
  
  Bleeding and unconscious, she was returned to her owner's house and laid on the seat of a loom, where she remained without medical care for two days.  She was sent back into the fields, "with blood and sweat rolling down my face until I couldn't see." Her boss said she was "not worth a sixpence" and returned her to her owner Brodess, who tried unsuccessfully to sell her.  She began having seizures and would seemingly fall unconscious, although she claimed to be aware of her surroundings while appearing to be asleep. These episodes were alarming to her family, who were unable to wake her when she fell asleep suddenly and without warning.
  
• Minty says that knock on the head made her hallucinate and gave her visions from God. 
• Of course, she couldn't read or write.  The Slave Codes forbade it. Teaching black slaves -- as well as mulattoes, Native Americans and indentured servants, by the way  -- was punishable by severe fines, multiple lashes and more for the teacher, and much worse than that for the student.
• A part of the reason why her master didn't pursue her or her family when they escaped to the North could have been because legally, they were free.  In their former master's will, her parents were manumitted at the age of 45 and so were their children. Their present owners simply didn't tell them and kept them working as slaves.
• Minty's first husband, John Tubman, was a free man.  The mother's slave status determined whether any offspring would be slaves, which may be why they never had children.  She changed her name to Harriet when they got married, probably in preparation for her escape. 

Happy Black History Month!

For a brief history of Black August, click here.

A List of Events for Black History Month: The NYC Version

"Pride of race is the antidote to prejudice." -- Arthur Schomburg

I don't have to wait for February to get lifted.  I'm aware of what's out there for me, whether the government/society/the powers that be says its my designated time of the year or not.  For some (black) folk, this is the only real moment in their (school) year/lives when African-American accomplishments of any kind are ever mentioned.  If they'd teach history without deliberately omitting us, we probably wouldn't need black history classes.

The documentary More Than A Month has an interesting premise -- Do we really need Black History Month anymore? -- but unfortunately it brings up more questions than it answers.  I suppose the director has a point.  Then again, there's got to be a way to take bigots to the woodshed on a regular basis. 


For those of you in the tri-state area, this is just a small fun-filled slice of what's available within Gotham's five boroughs.  Please note: Many of these exhibits extend into the summer months and are free and open to the public.

1. Louis Armstrong House's latest exhibit -- Senor Satchmo: Louis Armstrong in South America --  looks fascinating. AND you get a collectible, as supplies will allow.
2. Black Artstory Month -- This month-long celebration makes Brooklyn's Myrtle Avenue its main street and includes an array of activities including spoken word, live music, lectures, food and an eclectic discussion about the African diaspora's influence on fashion. 
3. Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture -- This delves into the shift away from Hollywood stereotypes that happened with black characters in cartoons in the 70s.
4. The Apollo Theater Open House Weekend: An 80th Anniversary Celebration. If you miss the family-friendly fun on Saturday, February 8th, don't miss a performance by the Rev. Shirley Caesar on Sunday, February 9th. And yes, it's free.
5. Black Dress: Ten Contemporary Fashion Designers at Pratt Manhattan Gallery focuses on the business of design, features two of my faves (Byron Lars and Tracey Reese) and includes a short video made especially for the exhibit by 2013 MacArthur Fellow Carrie Mae Weems. 
6. Go see The Loving Story (A Valentine's Day special!) at Harlem's Mayles Cinema
7. ...and then return for Blacks in Experimental Film (Part 2)
8. Central Park Tour: Seneca Village -- Seneca Village (which eventually became a part of Central Park) was the city's first known community of African-American property owners.
9. Motown: The Truth Is A Hit at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture -- This is a music history lesson about the Motown sound and its origins, with beautiful visuals.
10. Where this list ends is where you should start, really -- The NYC Five Borough Tour.  You'll hit nine sites on this self-guided tour, including Woodlawn Conservancy, the organization that's dedicated to maintaining and caring for Woodlawn Cemetery (the Valley of the Jazz Greats is a must) and the African Burial Ground National Monument.

Alive in the Dead of Winter

 

"Pride of race is the antidote to prejudice." -- Arthur Schomburg

Happy Black History Month -- for whatever its worth.  There's almost always a ton of activities, exhibits, workshops, family outings, concerts and goings-on in any African-American community to celebrate who we are. On second thought, I don't know any black folk who don't do this every day in every way, on their own terms.  Every day is Black History Month in my world.  No blurbs in the media, though.  I'm not so sure Black History Month is for us, nowadays. Perspective is a funny thing. But that's a whole other conversation.

