ON THIS DAY IN BLACK MUSIC HISTORY: FEBRUARY 19

#1 R&B Song 1949:   “Boogie Chillen,” John Lee Hooker

 

Born:   William McClain (the Cleftones), 1938; William “Smokey” Robinson (the Miracles), 1940; Bobby Rogers (the Miracles), 1940

 

****************************************************************************************

1944   The Five Red Caps’ debut chart 78, “I Learned A Lesson I’ll Never Forget,” hit the R&B list reaching #3 and #14 pop.

 

1949   Blind vocalist Al Hibbler hit the R&B charts with “Lover, Come back To Me,” reaching #9.

 

1955   Etta James charted with “The Wallflower” (sometimes called “Roll With M Henry”), reaching #1 R&B for four weeks. The song was an answer record to Hank Ballard’s “Work With Me, Annie,” while Georgia Gibbs copied James’s version for a pop version called “Dance With Me, Henry.” James would go on to have thirty R&B hits with her last one being a cover of Big Brother and the Holding Company’s (a.k.a. Janis Joplin and band) “Piece of My Heart.”

 

 

1958   The Miracles’ first single, “Got A Job,” was issued on End Records. The song was an answer record to the Silhouettes’ #1 hit, “Get A Job.” Though the 45 did not chart, it was the start of the group’s monumental career, which included forty-six pop and forty-eight R&B hits through 1978. It was also lead singer Smokey Robinson’s eighteenth birthday.

 

1960   Dr Jive’s Rhythm & Blues Revue featuring the Flaminos, the Hollywood Flames, Barrett Strong, Johnny Nash, Nappy Brown, and Tiny Topsy took over the Apollo Theater in New York City for a raucous good-time show.

 

1960   Jimmy Jones, riding the charts with his new hit, “Handy Man,” performed at the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia.

 

1974   Al Green received the award for favourite Album Soul/R&B category at the Inaugural American Music Awards in Hollywood, CA.

 

1983   James Ingram and Patti Austin’s “Baby, Come to Me” reached #1 on the pop charts after taking eighteen weeks to get there.

 

1966   The Isley Brothers’ classic “This Old Heart Of Mine” charted, reaching #12 pop (#6 R&B). Ron Isley would remake the song in a duet with Rod Stewart twenty-four years later, rising to #10 pop.

 

1994   The Jackson clan came together for the much-publicized Jackson Family Honors show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Michael Jackson appeared but did not sing, much to the consternation of many paying customers. Dionne Warwick took time out from her Psychic Friends Network (where she was reportedly making seven figures a year) to appear with the flock.

COLORLINES REPORT: RACIAL INCOME GAP CHRONIC PROBLEM EVEN BEFORE THE MELTDOWN

 

d Feb 19, 2009 ColorLines Direct. News and commentary from ColorLines magazine and RaceWire blog.   The ColorLines Jan/Feb issue is available now. Check out Innovators, people to watch in 2009. Racewire Featured Blog:   Report: Racial Income Gap Chronic Problem Even Before the Meltdown The Applied Research Center has released its study, “Check the Color Line – Income Report” in conjunction with the Center for the Study of Social Policy. The report presents alarming data on racial and ethnic income disparities at both the national and state levels, and proposes policy solutions to promote equality of opportunity.     Resources on the National Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act Stay informed with what social justice organizations have to say about the National Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act and how you can become part of their campaigns. On Racewire.org The Opportunities of Our Economic Crisis Steven Pitts from the Center for Labor Research and Education looks at the opportunities we can create during our current economic crisis. “We can now talk about how to use the government to help working people and people of color and talk about how to reign in the excesses of big corporations and banks.” [VIDEO] The Green-Collar Stimulus: Alliances to Strengthen our Economy, our Communities, and our Environment Ian Kim of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights calls for advocacy groups to join forces, to ensure that the stimulus money gets put into green-collar jobs initiatives at all levels of government, to strengthen our most vulnerable communities, and to create sustainable industries for our new century.   Changing the Immigration System for Immediate Improvement Rinku Sen looks at 36 recommendations on immigration policy that the Obama Administration can and should take up. On Arc.org   The Applied Research Center ColorLines Magazine 900 Alice Street, Suite 400 :: Oakland, CA 94607 Phone: 510-653-3415 :: Fax: 510-986-1062 Subscription Orders: 1-888-287-3126

ON THIS DAY IN BLACK MUSIC HISTORY: FEBRUARY 18

#1 Song 1956:   “The Great Pretender,” The Platters

 

Born:   Herman Santiago (Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers), 1941; Irma Thomas, 1941; Randy Crawford, 1952; Dr. Dre (Andre Young), 1965

 

***************************************************************************

1942   The Mills Brothers recorded what would become their biggest hit, “Paper Doll.” Released in May, it took fourteen months to reach #1, but when it did, the single stayed there for twelve weeks, selling 6 million copies.

 

 

1950   Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers charted with “Rag Mop,” reaching #4 R&B.It was their eleventh of fourteen hits from 1945to 1951. Their first hit, “The Honey Dripper,” is the longest #1 all-time R&B hit, having spent eighteen weeks on top of the charts.

 

1950   Singer/songwriter/pianist Nellie Lutcher charted with “For You My Love,” reaching #8 R&B. The last of the songstresses’ eleven hits, the song was a duet with Nat King Cole.

 

1956   The Romancers'”I Still Remember” ($75) and the Jayhawks’ “Counting My Teardrops” ($200) were released. The Romancers’ lead was young Bobby Freeman, ;ater of “Do YouWanna Dance” fame. The Jayhawks went on to become the Vibrations.

 

1956   Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers’ first single, “Why Do Fools Fall In Love” charted, reaching #6 pop and #1 (five weeks) R&B. The quintet had at various times called themselves the Premiers, the Earth Angels, the Coup De Villes, and the Ermines 😦 before becoming the Teenagers 🙂

 

 

1956   The Flamingos, probably the finest vocal group of all time, made their chart debut with “I’ll Be Home,” reaching #5 R&B. They began recording in 1953 and though they only had eleven pop hits and nine R&B charters through 1970, many music historians believe their harmony andvocal style were without peer.

 

1984   Cameo hit the charts for the twenty-first time in seven years ith what would become their biggest it, “She’s Strange” (#1 R&B for four weeks.)

 

 

2001   Ed Wells, baritone and songwriter for the Six Teens, passed away. Wells formed the sextet singing group in Los Angeles, combining three teen girls and three teen boys from two Catholic schools, and wrote their first hit, “A Casual Look.”

 

Randy Crawford is one unsung lady in the world of music. Here she is singing my favourite Randy Crawford song, “Street Life.” Happy Birthday, Randy!

