Time Has Come Again.
An honest, musical telling of the fight for Civil Rights and Economic Justice for all in America.
— dave.
◉ CROSS THAT RIVER (1851 LOUISIANA)
“Summertime“
@ The Pompano Beach Community Center
Pompano Beach, Florida
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (2015)
((( LISTEN )))
• THE BRIDGE (COMPLETE POMPANO BEACH PERFORMANCE)
Some call it Critical Race Theory,
Others call it The Truth. (History)
1920s — George Gershwin wrote the “PORGY AND BESS” aria (1934), telling the story of a crippled street-beggar struggling to survive on Catfish Row, a black tenement in 1920s Charleston, South Carolina. “Porgy and Bess” was based on real-life, Charleston resident, Samuel Smalls.
THE GULLAH, Free and Black in the South Carolina Lowlands.
Smalls was a poor man, but a Gullah, in a black community that since before the Civil War had lived free in the South Carolina Lowlands, and on the islands off the southern coast.
“Cries In The Night”
b/ /
((( LISTEN )))
photograph by william p. gottlieb
1939 — Billie Holiday (Lady Day)
The song (“Strange Fruit“) was written by Abel Meeropol, a white, Jewish school teacher in the Bronx. At first, Holiday was uncomfortable singing the lyrics, and often, in the beginning and until the end, wept during its performance.
Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America (Twin Palms). The photograph (above) is from a collection of James E. Allen, an Atlanta antique dealer, and John Littlefield, a software engineer. The collection had been on loan to the Special Collections Department of Emory University.
◉ SADLY, NOT SO “STRANGE FRUIT” / TRICKY REMIX (VERVE) 2002.
◉ THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1939)
b/ John Steinbeck
Moonrise
b/
Ansel Adams
((( LISTEN )))
“Moonrise” Hernandez, New Mexico (b/ Ansel Adams)
1941 — Moonrise Hernandez, New Mexico
b/ Ansel Adams
1945 — Cannery Row
b/ John Steinbeck
— unknown
1950 — The Rat Pack
1957 Hearing the story of The Little Rock Nine (the nine African American children who faced anger, discrimination, and white nationalists, after enrolling in the all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The first, and most notable, segregation of a public school after the Supreme Court’s historic Brown vs. the Board of Education decision),
Portrait Of Jazz
One day in what’s now called “The Golden Age Of Jazz,” a momentous gathering of musicians was preserved, and now stands as an important document in America’s musical history.
1958 — A Great Day in Harlem
A Great Day In Harlem b/ Art Kane (Esquire)
A Great Day in Harlem or Harlem 1958 is a black-and-white photograph of 57 jazz musicians in Harlem, New York, taken by freelance photographer Art Kane for Esquire magazine on August 12, 1958. The musicians gathered at 17 East 126th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenue. Esquire The photograph was published in Esquire’s January 1959 issue.
◉ CIVIL RIGHTS TIMELINE : (1947-1968)
1961 — Martin Luther King Jr.
The Voice for Freedom and Justice for All
THE FREEDOM RIDERS were Civil Rights Activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions [Morgan v. Virginia (1946) and Boynton v. Virginia (1960)] which had ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.
— Vg
UNTIL THEN, SOUTHERN STATES HAD IGNORED THE SUPREME COURT RULINGS.
and the federal government did nothing to enforce them
◉ 1961 — ALAN SHEPARD
MAY 5, 1961 — FIRST AMERICAN ASTRONAUT TO FLY (IN SPACE).
In so many ways, Martin Luther King Jr. and Alan Shepard were two different men. What they had so dramatically in common, were in both time and space. Both were taking important first steps into America’s future.
OriginalNoise.Org
May 1961 — Groups made up of young, white, often-Jewish Civil Rights activists and oppressed African Americans, rode Greyhound buses from New Jersey, south to New Orleans, throughout the South, and back north, up the Southeast coast, Ending in Washington D.C.
Along the way, the Freedom Riders were often met by violent white segregationists, including local law enforcement, showing their defiance of recent Supreme Court rulings against segregated public transportation.
◉ HARRIET TUBMAN (The Underground Railroad’s Engineer)
◉ HARRIET TUBMAN (Biography)
◉ FREEDOM RIDERS (The American Experience)
◉ LIVING COLOUR (“Back In The U.S.A.”)
