WE THE PEOPLE FEST 2008, KICKS OFF TONIGHT

And the winner is . . . kicks off the "We The People Fest," this evening at Kent State's Center of Pan-African Culture. The movie is a satirical look at electoral politics, where the election boils down to a real bonafide beauty pageant. Check out this trailer for a preview of tonight's movie:

The film features Jerry Springer as the master of ceremonies and will be screening in the newly renovated Oscar Ritchie Hall on the campus of Kent State University at 8pm.

A total of approximately 30 films, including some by local directors will be screened beginning this evening and running all the way through Sunday night. Highlights will include a presentation and book signing by Chuck Norris on Sunday afternoon and the screening of "Swing Vote," starring Kevin Costner and Kelsey Grammar, directed by Joshua Stern, who will be speaking prior to the screening at 7:30pm Saturday night. This screening will be held at the University Theater on the South side of Kent. Tickets for all screenings are $5 for students, $7 for general admission, or you can purchase a weekend pass for $50. Christina Groznik and Paul Shaia will speak prior to the film at 8pm.

For those of you who are closely following the presidential election and may be concerned about missing tonight's debate, it will be shown in its entirety on Sunday at 3pm Eastern Standard time. So, have no fear you can come to the show and still see the debate.

I look forward to seeing you there this weekend.

Ain't Ya Mama On the Pancake Box?

Last night I was channel surfing and came across the 1959 version of "Imitation of Life," a classic depiction of the "tragic mulatto." I hadn't seen it before and was drawn in out of curiosity. This version stars Lana Turner and Mahalia Jackson. The other actors, including the African American actress who should have been a central character never became a star in her own right.

Not knowing the name of the movie, nor having read the book I had no preconceived notions about the movie. Certainly, it was an emotional tear jerker. But, I had unanswered questions at the end of the movie.

Lana Turner played the role of a struggling actress who would do anything to succeed in the business. She's portrayed as a widow with a young daughter, as is Louise Beavers. The two of them are drawn together when Turner's daughter is found and cared for by Beavers. They hit it off and Beavers agrees to temporarily take care of Turner's daughter, while her and her daughter are living with them.

Beavers' daughter is a light-skinned girl who could pass for white in the book and both movies, hence the title "Imitation of Life." Throughout the story she attempts to pass for white. She's thwarted at every turn, however when her mother appears at school, on her job, etc. and eventually moves across country to Los Angeles to reinvent herself as a white person and seek her fortune.

The story is based on the book of the same name, written by a white author of the 1930's, which bears little if any resemblance to the movie I just described. The 1959 version with Lana Turner, which was written for her, excluded a lot of very objectionable shuffling and "nigger speak." In fact, the book and the 1934 version of the movie portrayed the beneficent white woman as a shrewd entrepreneur who took "Aunt Delilah's" pancake recipe, packaged and sold it, becoming the "pancake queen."

As the story goes Aunt Delilah wants nothing for this "secret recipe." She even goes so far as to beg the woman not to pay her anything for the recipe and to just let her keep on taking care of her and her daughter. Neither movie can stand up to modern standards, but the original version of the movie portrays the Black woman in a role that goes beyond subservient to downright ludicrous. The thought that she would not want a car, house and life of her own, but instead opts to let the white woman keep all of her money, while she continues living with her and playing nurse maid to her daughter goes beyond reason. Her fondest wish it turns out is to have a big funeral with 4 white horses to take her to the "pearly gates" of heaven.

The daughter plays a key role in the story, as she tries time and time again to pass for white always thwarted by her mother's dark complexion. In the end she not only rejects her race, but her mother too. She even goes so far as to tell her to walk on by without speaking if she sees her on the street, which in fact some Black people have done and continue to do.

Most recently, I've been conducting research on 5 Black presidents of the USA and it turns out some of them were passing. This knowledge has been passed down for generations by their relatives who made an agreement not to expose them. Warren G. Harding is a good example of this type of occurrence. One of his Black relatives has just published a book about him with photos of his Black relatives.

Ms. Hurst, was a noted Harlem Renaissance writer, although she was not an African American. Her work received some harsh criticism by Sterling Brown and other members of the community which she felt was undeserved. Her felling was that we should be grateful that she gave our story some attention.