There's a great deal of beauty and safety in all this snow and cold.  It's a great time for unbridled productivity and quiet reflection and solace. What with all these layers I'm wearing, I can hide in plain sight, get things done, finish up old business, work on fresh ideas and let something new take root, and oversleep when the mood overtakes me.  The good news at the moment is, my (years-long!) makeover  has almost reached some sort of glorious end.  (Yes, that's right -- years long. Extensive dental work takes time, folks.  And it ain't cheap.) I'm losing weight, my hair is growing like crazy and I'm getting my teeth fixed.  The more progress I see, the more patience I have.  The banjo isn't getting any easier but thankfully, fingerpicking is.  One thing is glaringly obvious -- It's time for me to get on my grind, while it's still the dead of winter.

Now that I'm starting to see the light at the end of at least one of the tunnels I'll have to run through to get to where I'm going, it's time. It's time to start working out like a straight beast. It's time to release my Black Americana album.  It's time to get more gigs, book a European tour, do a residency and yes, another showcase.  It's time to edit my closets and declutter this apartment and do a severe amount of spring cleaning.  It's time to learn my intervals. 

Joan Crawford was right. Life is discipline.

When it's time to do anything, you have to do your homework.  I really like this infographic, in part because when you're working on a corporate plantation, every interview question has a well-curated answer if you dig carefully enough.  Then again, I suppose that's any question.  

Here's to a year of straight answers.

Five Myths About Crime in Black America

...because a little perspective -- and a lot of reality -- can be a good thing.
 

this is black history month? really?

yes, i'm one of those black people that forgot all about black history month -- probably because i'm black every month of the year and i'm all about my blackness every single day. black-black-blackity-black! i suppose if the world at large weren't constantly coming up with colorful and interesting ways to make me aware of the fact that yes, i'm a negress, my blackness probably wouldn't float to the surface of my conscious mind every other waking moment. oh, well.

i suppose i could post some especially black stuff in the next few weeks but don't i do that anyway? i'm starting to research my history as a black female performer, so here's a few things for you to revel in:

1. my beautiful black women pinterest page.  gathering those images and video clips are just one way that i get inspiration, ideas and remind myself that, yep, we're stunning, too.
2. a snippet of this little doc -- valaida snow, jazz trumpet star. her story is a fascinating one. she was quite the showstopper.
3. take a glimpse at joyce bryant: the lost diva documentary. she was described as "the black marilyn monroe" -- but why was she forgotten?

Happy President's Day!

"...not all of the presidents were douchebags?" The more I read, the less sure I am about that statement. Here's three fun facts that you probably haven't considered today -- facts that have changed the way I think of many of our presidents. Something to mull over while you run to catch that white sale at the mall.

1. Twelve of our presidents -- George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant -- owned slaves. Eight of them owned slaves while serving as president.
2. Of all the dead presidents in your wallet -- Washington, Lincoln, Hamilton, Grant and Franklin -- Lincoln is the only one that did not own any slaves. Is it any wonder that ex-slaves wanted to honor Lincoln when you hear quotes like this from him? “I have always thought that all men should be free; but if any should be slaves it should be first those who desire it for themselves, and secondly those who desire it for others. Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” (1865)
3. According to some sources, Obama is not our first African-American president. There are six presidents that preceded him who are said to have both European and African ancestry. According to the US government (and of course the one drop rule), that's enough to make them legally black. (Trust me -- there were plenty of folk who got harassed, beat down and lynched over that one drop. It matters, then and now.) Who are they? Thomas Jefferson (really?), Andrew Jackson (he was probably bipolar, too -- what a violent nutjob), Abraham Lincoln (no wonder he was so anti-slavery), Warren Harding (everyone knows this one, don't they?), Dwight Eisenhower (surprise! his momma looks like she could be one of my cousins!) and Calvin Coolidge (i didn't know about this one).
   

black history month for the shut-in crowd

more and more it feels as though the only time we have a moment to talk about our history collectively as a nation is during the month of february when there is an overwhelming amount of information, events, movies and more, specifically about us. by focusing on who we are and what we've accomplished and what happened, everybody else subconsciously begins to ask those questions about themselves. we all end up with a fat albert teachable moment of some sort. who knows? we all might learn something before its done.

what's especially painful is knowing that for many of us, this is all the black history we get - they don't teach it in schools because according to some, there's no time to include it in the curriculum. this should be an ongoing conversation. there's way too many of us that just don't know.

here's a question of the moment: why did we get the shortest month of the year?