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: BLACK HEROINES, PART 9: CARLOTTA: LEADER OF THE 1843 REBELLION OF MATANZAS, CUBA

Carlota, a slave woman, took up the machete in 1843 to lead a slave uprising at the Triumvirato sugar mill in Matanzas Province and was killed.  She was one of the 3 leaders of the rebellion. Her name was later given to Cuba’s 1980’s operation Black Carlota in Southern Africa, which culminated in the battle of Cuito Cuanavale and the defeat of the South African army in pitch battle.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

Carlota leader of the 1843 slave rebellion, Triumvirato, Matanzas Carlota, a slave woman, took up the machete in 1843 to lead a slave uprising at the Triumvirato sugar mill in Matanzas Province and was killed.  She was one of the 3 leaders of the rebellion. Her name was later given to Cuba’s 1980’s operation Black Carlota in Southern Africa, which culminated in the battle of Cuito Cuanavale and the defeat of the South African army in pitch battle. Today, people can visit the remains of the Triumvirato sugar mill and see the monument to Carlota’s rebellion. Carlota, la rebelde, Granma, 11/05, de Marta Rojas Carlota the rebel, 11/05, by Marta Rojas  CARLOTA  Lukumí/Yoruba Woman Fighter for Liberation  Massacred in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1844  by Eugene Godfried, 7/06 Carlota la rebelde, Image from Granma Introduction In order to understand liberation processes in the Caribbean we have to take into account all occurrences which preceded our days and contributed to the formation of our collective consciousness. Cuba, in this sense, possesses an impressive historical legacy of which needs more discussion.  Women in Cuba, generally speaking, played a very important role in the construction of that society since the beginning of European colonialism in 1492. Carlota fulfilled a noble task by offering great teachings even with her own life. Neither studying nor talking about the contribution made in that Caribbean society by the African women, in particular, implies a silent falsification of the truth. We use the denomination lukumi/yoruba when referring to Carlota and others based on an explanation we received from Nigerian linguist and Yoruba expert,  Dr. Wande Abimbola, who teaches us the following lesson. The western Yoruba land in Nigeria and in east Benin know the terminology ‘oluikumi’ to indicate ‘my very good friend of confidence’. It is understandable that the transatlantic voyage as it reached Cuba transformed this into ‘lukumi’. (see http://www.afrocubaweb.com Eugène Godfried, Cuba in a Caribbean Perspective).  LIBERATION STRUGGLES IN THE LOW LANDS OF LA HABANA and MATANZAS Matanzas was the scene of many confrontations between enslaved Africans and the slave – system regime in Cuba during 1843 and 1844. The uprising at the sugar – estate Triumvirato under the leadership of the heroic Carlota had a great impact both inside and outside of the island. Those struggles began in July and August of the year 1843. By means of ‘talking drums’ the rebels were called for battle. When hearing the sounds of the drums, the slave-owners most likely thought that the Africans were paying tribute to their ancestors in sessions held in and around their barracoons. Two lukumies/yorubas, a man by the name of Evaristo and a woman called Fermina of the sugar – estate Arcana, were in charge of all preparations. Their task was to encourage the enslaved people to rise up and put an end to the hated system of human exploitation. Their principal means of communication were the drums as their most relevant heritage from Africa.  On November 5 of 1843, the enslaved people of Triumvirato broke out in a great rebellion. Fermina, of the sugar – estate Acana, who was very active in the rebellion of August 2nd, was arrested, chained and locked up. She was liberated by her colleagues in struggle on November 3rd. Carlota, accompanied by her captains, went from Triumvirato to Acana to liberate their enslaved brothers and sisters. Of course, Carlota and her collaborators carefully prepared the whole plan of action in secret.  Undoubtedly, these successes at Triumvirato and Acana had their impact on the enslaved population. One could notice an increase in guerilla attacks by rebellious Africans in the area. Together they broke the chains of their brothers and sisters in the areas known as Sabanilla del Encomendador, Guanábana, Santa Ana, belonging to the sugar – estates San Miguel, Concepción, San Lorenzo, and San Rafael. Other objectives, such as the coffee and cattle estates of the area, were also attacked.   MASSACRE OF THE LIBERATION FIGHTERS  A heavy persecution was unleashed by the powerful Governor’s troops hunting the lukumí/Yoruba woman Carlota, her fula companion Eduardo, and their colleagues. Carlota was captured during an unequal battle. The repressive forces tied her to horses sent to run in opposite direction in order to destroy her body completely so that she would be unrecognizable forever. Fermina was shot and killed in March 1844 along with four other lukumíes/yorubas and three ganga colleagues. The year 1844 became known as the ‘year of the lashes’, because of the many cases of bloody repression against descendants of Africans both enslaved and freed men and women. Another notorious case of that time was the so called ‘Ladder Conspiracy’: infamous acts of tortures and and killings under the command of General O’Donnell. During these bloody actions an end was put to the life of the great poet whose father was of African descent and whose mother was of European origin: Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés, Plácido. (See Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés, Plácido, Eugène Godfried, http://www.afrocubaweb.com).  CONCLUSION For years there existed in Cuba an omission or intentional white out by both official historiography and rhetoric of this epoch of successive rebellions of enslaved Africans in the low lands of La Habana and Matanzas in the western part of Cuba. That is a symptomatic manifestation of a euro-centric society, even though the island became independent from Spain in 1898. The new elite preferred to continue having the old Spain inside of Cuba without Spain. A chain of racist regimes followed in power right after independence and none were interested raising or recognizing topics regarding African liberation in Cuba. Fulgencio Batista, even though he himself was a man of color, who served the interests of the euro-centric elite, did not dare take any firm action in this regard, notwithstanding the fact that he was never accepted by those circles as their equal. (see ‘Sociedades negras en Cuba 1878 – 1960”, Carmen V. Montejo Arrechea; Centro de investigación y desarollo de la cultura cubana Juan Marinello, La HABANA 2004).  We agree with those writers who state that the process which started in 1959 dedicated more attention to these issues than the period before its existence. Yet, a lot of focus is still being made mainly on the rebellious military aspect of those struggles. The leaders are often primarily portrayed as physically strong black men or women.. Nothing too much is said about their cultural, spiritual and mental formation and foresightedness. That attitude is also a result of euro-centrism, which we should necessarily combat. Those men and women who participated in these liberation processes should be recognized both de jure and de facto as revolutionaries and precursors of the independence struggles of Cuba. They were wise, since just like their forerunners the maroons and Aponte, and others, they stood for a rupture with the metropolis in Europe. Liberation of all human beings without any distinction was their highest goal. No one else insisted more than they did on the need of pulling out deeply rooted racism from Cuba’s soil. Many followed their example years after they had already shown the way. All these questions should be topics for discussion and reflection within families, work centres, mass and political organizations in Cuba and the rest of the Caribbean.  Carlota, Fermina (1843/1844), Mariana Grajales (1868/1893) together with their sisters of our region such as Solitude in Guadeloupe (1802) and Rebeca in Curaçao (1795), are mothers of our peoples in the Caribbean. Their love and tender care for the best of our future will live on forever.  PEACE, EQUALITY, AND COOPERATION Eugène Godfried Caribbean specialist/journalist social and cultural worker/author Radio Habana Cuba Radio CMKS in Guantánamo   Carlota, la rebelde, Granma, 11/05 Carlota the rebel, 11/05 by Marta Rojas —Granma daily staff writer— THE fifth decade of the 19th century was characterized by successive rebellions on the part of African and Cuban-born slaves, particularly in the great plain of Havana-Matanzas, the emporium of the slave-owning oligarchy, given the wealth of its land and the profusion of the sugar-cane industry.   The repression was infamous in its cruelty and one particularly recalls the so-called Escalera (Ladder) Conspiracy and its dramatic sequel of torture, crimes and shootings ordered by General O’Donnell, including that of the great mixed-race poet Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés (Plácodo) and a group of men belonging to the incipient black bourgeoisie, thousands of black and mixed-race free persons and slaves. That process was so extended and horrifying that 1844 has come down to our days as the Year of the Strap.   Traditional Cuban history never touched on the impetuous beginnings of the slave rebellion in that historical period. But that silence – or deliberate omission in more than a few cases – is not the case in these years of Revolution. The restored landmarks include the rebellion at the Triunvirate sugar mill in Matanzas and, more specifically, the heroic dimension of Carlota, the pro-liberation slave.   The uprising led by Carlota and a group of rebel slaves had international repercussions. A few days after the rebellion began, the Vandalia, a U.S. Navy corvette, appeared in the port of Havana under the command of Rear-Admiral Chauncey, the bearer of an “official” letter from the Spanish Business Attaché in Washingon, which notified Captain General O’Donnell that he could count on the aid of the United States to crush the “Afrocuban” rebellion, a document that Commander Chauncey, accompanied by a Mr. Campbell, the U.S. consul in Havana, presented to the colonial governor in an official ceremony with full diplomatic rigor. This support further spurred on the repression meted out by the Spanish authorities in Matanzas of the slaves who participated in the Triunvirato uprising, from the governor and district captains, to the slave owners of farms and sugar mills to simple overseers. In the end, Carlota was literally torn apart. But her action was an epic one.   This was the beginning: the drums were talking in the Triunvirato mill in the months of July and August, 1843. Two Africans were in contact. They were Lucumies: Evaristo and Fermnina, from the Acana mill. They devoted themselves to campaigning among the slaves to put an end to the brutality of that system. They managed to communicate via drums which they played with eloquence. On November 5, 1843 the Triunvirato slaves rebelled. There was a military trial from which it emerged that the Matanzas Military Committee had uncovered a vast conspiracy in the above-mentioned mills.   In addition to Fermina, other women had an energetic participation in the anti-slave movement, as well as their men. There was a militarily gifted and exceptionally daring women in the front line: Carlota, of Lucumbi origin, who belonged to the Triunvirato mill. Involved with her in the rebellion were Eduardo, a Fula; Carmita and Juliana, Cuban-born; Filomena, a Ganga from the Acana mill; and Lucía, a Lucumi from the Concepción estate, all of them in Matanzas.   For the white slave owners what they heard was merely a drumming ceremony from a black slave cabin calling to the ancestors. But the fact is that at 8:00 p.m. on the night of Sunday, November 5, Eduardo, the interpreter of the kettledrum voice advised everybody, and Carlota, Narciso and Felipe, and the Ganga Manuel, like the “spokesperson,” had already sharpened their work machetes. At that hour the objective was not the cane plantations, but the brutal plantation manager, his overseers and lackeys. It was they who first felt the blades of steel and were felled, their pistols and rifles seized, as well as similar weapons from other white individuals who abandoned them in all haste. Somewhat terse concerning these cases, the official municipal representatives on the Military Committee relate for history that the blacks “set fire to the main house, part of the plantation and the sugar mill huts.”   The Fermina from the Acana mill, who took part in a rebellion on August 2, had been imprisoned with shackles from which she was released by her brothers and sisters on November 3. Carlota and her captains, according to their secret plan, had gone from Triunvirato to Acana to free the slaves.   Nobody should imagine, because it would be naïve, that Carlota went with a holster strapped to her chest, and in boots. She went barefoot, in her threadbare dress. The successes at Triunvirato and Acana must have encouraged the rebel slaves who were fighting for freedom and they continued their surprise attacks in the area. They liberated the slaves from the administrations of Santa Ana, Guanábana and Sabanilla del Encomendador, belonging to the Concepción, San Lorenzo, San Miguel, San Rafael sugar mills, and the neighboring coffee plantations and dairy farms. But the governor’s powerful forces were already pursuing Carlota the Lucumi, Eduardo the Fula and her other comrades, and in a battle as unequal as it was bitter – presumably due to the difference in the strength, quality and quantity of the enemy firepower – Carlota was taken prisoner and tied alive to horses pulling in opposite directions until she was torn apart.   According to the annals, Blas Cuesta, administrator and co-owner of the San Rafael mill, earnestly appealed to the governor of Matanzas, who had just arrived on his property, not to continue massacring defenseless blacks. Some slaves who escaped got as far as the Ciénaga de Zapata and continued fighting in the Gran Palenque (hideout of runaway slaves) in the Cuevas del Cabildo.   Fermina was shot with four Lucumies and three Gangas in March 1844. This was not the only or the first slave conspiracy or rebellion. One would have to recall that of José Antonio Aponte in 1812. And long before, the determined and victorious protest of the slave miners of Rey in El Cobre (1677), until their freedom was de jure acknowledged in 1801.     In terms of its vigor and bravery, Carlota’s liberation struggle is part of the Cuban heritage of rebellion against oppression. Thus her name has been enshrined as a symbol of the operation that gave rise to the Cuban military mission in Angola 30 years ago. If was as if the bones and blood of Carlota and her comrades in the uprising joined together again to serve the liberation of the descendants of those Africans who contributed to the forging of the Cuban nation.     Contacting AfroCubaWeb Postal address Box 1054, Arlington, MA 02474 Electronic mail acw_AT_afrocubaweb.com [replace _AT_ with @] Copyright © 1997 AfroCubaWeb, sa Last modified: June 04, 2008 SOURCE:  http://www.afrocubaweb.com/Carlota.htm          Monument to the Triumvirato Rebellion Carlota Pot for boiling sugar, Triumvirato