We can forgive Ms. Hurst, for she was a product of her era. But, can we forgive the purveyors of this garbage for continuing to broadcast these stereotyped images of Black people on into the 21st century and beyond. I think not!

The whole notion of the "tragic mulatto" is a racist concept and speaks to the psychopathic racial personality of white Americans, which has in turn led to the exhibition of some psychopathic behavior on our part. Dr. Bobby Wright speaks of this in his book "The Psychopathic Racial Personality."

The "one-drop" rule, which states it only takes "one-drop" of Black blood to make you Black, while "one-drop" of white blood makes you conflicted is alive and well in modern-day America; because you'll never be accepted as being equal to white folks, despite the fact that you can pass for white.

In the final analysis the theme of passing, in the Black community is not unique. What was objectionable was the unrealistic portrayal of this unique phenomenon in the Black community.

Will The Real Aunt Jemima Please Stand Up?

Aunt Jemima, as she was in the early days (as depicted by A.B. Frost).

She was not only one of the greatest advertising icons of all time, but Aunt Jemima was also the advertising world's first living trademark. And, as with any such icon, she's had her fair share of controversy. But did you know who the real Aunt Jemima was?

Born into slavery in 1834, the woman who would become known to millions as Aunt Jemima was really named Nancy Green. She was a warm, friendly woman who also happened to be an excellent cook (though, interestingly enough, the famous Aunt Jemima pancake recipe wasn't hers. It belonged to a company called the Pearl Milling Company). And it was in 1893 that she was discovered in Chicago, at the age of 59, by one R.T. Davis.

Head of the R.T. Davis Milling Company, Davis bought the pancake formula from Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood when the Pearl Milling Company went bankrupt. And though it was Rutt and Underwood who came up with the name "Aunt Jemima," it was Davis who decided to use a living person to endorse it.

History was made that year at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the very first time Nancy Green went public. It was there that she, with her charming and animated personality, engaged the crowds and supplied them with thousands of pancakes. In fact, she was such a sensation that police had to be assigned to keep the crowds moving!

The rest of the story made marketing history. Soon, Nancy Green signed a lifetime contract with Davis, and her image was on billboards and advertisements all over the world. Davis was up to his eyeballs in pancake orders, and flour sales skyrocketed. Even after the Davis Company had to sell years later, Nancy Green remained the "pancake queen." It wasn't until 1923 when her legacy as a living trademark ended - when she was tragically struck and killed by a car in downtown Chicago. Two years later, the Aunt Jemima Mills were purchased by the Quaker Oats Company.

The famous image of Aunt Jemima was based on the real image of Nancy Green, an original painting of which recently sold for $9,030 at MastroNet. This painting was rendered by A.B. Frost, now regarded as one of the great illustrators of the Golden Age of American Illustration.

Aunt Jemima's image, however, has been modified since the days of Nancy Green and A.B. Frost. As social climates started to change and the 20th century wore on, many became offended by Aunt Jemima's image and felt that it was an outdated and negative portrayal of an African-American woman. If you take a look at today's Aunt Jemima, you'll notice that her kerchief is gone and her hair is styled. She wears earrings, and appears slimmer and younger. She does, however, have the same warm and inviting smile that she's always had.

Who is Sarah Palin?

Apparently, word is leaking out that the vetting process of the Republican Party Vice Presidential candidate was not as thorough as it should have been. Documentation giving rise to this opinion have been made available on Youtube.(See the embedded clips)

"This next clip is the 1st of 2 parts from the convention itself. About half way through the speech(at 6:00), the Vice Chairman of the AIP, Dexter Clark, says this of Palin: 'Our current governor who I mentioned at the last conference, the one we were hoping would get elected, Sarah Palin, did get elected . . . .and there was a lot of talk about her moving up. She was an AIP member before she got the job as mayor . . . '"



Sarah Palin was a card carrying member of the Alaskan Independence Party who went so far as to welcome their organization to the capital city via videotape from the governor's office. This leaves no doubt that they were far from outcasts, or radicals in her mind.



As you'll note in "Part 1 of Sarah Palin Secessionist," the organization is a self-described secessionists movement. Admittedly, they have some valid arguments, in my estimation. But, I wonder if Americans in general are ready to loose Alaska, a strategically significant state; and its oil revenue due to an oversight on the part of John McCain and his party hacks.

