Behind the Scenes of an Unlikely Friendship
Thousands of fans mourned James Brown’s death in 2006. The iconic “Godfather of Soul” championed a musical career that spanned six decades and traversed genres of gospel, R&B, and of course, funk. But as 10,000 fans approached his lifeless body during the December 28th public viewing, a close friend, Al Sharpton, was especially devastated.
Not many people know that Al Sharpton, President of the National Action Network and MSNBC host was close friends with James Brown – both on and off camera. The friendship of a reverend and rockstar may seem unlikely to some, but here is snippet into their father-son dynamics.
There are conflicting reports with just how Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Brown first became acquainted. A 2006 report insists that the two were backstage and Sharpton was “so entranced by [Mr. Brown’s performance] that he accidentally followed him on stage.” Another account insists they met in 1973 following the death of Brown’s son, Teddy. Teddy was a part of Sharpton’s youth outreach organization at the time of his death by car accident. In response, Brown performed at a memorial concert and donated the proceeds to Sharpton’s organization. From this, Brown and Sharpton then developed a mentor-mentee or father-son relationship, “with Sharpton adopting Brown’s hairdo, his flamboyant style and even aspects of his radical politics.” Sharpton even joined Brown for some of his tours, traveling by bus through destinations and spending time with the famous singer when he wasn’t onstage.
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Though Sharpton was a part of Brown’s extended family, he still referred to James Brown as “Mr. Brown.” This was customary, however, since Brown insisted that everyone around him address each other using formal titles. The two exchanged career and family advice, with Sharpton even stepping in as mediator between disputes between Brown and his wife. Brown, in return, gave Sharpton advice on how to promote for his new organization, National Youth Movement, and even introduced Sharpton to his wife (who was a backup singer from Brown at the time of meeting). Eventually, Sharpton would use his advocacy to protest Brown’s criminal proceeding including organizing a press conference and participating in a protest. Prison wardens would allow Sharpton to visit Brown in prison, even when the family was not permitted.
Brown and Sharpton’s bond is a reminder of the father-son, mentor-mentee, and brother-to-brother relationships that are so important to our community. Though they may have been an unlikely pair to some, their strengths complemented one another and their bond was unshatterable. Rest in Power, James Brown.
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Praised by Ava DuVernay as “ahead of her time,” and acknowledged by Beyhive fans as the (unofficial) influence to Beyonce’s “Lemonade,” Julie Dash’s 1991 film – Daughters of the Dust – is long overdue for the widespread attention it deserves.
Set in the early 1900s, Daughters of the Dust, is an independently directed and produced film portraying three generations of Gullah women as they move through life’s transitions and transformations.
The film tells the story of the Peazant family, who as descendants of slaves, sought refuge off the coast of South Carolina. Though the work earned director Julie Dash the honor as the first African-American female director to achieve nationwide theatrical distribution, Dash struggled to gain traction for projects since, with one agency even telling her that she “had no future.”
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Some say that she was ahead of her time: that if produced today, alongside the likes of Queen Sugar, Underground, Selma, and even the remake of Roots, Daughters of the Dust would have (and should have) garnered the attention and follow-up that it truly deserved.
While studying at UCLA’s film school, Dash became part of a group of Black independent filmmakers called the L.A. Rebellion. The group resisted commercialization of the films, rather deciding to focus on raw realities and creating artistic products “influenced by avant-garde, Latin America, African and Russian cinema.”
To Dash, the Sea Islands in Gullah that are depicted in Daughters of the Dust, represent our very own “Ellis Island:” a place of port and departure where we can reconnect with our heritage and authentic truth.
While some may have criticized Beyonce’s Lemonade for using such a direct influence, Dash viewed the comparisons as “natural….a continuum of song, of manner, [and] motor habits that went undercover for a while because everyone was trying to integrate and be part of the melting pot…you don’t need to be in the melting pot. Why melt?”