FILM EXAMINES A NEWARK HATE CRIME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MS. SAKIA GUNN

Here is an update on the young lesbian girl, Sakia Gunn, who was brutally murdered by a man who violently took her life because she refused his advances, and because she was a lesbian. The filmmaker, Mr. Charles B. Brack, has created a documentary of the trial of her murderer, Richard McCullough. Mr. Brack’s camera was the only one allowed in the courtroom to film this documentary.

Many people often compare Ms. Gunn’s murder to that of Matthew Shepherd, the young homosexual who was tortured and murdered by a group of gay-haters, in Laramie, WY. But, I do not consider both cases as having been given the same merit and attention (read “national outcry“). Say the name of Matthew Shepherd, and millions of people will probably know of whom you speak; but, say Ms. Gunn’s name, and many millions more will draw a blank.

The fact is that Ms. Gunn was a woman of color, most notably, a young Black lesbian woman, and in this country if you are Black, a woman, a lesbian, not rich/well-off/affluent, then you are devalued at the get-go. Where was Act-Up http://www.actupny.org/ for Ms. Gunn when this case was coming to trial? Why did they not speak up for her? Is it because she did not fit their idea of a gay human being? By their behaviour, Act-Up projects that even in the so-called gay community, color still matters. Add to the fact that Matthew Sheperd’s case and race had a great bearing on how the news media outlets—local, national, and even foreign—reported on his case continuously, as well as the difference in the communities these crimes occurred in:  Matthew in a Mid-West small town, and Sakia, in a crime ridden inner city—-had a profound influence on the case of Matthew as opposed to the case on Sakia.

That Ms. Gunn’s case if so unknown to many people is not surprising. As some commentors around the internet have said: the elephant in the room is race, and if you are not White, male or female,you will be relegated to being a footnote, if even that, when you suffer from a brutal crime the way Ms. Gunn did.

“Twenty years” for Ms. Gunn’s savage murder?

There are people doing time for 1-ounce of crack cocaine, than this monster received for the hateful destruction of Ms. Gunn’s life. So, McCullough had no previous record, but he still took a human life. The message this judge sent is that it is okay to murder a young lesbian, don’t worry, at the least you will get maybe 20 years because she obviously had no value as a human being. That thus judge rendered such a piss-poor sentence should be cause for him to be removed from the bench for his lack of regard for Ms. Gunn’s life.