i'm the kind of negress that celebrates my blackness all the time, so when february happens along, its not that deep in my world. for me, every day is black history month. i'm always reading biographies, watching the history channel, doing research, learning something new. this is probably because my mother taught me to read when i was three years old. by the time i hit kindergarten, i was so far ahead of the other students that the teachers would leave me in the library each afternoon, to read at my leisure. all the little munchkins who could hardly spell would wonder what i was doing over there amongst the big kids and the adults. i knew from an early age that if i wanted to know anything, i'd have to find out for myself. the teacher had neither the time nor the inclination to dwell on subjects that held my interest. needless to say, my questions were completely off topic, complex, annoying and ultimately disruptive.

ah, public school.

as it turns out, my vocation suits me completely. for an actor -- a good one, anyway -- a library card is your friend. everything is research. everything.

if you don't have a lot of money to throw around and you'd like to celebrate black history month from your couch, there's plenty to watch on television. i think (well-researched) documentaries are a great way to learn about anything. the unfortunate truth is, what's on television and what's at the movies is the way most people learn about a lot of things. you want to change the world? get on television.

there are quite a few interesting documentaries that are up for grabs on public television -- so many that it makes me wonder if they'd get this kind of attention if it weren't black history month. here's highlights of a few of my favorites. (check pbs for details.)

this one breaks my heart: being pavarotti. in it, a 13 year old boy from a shantytown in south africa is given pavarotti's version o solo mio and decides that he wants to be an opera singer.



produced by the national black programming consortium (NBPC), distributed by american public television (APT), and supported by funding from the national endowment for the arts, and the corporation for public broadcasting. afro-pop: the ultimate cultural exchange presents the south african documentary hip-hop revolution by female director weaam williams.



now this is the documentary i'd make on this topic - more than a month questions the very idea of black history month and makes a quite few interesting points along the way.



slavery by another name delves into what really happened to the slaves after emancipation. i'm pretty sure this one is going to break me but if you really want to lose it, check out the book worse than slavery: parchman farm and the ordeal of jim crow justice by david m. oshinsky. there were moments when i had to put that book down for days at a time because it was so overwhelming.



the making of the documentary slavery by another name -- a behind-the-scenes look. always fascinating, to glimpse how they put it all together.



hasn't everyone seen this? God bless those swedish television journalists, or there would be no the black power mixtape: 1967 - 1975.



the must-see american masters documentary cab calloway: sketches almost never was -- it was financed entirely by the french, with no american assistance whatsoever. may the world never forget how truly brilliant mr. calloway was -- as a bandleader, jazz vocalist and actor.

there's no such thing as a post-racial society

if you're so detached from reality that you honestly believe that we as a nation are living in a post-racial society, then anything i have to say probably won't change your mind. perhaps you live in an international city that's especially segregated (and racist!), like los angeles. maybe you don't know any black people. i don't mean the guy at work that chats with you at the water cooler, or those nice africans you talk to over coffee after church. i mean an ongoing relationship that would ultimately dispel a lot of myths and give some insight as to what's actually going on around here. perhaps you're on some sort of cultural sedative -- the kind that has you whole-heartedly believing whatever the media force feeds you, not necessarily because you're daft but because you really want that claptrap to be true.

or you know what. none of this means anything to you because your life pretty much flows like an episode of friends or sex and the city -- people of color are background talent in your (new york city!) life. occasionally, some negro walks through the frame on his way somewhere. or he makes you a latte, or a cocktail, or a sandwich. or he has sex with you. and that's about it.

the system that this country is based upon is designed to give me every disadvantage as a person of color. ignoring this simple fact about how america works doesn't mean that race is irrelevant. it means that you're deluding yourself. and that's fine, i suppose. apparently, you can afford to wear blinders. i can't.

help me, someone said to me recently -- a dirty white boy of epic proportions, a borderline hipster. smart, well-intentioned and lost, lost, lost. not surprisingly, he said it with feeling. he had just made a remark to a few of us that made one sister gasp involuntarily. i think he was genuinely embarassed.

i laughed in his face. save yourself, i said. but i find it difficult to ignore someone when they're drowning right in front of me, so i threw him a line and gave him a book to read.

i'll let you know how he's doing from time to time. until that next sunny dispatch, here's a glimpse of his required reading list.

1. White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son by Tim Wise
   
2. Toms, Coons, Mammies, Mulattoes and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Film by Donald Bogle
   
3. When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America by Paula Giddings
   
4. The Price of the Ticket by James Baldwin
   
5. Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the America by Eduardo Bonillo-Silva