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Dash affirmatively told the story of a culture not often discussed and during a time when Hollywood wasn’t quite ready to hear. In 2016, Daughters of the Dust was re-released by Cohen Media Group but still garnered only $41,000. But it’s still not too late to support this iconic telling of our history.
D.C. Wilson
The post The Ava DuVernay of Years Past appeared first on PushBlack.
It is not uncommon to hear pundits talk about Black voters’ unfaltering loyalty to the Democratic party, regarding the Black vote for Democrats as an inevitability. Indeed, for the past few presidential races, 90% of Black voters have chosen the Democratic candidate.
However, 100 years ago Black voters had this same loyalty for the the Republican Party. Even as recent as the 1960’s, only two-thirds of Black voters identified as Democrats. So why did this party shift occur?
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According to some political scientists, Barry Goldwater happened. Goldwater, the Republican nominee in the 1964 presidential race, is considered the forefather of the Tea Party movement.
Goldwater opposed the passage of the Civil Rights Act, which appealed to Southern White segregationists, and ushered in a conservative movement that overtook the Republican party. Black voters, in turn, realizing the Party of Lincoln had become hostile to them, did not take long to switch parties.E
Even today, Black Americans have switched towards the Republican party for various reasons. Just last year, two students relaunched Howard University’s student Republican Chapter. And, the infamous Ben Carson was once a Democrat, back in the day. While jobs, the economy, education reform and criminal justice policy remain hot topics on the political debate floor, upcoming state elections over the next two years could have an impact on the temperature of our Congress. Let’s know the facts and vote in favor of policies most beneficial to our community, taken at more than just face value.
PushBlack fam, it is important that we keep this in mind in our fight to hold our politicians accountable and ensure that our votes are not taken for granted. Party lines do not necessarily determine community support. And while tradition may call for support, present records should be the ultimate, defining factor.
Via NPR.org
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The post Why Did Black Voters Flee The Republican Party In The 1960s? appeared first on PushBlack.
There is a lot of power in a name, which is why this news was exciting for many.
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In October 2017, The U.S. Board of Geographic Names officially renamed Negro Bill Canyon to Grandstaff Canyon in Moab, Utah. The canyon is named after William Grandstaff, a Black rancher and prospector.
William Grandstaff claimed the canyon in 1877 to mine for ores. Due to his involvement in the local saloon and nomination as a constable in the local election, it was clear that he was well-liked. However, after being accused of smuggling whiskey to Native Americans, he was forced to give up his canyon.
Because he was Black, he assumed that he would be found guilty, so he fled from his home, spending the rest of his days in Colorado. His death was honored on the front page of the Glenwood Spring Post and the Avalanche Echo.
The name change has been a long time coming. It was originally named “Nigger Bill Canyon” in the 1800s. After years of having a blatantly racist name, in the 1960s, the canyon’s name was changed to Negro Bill Canyon. After this change, a proposal was put forward three times in 1999, 2013 and 2015 to change the name from Negro Bill Canyon to something that justly honors the rancher.
While many welcomed the recent name change, some claimed it was unnecessary. The NAACP felt that the name didn’t need to be changed because it wasn’t offensive. A Moab resident felt that changing the name hides history, but the Utah Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission said that the name was “blatant racism.”
“Negro Bill,” or the even worse, “Nigger Bill” doesn’t honor him. It, in fact, is backhanded and disrespectful. Preserving history is possible without preserving racism.
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Dick Gregory’s comedic style was unmatched.
Starting out as a stand-up comic, his existence as a Black man in America during the turbulent 1960's propelled him to also dedicate his life to working for the liberation of Black people.
He passed away Saturday August 19, 2017 at age 84.
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Before hitting it big, though, Gregory started as all Black comedians did, in the Chitlin Circuit- small venues in the South, East, and Midwest which were safe for Black performers and audiences during the era of racial segregation.
Gregory jumped into the mainstream when he was booked by Hugh Hefner to perform at Chicago's Playboy Club seven nights a week- replacing a white comedian who wasn’t up to the task. Gregory had seemingly endless material and became the first Black comic to perform in white clubs.