Then again, Ms. Gunn was not the right color, not the right gender, nor the right sexual orientation.

The (in)justice she received in the court that tried this case, speaks loud and clear.

*************************************************************************************

 

February 18, 2009, 9:30 am

Film Examines a Newark Hate Crime

By Sewell Chan

A documentary recounts the 2003 killing of Sakia Gunn, 15, a lesbian high school student in Newark.

 

In 2003, Sakia Gunn, a 15-year-old lesbian high school student, was fatally stabbed in downtown Newark by a man who had approached her in the street and made sexual advances to her and her friends, which they declined.

 

The case, which was prosecuted as a hate crime, drew widespread attention in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities, though considerably less news coverage than that of Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old gay college student who was abducted, beaten, tied to a pole and left to freeze to death in Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.

 

A documentary released last year, “Dreams Deferred: The Sakia Gunn Film Project,” offers an emotional examination of the Gunn case. The filmmaker, Charles B. Brack, obtained permission to record the trial of Richard McCullough, the girl’s killer. His was the only camera in the courtroom — a fact that, at a screening of the film at the Museum of Modern Art on Saturday evening, Mr. Brack called “disgraceful.”

 

(The Times covered the killing of Ms. Gunn, along with the arrest and indictment of Mr. McCullough. A follow-up article a year after the killing examined the growing awareness of the plight of gay minority teenagers in cities, and in 2007 The Times examined the relative isolation and invisibility of Newark’s gays.)

 

The film weaves trial footage with interviews; one of the earliest scenes depicts Mr. McCullough’s defense lawyer citing his relatively thin criminal history — a juvenile conviction for possession of marijuana — as a mitigating factor for the purposes of sentencing.

 

Some of the film’s most wrenching scenes are of Valencia Bailey, Ms. Gunn’s best friend, in whose car Ms. Gunn bled to death on their way to a hospital; of Anthony Hall, a cousin of the victim, who described her as an A student who enjoyed playing basketball and did not cause her family any trouble; and of Latona Gunn, Ms. Gunn’s mother, who tells Mr. McCullough in the courtroom, “Your rage has caused me 23 months of sleepless nights.”

 

Thelma Gunn, the victim’s grandmother, says of Ms. Gunn and her friends: “All they wanted was to go home and get in their beds. Her bed turned out to be a coffin.”

 

Ms. Gunn’s death had a galvanizing effect on gay activists, and the film includes interviews with several: Laquetta Nelson, co-founder of the Newark Pride Alliance; Clarence Patton of the New York City Anti-Violence Project; and Bran Fenner of Fierce, a coalition of gay minority young people.

Monika Graff for The New York Times Shanese Winston, 17, left, and Audrey Servance, 17, attended a vigil for their friend Sakia Gunn as officials observed a No Name-Calling Day on May 11, 2004, a year after Ms. Gunn was killed.

 

A candlelight vigil held in Newark a year after the killing, in which dozens of community members gathered at the corner of Broad and Market Streets, where the crime occurred, highlighted the extent to which the gay population mobilized after the slaying — and sought the support of straight allies. At the vigil, Cory A. Booker, then a councilman and now the mayor of Newark, angrily asked why “there was not a national outcry” over the crime.

 

As part of a plea agreement, Judge Paul J. Vichness of Essex County Superior Court sentenced Mr. McCullough in 2005 to 20 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter, aggravated assault and bias intimidation — less than the maximum penalty of 25 years.

 

The judge said he considered Mr. McCullough’s lack of a previous criminal record a mitigating factor, but rejected the defense’s arguments that the circumstances leading up to the crime were unlikely to recur and that Mr. McCullough was unlikely to commit a crime again.

 

The defense had initially argued that Ms. Gunn fell on Mr. McCullough’s knife during or after a scuffle, a version of events that prosecutors and Ms. Gunn’s friends disputed.

“I don’t know why you didn’t walk away from this,” the judge told Mr. McCullough.

 

Mr. Brack, who grew up in Chicago and manages operations at Third World Newsreel, an activist filmmaker collective founded in 1967, said he hoped the film would raise awareness about Ms. Gunn and her life and death.

 

“It’s about access,” he said when asked why the case had received less attention than that of Matthew Shepard. “Lack of access to the media.”

 

SOURCE:  The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com

CHIMP-STIMULUS CARTOOON RAISES RACISM CONCERNS

 