As you listen to the video pay close attention to the fate of former leaders of this party. It appears that the Arkansas Sudden Death Syndrome may have come into play again, because the wife died suddenly and the husband was assassinated soon after a government official had promised to look into some their allegations as to the illegal nature of Alaska's statehood vote.

This alone should make voters think long and hard about voting for a ticket with her on it, because the possibility of a retaliatory strike would be imminent leaving us with her in charge. America in the hands of the "anti-Lincoln," can you believe it?

The Republicans have really screwed up this time and placed the entire country in jeopardy, in order to win an election.

I can't believe this one myself. I heard it from Chris Matthews on MSNBC and had to go and check it out for myself, only to find that he was right on target.

She is not "Sarah Plain and Tall," but rather Sarah Palin "the anti-Lincoln." Next time McCain says something about Obama's judgment, or "lack of it" someone needs to bring up Sarah Palin and her questionable background. It didn't take more than 5 minutes on Youtube to come up with these two clips, which speak to her friendly relationship with the secessionists.

Can McCain get it right? Apparently, not!

African American Elementary Curriculum for the Future

In the course of putting together an African American Elementary Curriculum for the Future I encountered some disturbing reviews of a book by noted historian J.A. Rogers. The book is entitled Your History and is made up of articles akin to Ripley's Believe It Or Not."

Each and every page is chock full of information that runs the gamut from disturbing to informative. The pictures are revealing studies in the various personalities and events, which have occurred involving the lives of Africans from the beginning of time to the present, which in this case would have been the original publication date of 1940.



In cases where pictures were available they were used by the artist to develop his sketches. But, in many cases there were no pictures and at that point George Lee, the artist, took the liberty to create what he thought were realistic depictions. This was meant to be a popular work that was accessible to the public via a network of Black newspapers and was put into national syndication. It was not meant to stand up to scholarly debate or scrutiny.

However, because of the sensitive nature of the topic the reviewers took offense to much of what was contained within these pages and skewered the author, when it was they, themselves that needed to be skewered for not placing the document into its proper framework. They in fact, commit some of the same types of error of fact in the process, delivering false charges that the author was also the illustrator, and noting the lack of references, without noting the source of the document, which I believe to be the Pittsburgh Courier.

I really appreciate the fact that the reviewers took some time to give a critical analysis of this important book. However, I would hope that in the future they would check their own facts before making brash statements, which themselves were off base.

Admittedly, as Black Classic Press clearly states, J.A. Rogers was a "race" man and was attempting to prove a point, so at times some of his facts may come into question.

J.A. Rogers is "the historian" that was most vociferous in bringing to light many of the stories we now accept as being the bedrock of Pan-African Studies, or Black Studies. He was also known for using photography in conjunction with his historiography. This is a real sore point when acquiring his works now being published by large companies like Macmillian & Co., where the literally hundreds of photos of people or statues of persons have been excised from his major work "The World's Great Men of Color." This really diminished the impact of his work, because, as we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words.

In conclusion, I'll be the first one to admit that I just recently noted a discrepancy in a depiction of the 11 churches of Lalibela Ethiopia, which are monolithic structures carved out of the bedrock of the Ethiopian highlands. Mr. Lee made them look like large mudhuts, as opposed to the architectural masterpieces that they are in actuality.

Overall, I've noted the book is fairly accurate in it's portrayal of the personalities and events it depicts, but I wouldn't give it any more, or less credibility than "Ripley's Believe It Or Not," whose museum in Hollywood is a real eye-opener. So, while you're fact checking, why don't you check into the validity of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not."

Meanwhile, I think I'll keep supporting African American Museums and historical sites, who undoubtedly owe a great deal to J.A. Rogers, as one of the pioneers in the study of Pan-African history. By the way the newest museum of African American history will be opening soon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as a part of the Smithsonian, I wonder who they'll feature in their exhibits?

Zimfest 2008

I just returned from a tour of the USA, part of which I accomplished on a Greyhound bus, not the most comfortable way to travel, but I made it where I was going. My goal was to see my daughter Nefertiti graduate from high school and at the same time empty my storage unit in California. I relocated 2 years ago and had left most of my belongings in storage.