"When I started, a black comic couldn't work a white nightclub. You could sing, you could dance, but you couldn't stand flat-footed and talk — then the system would know how brilliant black folks was," Gregory recalled in a 2016 interview.
He went on to receive a profile in Time magazine and an offer to perform on The Tonight Show. Unimpressed with merely telling jokes on the show, he refused to perform unless he could be interviewed by host Jack Paar after completing his routine- something a Black performer had never done.
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After the tonight show appearance, his salary jumped from $35 per night at the Playboy Club to $5,000 per night.
In the 60's and 70's Gregory appeared on all the the major TV talk shows. His humor was shocking, considering the social climate of the time: "Segregation is not all bad. Have you ever heard of a collision where the people in the back of the bus got hurt?"
Unlike many of our people who reach mainstream success, Gregory maintained a strong connection to his community. He befriended both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. He worked with Medgar Evers on a voter-registration rally. He marched in Selma and was shot in the Watts riots. And that's not even half of it.
Gregory even ran for president in 1968, achieving 47,000 write-in votes.
Despite how large he got, Dick Gregory always remembered to give credit to the Black community for being his main source of support throughout his career.
Even in his final years he could be found around the country and on YouTube with a stack of newspaper clippings calling attention to issues affecting the Black community- putting a comedic twist on it that only he could.
The goal of many entrepreneurs is to grow such a large customer base and generate an upward trend of returns such that their company is acquired by a larger company. But at what cost? Natural hair care lines that were once remarkably successful within communities of color have transitioned to corporate (read: White) ownership, leaving the consumer to wonder who is truly targeted for and benefitting from the product.
Carol’s Daughter, founded by Lisa Price, was created in a Black woman’s kitchen. To many of us, it represented a brand name success story to the homemade concoctions passed down from our grandmothers and mothers alike.
Though the product line experienced initial success, tension over marketing strategies that transitioned to focus on the “mainstream,” “polyethnic space,” or a definition of beauty [that] is now colorless,” impacted the bottom line between 2010 and 2011. But through a series of press interviews and celebrity influencers, including Jada Pinkett-Smith, Carol’s Daughter was able to bounce back and has now been acquired by L’Oreal.
Morgan Jenkins, the author of “The Whitewashing of Natural Hair Care Lines,” reported on Raquel Savage’s experience at a recent hair expo. According to Jenkins, Savage felt a “dilution of Blackness” and drew concern from Carol’s Daughter sales reps who said, “the textures that work best for these hair [products] are curly to wavy to very curly, as opposed to saying it’s for ethnic and women of color.”
“The transformation of marketing natural hair care lines is a strong testament to what Black consumers gain and lose when their beloved products became [sic] a part of larger corporations – ‘mainstream’ can be a loose euphemism to erase Blackness altogether.”
To Jenkins, her experience at the expo demonstrated a shift from the company’s original narrative and she wasn’t pleased.
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But even if there was no measurable change in marketing strategies, this wouldn’t be the first – or last – time that a Black-owned company was accused of potentially “selling-out.” In 2010, Madame Noire reported on “7 Businesses that went from Black-owned to Corporate,” with notable brands like Rocawear, Phat Fashions, and Soft Sheen making the list. Additionally, News One has reported on “Top 10 Things You Thought Were Black-Owned But Aren’t,” including BET and Mark Ecko.
But is casting a wider net really a problem? Some Black entrepreneurs insist that Black people don’t buy their products, or enough of them. But with Black buying power set to reach $1.7 trillion by 2017, we wonder if a wider appeal is truly necessary for our Black-owned companies.
Attempts for Black-centric marketplaces have tried and failed, while others have sought to shift focus from products-based to service-based r in hopes of maximizing our buying power. Though no single formula exists, PushBlack encourages its family to make ardent efforts to buy Black when possible: supporting Black-owned businesses, organizations, and professionals so to build a collective empire.
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