February 18, 2009, 12:04 pm Chimp-Stimulus Cartoon Raises Racism Concerns By Sewell Chan AND Jeremy W. Peters An editorial cartoon in the print and online editions of The New York Post was criticized for linking a chimpanzee with the economic stimulus package signed by President Obama.     Updated, 5:01 p.m. | Gov. David A. Paterson, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, the Rev. Al Sharpton and others expressed concern on Wednesday morning over an editorial cartoon in The New York Post that showed a police officer telling his colleague who just shot a chimpanzee, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.”   Critics said the cartoon, drawn by Sean Delonas, implicitly compared President Obama with the primate and evoked a history of racist imagery of blacks. The chimpanzee was an apparent reference to the 200-pound pet chimpanzee that was shot dead by a police officer in Stamford, Conn., on Monday evening, after it mauled a friend of his owner.   Speaking at a conference of the New York Academy of Medicine on Wednesday morning, Mr. Paterson said that while he had not seen the cartoon, he believed that The Post should explain it. Given the possibility that some people could conclude the cartoon had a racial subtext, Mr. Paterson said the newspaper needed to clarify its meaning.   “It would be very important for The New York Post to explain what the cartoon was intended to portray,” Mr. Paterson said in response to a question about whether the cartoon’s depiction of a monkey was racist, as Mr. Sharpton has suggested. “Obviously those types of associations have been made. They do feed a kind of negative and stereotypical way that people think. But I think if it’s enough that people are raising this issue, I hope they would clarify.”   Senator Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, said in a statement: “I found the Post cartoon offensive and purposefully hurtful. This type of cartoon serves no productive role in the public discourse.”   City Councilman Leroy G. Comrie Jr., a Queens Democrat, called for a boycott of the newspaper. “To run such a violent, racist cartoon is an insult to all New Yorkers,” he said in a statement. “This was an unfortunate incident in which a human being was seriously injured- not an opportunity to sling dangerous rhetoric. It is my belief that The New York Post owes an immediate apology to this city for demonstrating such terrible judgment and insensitivity.”   Mr. Comrie urged New Yorkers to “demonstrate their displeasure with the New York Post by writing letters to their advertisers and simply stop purchasing a publication that clearly has no respect or sensitivity for people of color.”   A newsroom employee at The Post, who spoke on condition of anonymity because employees were not permitted to comment on the matter, said its newsroom received many calls of complaints on Wednesday morning after the publication of the cartoon. “Every line was lit up for several hours,” the employee said. “The phones on the city desk have never rung like that before.” Many Post staff members were dismayed by the cartoon, the employee added.   The cartoon was on Page 12 of Wednesday’s edition, next to the paper’s Page Six gossip column. On Page 11, the reverse side, was a photograph of President Obama signing the stimulus bill into law in Denver.   Mr. Sharpton, who has been an unflattering subject in cartoons drawn by Mr. Delonas in The Post, said in a statement on his Web site: The cartoon in today’s New York Post is troubling at best, given the racist attacks throughout history that have made African-Americans synonymous with monkeys. One has to question whether the cartoonist is making a less than casual inference to this form of racism when, in the cartoon, the police say after shooting a chimpanzee, “now they will have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill.”   Being that the stimulus bill has been the first legislative victory of President Barack Obama (the first African American president) and has become synonymous with him it is not a reach to wonder whether the Post cartoonist was inferring that a monkey wrote it? In a statement, Col Allan, editor in chief of The Post, denied Mr. Sharpton’s assertion that the cartoon was “racially charged.” Mr. Allan said: The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut. It broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist. A 2001 cartoon by Mr. Delonas depicted Fernando Ferrer, the Bronx borough president who was seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor that year, kissing the buttocks of Mr. Sharpton — a depiction that was widely criticized as demeaning, and even racist. In a phone interview, Mr. Sharpton said he planned to hold a protest outside The Post’s Midtown offices at noon on Thursday.   “What does shooting a chimpanzee have to do with a stimulus bill?” Mr. Sharpton said. “This raises all the racial stereotypes we are trying to get away from this in this country.” He added: “I’m not speaking on behalf of the president or the chimpanzee. I‘m speaking on behalf of the offended African-American community.”   Mr. Delonas has drawn ire from a number of groups for past cartoons in The Post. In 2006, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation denounced a cartoon of his that showed a man carrying a sheep wearing a bridal veil to a “New Jersey Marriage Licenses” window, a reference to the State Supreme Court’s ruling that year requiring the state to grant same-sex couples the same legal rights and benefits as heterosexual couples through civil unions.   Andrew Rojecki, associate professor of communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago and co-author of “The Black Image in the White Mind” (University of Chicago Press, 2000), a study of racial attitudes and their relationship to mass media content, said he found the cartoon deeply troubling.   “Of course I would say it’s racist,” Professor Rojecki said in an interview. “There’s no question about it.”   He added, “The cartoonist, whether he did this consciously or not, was drawing upon a very historically deep source of images about African-Americans that African-Americans do not have a lot of control over.”   Such images are harmful on a number of levels, he said. “Even people who do not harbor deep-seated prejudices, because they have stereotypes deeply embedded in their consciousness, may react unconsciously when those associations are triggered,” he said.   Professor Rojecki rejected Mr. Allan’s assertion that the cartoon was devoid of racial content. “It strains credulity to imagine that there is any association between a chimpanzee that was shot because it had attacked someone and a bill that has successfully passed through Congress,” he said. “It makes no sense. What possible explanation could there be?”   Jan Nederveen Pieterse, a professor of global studies and sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of “White on Black: Images of Africa and Blacks in Western Popular Culture” (Yale University Press, 1995), said, “I agree the cartoon is racist, without a doubt.”   Professor Pieterse, who is Dutch, said that portrayal of non-Westerners as primates became well-established in both the United States and Europe in the late 19th century, and has affected not only blacks, but also the Irish and Chinese, for example.   “It’s absolutely outrageous,” he said of the cartoon, “and I think people are concerned because it sets a nasty, mean, very aggressive tone. You can’t get any lower.”   SOURCE:  http://cityroom.blogsR RELATED LINKS: NEW YORK POST:  http://www.nypost.com/ RELATED STORY: CHIMPANZEE ATTACKS WOMAN IN STAMFORD – New York Post Feb 16, 2009 … A massive ape lost control at his Connecticut owner’s home today and mauled a woman’s face before he was repeatedly stabbed by his horrified … http://www.nypost.com/seven/02162009/news/regionalnews/… – 68k *******************************************************************************************   Hmm, not racist, eh, New York Post?   Well, why is it that when I went to the cartoonist, Sean Delonas’ site, http://www.seandelonas.com/ that the following words appear? Hmm. . . .got something to hide?       “The Sean Delonas  web site is temporarily unavailable.  Please check back.”     If the cartoon was not so racist (and it is), why take down Delonas’ site?   And why picture a dead chimp shot by a cop with the words:      “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill?”     If it was not a reference to President Obama? What, chimps are now writing the laws and running the country? Would be nice….I have not seen where humans have done a good job of running this country nor this world.   As for the racist imagery, yes, apes and chimps have been used stereotypicaly against Black people, but, here’s the kicker.   When I look at apes, I do not see how they can be compared to Blacks:   -Extreme hairyness -Very, very thin lips (almost no lips at all)   No offense to apes (and dammit, stop calling chimps monkeys; they are great apes), and if you are going to insult someone, have 3/8 of a brain to do it right.   The only people who come to mind that remind me of apes are…..are…..   ….well, if you can’t say anything good, as my Mother always said to me.   Oh, and as for the stimulus bill. It remains to be seen if it will truly help all Americans.   That is more than I can say for that bitch who fucked up this country and the fools who voted him into office not once, but twice.   A thousand apologies to the bitches of the world.

ROBBIE TOLAN SPEAKS OUT ON BELLAIRE POLICE SHOOTING

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 | 6:13 PM

  

 

BELLAIRE, TX (KTRK) — The Justice Department is sending a mediator to Bellaire to help with the investigation into the controversial police shooting of one of their residents.

 

[LETTER FROM BELLAIRE: See the letter sent to Robbie Tolan’s attorney]

 

Robbie Tolan says he still has nagging pain and nightmares about the night that he was shot by Bellaire police. Police mistakenly thought he was driving a stolen vehicle. On Wednesday, the minor league baseball player spoke publicly about the shooting.

 

Tolan arrived at a southwest Houston church with his mother, father, attorneys and pastor. It was the first time he’s spoken to the Houston media. He talked about his injuries, having nightmares of that night and how he hopes his story will have an impact.

Tolan says he will never be the same again, physically or emotionally.

 

“I’m pretty messed up right now,” Tolan said. “I can’t do anything I’m use to doing.”

 

A bullet remains in his liver after the New Year’s Eve shooting. Just basic physical movement is a challenge, let alone something like baseball.

 

“My main concern right now is my health,” said Tolan. “I don’t even know that I’ll be able to play again.”

 

Tolan was applauded at times by members of the church as he spoke. The 23-year-old says he has replayed the night he was shot in his head again and again and asked why.

 

“Or the fact that I was black and lived in Bellaire,” he said.

 

Tolan says he is hopeful his story will be a catalyst for change. The case has received national attention and brought widespread discussion on allegations of racial profiling.

 

“I hate to play the race card but I mean that’s what it is,” said Tolan.

 

Tolan says he has nothing to say to the officer who shot him, but his mother has a definite idea of justice for that officer and the one who called for backup.

 

“I want them to go to jail,” said Marian Tolan.

 

The Tolans say they never expected to be placed in the spotlight, but now that they are, they hope something will come out of it.

 

“It is my prayer that God uses Robbie and uses his case to make real changes,” said Marian.

 

City says to stay silent?

 

Robbie Tolan’s attorney told reporters that he received a letter from the city of Bellaire that tried to silence them about the case.

 

“They have threatened us by telling us that we should not be talking publicly about this case,” said attorney David Berg. “I cannot tell you how adamant the law firms and the Tolan family who are involved in this case are in speaking truth to power and telling the truth about what happened in Bellaire December 31 to Robbie Tolan.”

 

One church member who is not a resident of Bellaire called on the Bellaire mayor to resign. Robbie responded by saying he would like to see her step down. The mayor was not available for response Wednesday.