This seemed like a simple task. I had no really urgent commitments back here in Ohio and I gave myself about 3 weeks to accomplish my tasks and return to Ohio. But, somehow fate was not with me and it ended up taking six weeks to return to Ohio. All in all it wasn't a bad trip, but my money was stretched tighter than a drumhead. That coupled with the fact that the Mississippi river flooded from Wisconsin to Missouri not only delayed my trip it also forced me to take some unforeseen detours, which ended up working out in the end.

My first detour was to Tacoma, WA. The idea was to go to the Zimbabwean Music Festival 2008 (Zimfest) and at the same avoid all the flooding in the midwest. I figured that the flooding would be in the lower Mississippi by the time I left Tacoma and I'd have no problem making it back to Ohio. As it turned out that was correct and I got to go to Zimfest for the second time.



It was a great weekend. As a matter of fact it happened on July 4th weekend. This is kind of unusual, I'm used to Zimfest happening later in the summer, but apparently it can happen at different times of the year. There was a full schedule everyday, I sold Dezes (gourd resonators for Mbiras), hosho (gourd rattles) and my No-burn Incense during the day and enjoyed the music at night.

Zimfest is a round the clock festival, with musicians performing on and off stage day and night and teaching workshops during the day. It's got to be one of the most unusual festivals in the country. For music lovers its absolutely fabulous.

The musicians ran the gamut from novices to seasoned professionals. Many of the most knowledgeable musicians were from Zimbabwe and not only taught workshops, but performed, as well. The thing I like about Zimfest is that you see someone on the stage and then you're sitting down eating lunch with them chitchatting. The whole line that's drawn in the sand between the musicians and the audience is non-existent. You can converse and share knowledge in a relaxed and unpretentious atmosphere.

Highlights of the show were the 3 groups led by Sheree Seretse, which included a children's group known as Shumba; a new group of semi-professional musicians Zambuko and her main band of professional musicians Anzanga.

There were so many other groups there that I could not even begin to mention them all, but some that you may recognize are Chinyakare, Boka Marimba, Gwarira Enharira and Kutsinhira. I really liked Boka's singer. She sounded something like Miriam Makeba, which is something of a feat, since she's from the U.S. Chinyakare featured Russ Landers and Ronnie Daliyo on Mbira and was in the groove, as usual, although they were missing their former featured dancers. Russ started off the first night with some lovely Chipendani (mouthbow) playing and simultaneous singing.

In the end many of the featured performers came together on stage for a grande finale that was awesome. I've placed a sampling of the performances on Youtube, just enough to give you a taste of Zimfest 2008. Check it out for yourself and give me some feedback.

Changui & the Origins of Afro-Cuban Music

Youtube is the wave of the future. It's like we're coming out of the dark ages, when people from different parts of the world were living in isolation. Well no more.

I get on Youtube pretty much everyday to see what's new. One of the jewels I discovered there recently was Cuban Changui music. I've been playing Mbira (Kalimba) for a number of years and decided to look it up on Youtube the other day. When I did I was overwhelmed at the number of videos that were up there. But the one from Guantanamo Bay by the Changuieros was outstanding. This video shows some Cubanos on the docks playing the traditional instruments for this genre. These instruments include the tres (a three stringed instrument similar to a guitar), a hand-made pair of tack-head bongos, a marimbula (the large bass mbira originating from Cuba), a pair of maracas and of course the guiro (metal scraper).

The music is designed to accompany the vocals, which are the focal point of the music, as is so often the case. They were smoking! The vocals were hot, hot, hot! Done in a rap style, they covered a familiar Cuban tune called El Chan, Chan. Take a look at the video to see what you think.

They say this music is the ancestor of the Son, which is still the most popular type of music in Cuba today and has been for almost 100 years. What's so special about this music, both the Son and Changui, is that they represent the earliest attempts to mix the Spanish heritage with the African heritage. The result has been with us for a long time in the Cha, Cha, Cha; the Mambo; Guanguanco; Salsa, etc. The mixture of Spanish vocals with stringed instruments, drums and other percussions instruments lends itself to some hot rhythmic combinations that somehow always seem to talk about "mi corazon," or my heart. Yes, it's all about those pesky male-female relationships. They're going to break your heart, one way or another.

Sit back relax and check out the video. Let me know if you like it as much as I do.