      

(Copyright ©2009 KTRK-TV/DT)

 

SOURCE:  http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6665128

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: BLACK HEROINES, PART 8: SOLITUDE: HEROINE AND MARTYR OF THE GREAT 1802 REBELLION

She was about eight years old when her mother faded out of her life forever. We know very little about the years that passed before this orphan would defiantly call herself: Solitude. . . .

 

****************

 

November 20, 1802: Basse-Terre, capital of Guadeloupe, French West Indies. The island had just suffered one of the most formidable black uprisings the New World had ever known. A few months earlier, three hundred rebels led by the Mulatto Louis Delgres, leader of the Armies of the Republic, had blown themselves up in small mountain fortress, thus ending the slave rebellion of Guadeloupe. Many women and children stood with them in that final sacrifice. They had stayed true to their slogan: “Freedom or death.”

 

Most of them were torn apart by the blast. The others died strung up on Constantin Hill, in the heights of Basse-Terre, and their bodies exposed to wind and rain “for all eternity,” in accordance with the ill justice dealt at the time.

 

But one of the greatest heroines of the revolution was temporarily pardoned. Given that the child in her womb was the property of her slave owner, her execution was rescheduled to the day after the birth.

 

She gave birth on November 28, 1802, and on the morning of the following day, the doors of the jail opened on an old woman no one recognized, not even those who had known her a few months earlier in the glory of her youth. Her skin furrowed to the bone, her hair whitened and shining in the sun, she stepped forward peacefully between two rows of spectators, while maternity’s milk slowly stained her night shirt: yet she was only thirty years old.

 

We know few things, very few things, about the origins of Solitude, the woman from Guadeloupe.

 

 

MAP OF GUADELOUPE ARCHIPELAGO

 

 

It seems that she was the fruit of a forced union that took place on a slave ship, between a French sailor and African woman being taken to the Americas. This forced conception, brief and violent, on some ship rolling in the middle of the ocean, is in many ways a perfect picture of the fate of Solitude, the mulatto girl.

 

No one knew when the strange name came to be hers, when it settled on her face like an emblematic mask. No slave sale certificate made note of it. It only appeared toward the very end, upon the writ condeming her to death.

 

She was about eight years old when her mother faded out of her life forever. We know very little about the years that passed before this orphan would defiantly call herself: Solitude. . . .

Under slavery, the mixing of the races often produced human beings of “imprecise” ancestry, beings torn between Africa and Europe and finding no succor on this earth. Very often, those of mixed race came to choose the side of the masters because the latter offered a few breadcrumbs and some dignity. Often, pulled apart by difficult options, they allied themselves with madness and death. But some, more numerous than is often mentioned, returned to the black part of their being, and advanced to the first ranks in the struggle for freedom. Such was the case in Guadeloupe. Such was the case among the main actors of the 1802 tragedy, which included such mulattoes as Delgres, Ignace, Massoteau; and such was the case for Solitude.

According to an old Brazilian proverb, the mulatto hangs the portrait of his father in the living room and that of his black mother in the kitchen.

Much is left to the imagination as to what led this child of rape, this “little yellow girl,” as mixed children used to be called, to take the side of her old African mother.

The Maroons’ settlement at La Goyave was made up exclusively of Bossales, who were also called saltwater blacks. They had come directly from Africa, unlike the island-born sweet water blacks. Solitude lived a few radiant months there. Her body, marked by long years of hardship, came back to life. She shivered in the wind to the African chants of her companions. She pierced the sun, they say, with the grace of a cane arrow. Then, on February 3, 1798, the troops of General Desfourneaux captured the La Goyave settlement and exterminated its leaders. The young woman became the leader of the survivors, taking her first steps into legend. Her small band made a noise over all of Guadeloupe. So she wandered, hunted by French troops and black militias, until Consul Napolean Bonaparte came to power. Napolean had his mind set on officially re-establishing slavery. A large fleet dropped anchor on May 5, 1802, in the waters off of Pointe-a-Pitre, in order to enforce that decree.

 

In 1793, a slave rebellion started, which made the upper classes turn to the British and ask them to occupy the island. In an effort to take advantage of the chaos ensuing from the French Revolution, Britain attempted to seize Guadeloupe in 1794 and held it from April 21 to June 2. The French retook the island under the command of Victor Hugues, who succeeded in freeing the slaves. They revolted and turned on the slave-owners who controlled the sugar plantations, but when American interests were threatened, Napoleon Bonaparte sent a force to suppress the rebels and reinstitute slavery. On May 20, 1802, slavery and the slave trade were reimposed there.

 

Almost all at once, black Guadeloupe was on fire. Solitude was at that point expecting the child of a Congo, an African who did not know two words of Creole but who brought her all the tenderness of the world. The joy from her belly reached her eyes and gave her the soft skin of a pretty filly dancing in the sun. At the sounds of the cannons, however, she pushed herself and her belly into the heart of the battles at Dole, Trou-aux-chiens, Fond-Bananier, and Capesterre. From victory to victory, and then from setback to setback, she pushed herself and her womb all the way up into the mountains before the final defeat. It is on that mountain, on the terrace of the Danglemont Plantation, that the Commandant Delgres decided that he and the last of the insurgents would blow themselves up by lighting a barrel of gunpowder with his pipe as the French troops charged in. The group of revolutionary soldiers killed themselves on the slopes of the Matouba volcano when it became obvious that the invading troops would take control of the island. The occupation force killed approximately 10,000 Guadeloupeans in the process of re-taking the island from the rebels.

 

Among the entangled bodies, Solitude, the Mulatresse, was picked up and carried to the Basse-Terre prison, which she left, with a halo of white hair, on November 29, 1802, after giving birth. Solitude was hanged by her enslavers, who would not murder her until she after she was delivered of a little child destined to be slave material for another slave master.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

After her death, a shroud of silence fell over the fate of Solitude. Up until the 1960s, no street, no alley in Guadeloupe had yet been named for her. Her name had not even been given to any ship, as had her companion, Commander Delgres; this ship now comes and goes twice a week between Pointe-a-Pitre and the island of Saint-Barthelemy, ferrying cattle.

 

Today, the souls of these other heroes may be at rest. Their names are on the lips of everyone and their stories are known by small children. Ignace, Massoteau, and Delgres have attained eternal life as the stuff of folklore.

 

As for Solitude, not only does her name now grace squares and avenues in Guadeloupe but she has also become a poem, a song, a library, and a museum room. She has even transformed herself into a very beautiful tune, played on country drums straight from Africa, whose sound she heard when she was still alive, when her companions, the maroons of La Goyave, played. . . .

 

General Dessalines honored the black heroes of Guadeloupe with the following lines from a letter he wrote. These lines testify to the solidarity and interaction between the revolutions in Haiti and Guadeloupe, a fact documented by Henri Bangou in his Histoire de la Guadeloupe:

 

 

“Wrecked and devastated Guadeloupe; its ruins are still smokng with the blood of children, women, and old men, felled by the sword; Pelage himself a victim of their tricks, after having cowardly betrayed his country and his brothers, the brave, immortal Delgresse was spirited away into the air along with the debris of his fort rather than accept the chains. Magnanimous warrior, your noble death, far from astonishing our courage, will merely tease the thirst in us to avenge or follow you.”

 

 

“““““““““

 

 

Slave uprisings occurred throughout the islands, though many would-be revolt leaders were caught before rebellions could begin. The dates below list some of the larger rebellions that were staged from 1735 to 1835. But on islands that had held slaves since the earliest days of colonization, such as Barbados, a majority of slave revolts usually occurred before these dates.

 

Island	Year	About the Event
Antigua	1735	Conspiracy involving blacks and mulattoes around the island.
	1831	Thousands of slaves rose up, committing arson and rioting.
Bahamas (Exuma)	1830	Several slaves rose up.
Bahamas (Exuma, Eleuthera, Cat Island)	1832-1834	Widespread rebellion where hundreds of slaves rose up together.
Barbados	1816	Bussa’s rebellion took place, involving thousands of slaves.
Cuba	1805	Slave rebellion recorded.
	1809	Hundreds rose up in many provinces and in Havana.
	1825	Hundreds of slaves rose up in Matanzas.
	1826	Several slaves rebelled in Guira.
	1830-1831	Several coffee estate slaves rebelled.
	1833	A few sugar estate slaves revolted.
Curaçao	1795	Slaves led by Tula and Carpata rose up by the thousands.
Dominica	1785-1790	Dominica’s First Maroon War took place.
	1791	A rebellion on New Year’s Day in which hundreds of windward slaves rebelled.
	1795	The Colihaut uprising involved hundreds of slaves.
	1802	Hundreds are involved in the mutiny of the Eighth West Indian Regiment.
	1809-1814	Thousands take part in Dominica’s Second Maroon War.
Grenada	1765	Maroons encourage and participate in a revolt of hundreds.
	1795	Fedon’s Rebellion, involving both freed men and slaves, takes thousands.
Guadeloupe	1737	Hundreds are involved in the Revolt of Latulipe.
	1789	The French Revolution causes an uprising of thousands.
Hispaniola (French)	1752-1758	Mackandal unites the Maroons, and hundreds fight.
	1791	Thousands rebel during the French Revolution.
Jamaica	1742	Dozens of Coromantees in St. Ann’s Parish conspire to revolt.
	1745	Hundreds of Africans plan a revolt in St. David’s.
	1760	Tacky’s Rebellion.
	1765	Coromantees in St. Mary’s rebel.
	1766	Westmorland slaves revolt.
	1776	Africans and Creoles in Hanover Parish plan a large rebellion.
	1791	Many rebellions in the year following the Haitian revolt.
	1795	Jamaica’s Second Maroon War.
	1806	Several slaves in St. George’s Parish caught planning a rebellion.
	1808	Mutiny of the Second West Indian Regiment.
	1815	Under Ibos, hundreds of slaves rebel.
	1822-1824	Unrest in Hanover is widespread, and hundreds rebel.
	1831-1832	The”Baptist War” takes place on Christmas when thousands rise up.
Marie Galante (Guadeloupe)	1789	During the French Revolution, many rise up.
Martinique	1752	Rebellion.
	1789-1792	Thousands rebelled during the French Revolution.
	1822	Rebellion.
	1833	Rebellion.
Montserrat	1768	Many planned a rebellion.
	1776	Rebellion.
Nevis	1776	Rebellion.
St. Kitts	1778	Some planned to rebel on the island.
St. Lucia	1795	Brigands War.
St. Vincent	1769-1773	The Black Carib (mixed escaped slaves and Caribs) fought the First Carib war.
Tobago	1770	Revolt in Courland Bay.
	1771	Rebellion in Bloody Bay.
	1774	Queen’s Bay rebellion.
	1801	Creoles planned a Christmas rebellion.
	1807	Hundreds of slaves marched on the Government House.
Tortola (British Virgin Islands)	1790	Hundreds revolt on Pickering’s estates.
	1823	Hundreds revolt on Pickering’s estates again.
	1830	Hundreds of Lettsome slaves revolt.
	1831	A plot involves slaves across the whole island.
Trinidad	1805	Hundreds of French slaves plot a revolt.

 

SOURCE:

“BREAKING FREE: SLAVE REBELLIONS OF THE CARIBBEAN”: http://caribbean-guide.info/past.and.present/history/slave.rebellion/

 

REFERENCES:

 

“In Praise of Black Women: Black Heroines of the Slavery Era,” by Simone Schwarz-Bart.

 

“Reines d’Afrique et héroïnes de la diaspora noire. (Queens of Africa and
Heroines of the Diaspora)” By Sylvia Serbin – Publishers: Editions Sépia, Paris,
2005

 

 

RELATED LINKS:

 

BLACK HISTORY MONTH (UNITED KINGDOM):  http://www.black-history-month.co.uk/

ON THIS DAY IN BLACK MUSIC HISTORY: FEBRUARY 17

#1 Song 1962:   “Duke of Earl,” Gene Chandler & the Dukays

Born:   Orville “Hoppy” Jones (the Ink Spots), 1905; Tommy Edwards, 1922; Bobby Lewis, 1933; Mickey McGill (the Dells), 1937

*************************************************************************************

 

1958   The Drifters, the Silhouettes, and the Dubs appeared at Houston’s Municipal Auditorium for their Teenage Record Hop.

1958   Little Richard’s “Good Golly Miss Molly” charted, reaching #10 pop and #4 R&B. It was Richard’s fourteenth and last R&B Top 10 smash. Richard’s piano introduction was inspired by the late Jackie Brenston’s 1951 R&B hit, “Rocket 88,” which many historians consider the first rock ‘n’ roll record.

1958   The Monotones’ classic rocker “Book of Love” (Mascot $225) was released.

1958   Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little 16” charted on its way to #2 pop.

1961   Brook Benton headlined at the Apollo Theater in New York City. Aretha Franklin, a newcomer to R&B, was the opening act.

1962   The Platters charted with “It’s Magic,” reaching only #91 pop, while becoming their last of thirty-five hits on the Top 100 while with Mercury Records. At the same time, the group toured Poland, becoming the first American vocal group to perform behind the Iron Curtain without a government subsidy. Nate Nelson, former lead of the Flamingos, also joined the group, who stated they would not perform in Atlanta, GA, until audiences became desegregated.

1973   The Jackson 5 charted with “Doctor My Eyes,” reaching #9. The song was a cover of the Jackson Browne hit but was never issued in America.

Jackson 5:

The Jackson Five comprised five brothers: Jermaine Jackson (b. Jermaine LaJuane Jackson, 11 December 1954, Gary, Indiana, USA); Tito Jackson (b. Toriano Adaryll Jackson, 15 October 1953, Gary, Indiana, USA); Michael Jackson (b. 29 August 1958, Gary, Indiana, USA); Marlon Jackson (b. 12 March 1957, Gary, Indiana, USA) ; Jackie Jackson (b. Sigmund Esco Jackson, 4 May 1951, Gary, Indiana, USA).

 

SOURCE

1980   Muddy Waters won his sixth Grammy in nine years; all were in the same category: Best Ethnic & Traditional Recording.

1990   Actress/singer/rapper Queen Latifah made her chart debut with “Ladies First,” reaching #64 R&B. Through 1998, she would manage to hit the chart fifteen times, though she was spending more time acting in films than recording.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: BLACK HEROINES, PART 7: ZABETH: THE ETERNAL MAROON

Forever on her own, she escaped, alone, she was taken again, by herself, she knew the chains, the spiked collar, the red-hot poker, the leg irons, and the crown. . . .

 

 

****************

 

 

“She died at the age of twenty, within the walls of the fort sugar mill in Leogane, a western province in present-day Haiti. Only a bit of her first name is known: Zabeth. No one knew whose womb pushed her into this world. No ritual marks on her body divulged whether she came from Africa as a child or whether she was born a Creole. The only mark on her was a fleur-de-lis on her left cheekbone.

She spoke a simple language some have called “banana talk.” Just as the other sweet water enslaves, she did not have a saltwater accent. Her skin was very dark, but nothing in the proud way she held her head or in her broad lips and her round dreamy eyes, lalowed one to pin her down to one area in Africa. The only hint as to her origins is a Mandingo song she probably learned from her mother, which she sang under very specific and difficult circumstances: the chain, the collar, the red-hot poker, the leg irons, or the crown.”

Here are the first words of the song, adapted from an old Spanish translation:

But let me be, Dear Dyambere!

In a long robe you have dressed yourself,

Let me sing about the birds,

The birds that listen to a princess as she goes away

The birds that gather up the last of her secrets.

 

Zabeth was about tens years old when she went missing for the first time. She belonged to the group of children used in the fields to take care of minor tasks appropriate for their size and age.

One can be astonished by the fact that she was sent to the fields so early (if they know nothing of the history of race-based slavery), but, she was sent out to work at such an early age because she was a slave, whether she would have been put in the fields, or put in the slave master’s house. She was probably judged inadequate for house work, if one goes by a report that describes her as a “thief and a Maroon from an early age” (Letter from Parison, manager of the fort sugar mill to its owner, Madame Galbot, March 6, 1768). Then again, as to the theft accusation, it would not be theft to take food that you needed for your body when all the while a theiving hateful slave master was committing theft against you as a slave. Filling one’s body up with sustenance would not qualify as theft, even for one so young as Zabeth, when all around you, slave masters and slave mistresses were the world’s biggest and most filthiest of thieves.

But, I digress.

Later that evening, Zabeth was found asleep in a thicket. She was taken to the sugar mill’s hospital, or rather to the place used as an infirmary, a prison, and an orphanage. The child was released the next day with a kind word, which showed how little attention was paid to this incident. Barely back into the fields, she slid between two ridges of soil, before disappearing for the second time in forty-eight hours.

A week later, she was found wandering in the woods. She was brought back by the scruff of her neck, like a wet kitten, hanging by her hair from an overseer’s fist. The overseer threw her at the feet of Madame Parison. Zabeth pleaded with him. He told the slave mistress not to listern to Zabeth’s pleas, as she had been “eaten by the rash”—the rash of rebelling and escaping—the Maroon rash. Madame Parison could not understand why little Zabeth wanted to run away, as she like so many slave owners thought that their good and kind treatment of enslaves should make a slave happy and contented with their lot in life, and could not comprehend why an enslave would want to escape such a life. The overseer is said to have stated, “Don’t ask why, just use the whip.”

Because of lack of evidence, it isdifficult to establish the various steps Zabeth took from her first infantile escapades to reach her final escape, the one that took her definitively out of her master’s reach.

“After a few years of silence, her traces reappeared during the 1770 earthquake that turned Port-au-Prince and all the villages of the western province to shambles. Zabeth had been shackled to a mill, behind a couple of mules that were pulling the central wheel. Then the catclysm broke apart the walls, freeing her chains from their moorings. She ran away trailing the iron shackles that she somehow managed—no one knows—to rid herself of in the woods. She was only found six months later. She had been living off the goods from nearby plantations, snatching them in the night: a hen here, a  goat there. Until then, she had only been known for escapdes. But six months of absence made her liable to be judged and punished by the tribunal of Port-au-Prince, which condemned her to a public whipping to the sound of a brass band. Six months later, to the day, Zabeth was back at the fort sugar mill.

It seems strange that she never thought of joining a group of  Maroons who survived, here and there, between the mountains and the sea, in the French part of Santo Domingo (Haiti).

The answer to that question is a mystery.

Zabeth always escaped alone and was always alone each time she was caught. She knew the chains, the collar, the red-hot poker, the legs irons, all on her own.

For a long time, they tried to make Zabeth a mother, hoping to create a tie to cement her to her chains. She resisted with all her might and threatened the men with the most bitter vengeance. Her young body was already battered, so the male slaves did not insist. One night, at Christmas, while eveyone on the plantation was busy singing carols, the overseer gave her to a group of slaves under the influence of rum and Zabeth became pregnant. She gave birth to a little boy and motherhood made her as supple and obedient as a glove.

The child grew up and Zabeth returned to her fieldwork. Because of the usual precautions, her feet were shackled, tying her to her son, who dragged himself behind her in the sun.

The child died at the age of six. . . .and in no time, Zabeth was back in the woods. Soon after she was brought back, she ran away again. The records of the notaries listed eighteen escape attempts. At the mill, she slid between the rolling stones, but they stopped the machine in time and she was back at the hospital, indifferent to her three missing fingers. More than ever, she sang this strange Mandingo song, a tune that seemed to pierce the very walls of the hutches and even the solid stone of the slave master’s big house. She was told to keep quiet but still she sang.

Later that night in the hospital, Zabeth sneaked out through a loose clapboard and ran away one last time. Although she had lost a lot of blood, she was chained to the mill where the mules were driven by the whip. The old Mandingo song rose up in the middle of the night with a slight, airy accent, so that the old saltwater blacks said that the woman was already on her way back, about to reach the banks of Africa:

But let me be, Dear Dyambere!

In a long robe you have dressed yourself,

Let me sing about the birds,

 

In the middle of the night, the song suddenly stopped, and Zabeth’s body was found trampled by the mules. A great many enslaves kept hearing that song float in the air, day after day, over the cane fields and the roof of the old mill, like a call sent to the most secret part of their being. . . .

And it was Zabeth’s song that they still heard a few years later, mingled with the booms of cannons, when the armed enslaves descended on Port-au-Prince. . . .”  (1-a)

REFERENCES:

1 (a).   “In Praise of Black Women: Heroines of the Slavery Era,”, by Simone Schwarz-Bart.

“Slave Resistence: A Revolution in Haiti“:  http://scholar.library.miami.edu/slaves/san_domingo_revolution/individual_essay/jason.html

 

 

“A CLASSIC STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF CARIBBEAN WOMEN:”  http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showpdf.php?id=23422

 

 

“LONDON, SUGAR, AND SLAVERY”:  http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/AboutUs/Newsroom/Archived07/LSSlavery.htm

 

 

 “EUROPEAN VOYAGES OF EXPLORATION: THE SUGAR AND SLAVE TRADES”:  http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/Trade.html

 

“WOMEN’S RESISTANCE: ENSLAVED BLACK CARIBBEAN WOMEN:”  http://scholar.library.miami.edu/slaves/womens_resistance/womens.html

 

 “THE ROOTS OF BLACK RADICALISM”:   http://www.ceao.ufba.br/fabrica/Sawyer1.pdf

1.

Slave Women in Caribbean Society, 1650-1838 by Barbara Bush (Paperback – Aug 1, 2008)

 (1)

 

2.

Women and Slavery in the French Antilles, 1635-1848 by Bernard Moitt (Paperback – Nov 15, 2001)

 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.

Ghosts of Slavery: A Literary Archaeology of Black Women’s Lives by Jenny Sharpe (Paperback – Jan 2003)

 

 

3.

Historical Study of Women in Jamaica, 1655-1844 (Caribbean History) by Lucille Mathurin Mair, Hilary McD Beckles, and Verene A. Shepherd (Paperback – Jan 31, 2007)