◉ 1962 — JOHN GLENN
FEB. 20, 1962 — FRIENDSHIP 7 FIRST AMERICAN TO ORBIT EARTH.
◉ 1962 — A CRISIS IN CUBA (KEY WEST)
OCT. 16-29, 1962 — “13 DAYS” ON THE BRINK OF NUCLEAR ANNIHILATION
Thirteen Days (2000)
Matinee (1993)
◉ 1963 — MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
AUG. 28, 1963 — A PEACEFUL MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM
“I Have A Dream”
b/ Martin Luther King
The Funk Brothers (Motown)
((( LISTEN )))
— !
THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM.
August 28, 1963 — Two years after the first Freedom Ride, Martin Luther King Jr. led the Civil Rights Movement in The March On Washington For Jobs and Freedom.
At its end, King delivered his “I Have A Dream“ speech, in which, in addition to civil rights, he called for overall economic justice, and an end to racism in the United States.
September 15, 1963 — A bombing at the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, killed four young girls, and marked a turning point in the fight for civil rights.
Paul McCartney was inspired to write “Blackbird,” the song featured on The Beatles White Album.
Change Is Gonna Come
1964 — Sam Cooke “Change Is Gonna Come“
((( LISTEN )))
The Problem We All Live With — Norman Rockwell‘s painting is one of the most iconic Civil Rights Movement images. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African-American girl, on her way to William Frantz Elementary School, an all-white public school, November 14, 1960, during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis.
Because of threats of violence against her, she is escorted by four deputy U.S. marshals. On the wall behind her are written the racial slur “nigger“ and the letters “KKK,“ a smashed and splattered tomato thrown against the wall is also visible. The white protesters are not visible, as the viewer is looking at the scene from their point of view. The painting is oil on canvas and measures 36 inches (91 cm) high by 58 inches (150 cm) wide.
— studio
GREEN BOOK — Green Book builds a feel-good comedy atop an artifact of shameful segregation. Yikes … The movie is named after the early ’60s guides published for black travelers in America’s segregated South. But its spin is all Hollywood. — Vox.com
Allan Harris and Doug Wimbish bring African American history to honest life, using their musical talent to play their educational part in defending against the never ending, white supremacist attack on the Truth in America.
Allan Harris
Doug Wimbish
Playing for Truth and Racial Justice in Public Education.
21st Century Freedom Riders / Miami, Florida [January 2014]
Allan Harris (vocals/guitar)
Doug Wimbish (bass guitar)
Jesse Jones Jr. (alto saxophone)
Howard “Howie” Schneider (piano)
Keith Leblanc (drums)
“Change Is Gonna Come”
The 21st Century Freedom Riders @ WLRN Studio (Miami, Florida)
January 17, 2015 — Coincidentally, the day of Allan Harris and Doug Wimbish’s first performance together was Michelle Obama’s 50th birthday … a fact of which Allan Harris was well aware, and why he dedicating the show’s last tune to the First Lady.
Allan Harris / Doug Wimbish (21st Century Freedom Riders)
((( LISTEN )))
— dave.
Allan Harris and Doug Wimbish bringing the American story to musical life,
and playing their educational part in the fight for Truth in America.
Allan Harris & Doug Wimbish
21st Century Freedom Riders
Before the Art Deco Weekend performance, Allan and Doug played their first set together, that Thursday at WLRN (Miami PBS Radio) in Downtown Miami. Considering Martin Luther King Jr. Day fell during the weekend, they chose to include “The World is a Ghetto” and “Change is Gonna Come” in their first playing of “The Bridge.”
In attendance, was a small group (maybe 25) who already knew Allan, and expected a Nat King Cole-style set of straight-ahead jazz. Allan and the band delivered the jazz, but to everyone’s pleasant surprise, stretched out into what was the first performance of “The Bridge.”
Georgia Congressman John Lewis — On the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama (March 7, 1965), march organizer John Lewis, who himself was assaulted, re-visits the bridge and talks to Bob Schieffer on CBS’ Face the Nation.
“Eyes On The Prize”
b/ Mavis Staples We’ll Never Turn Back
LISTEN …
Spike Lee won his first Oscar at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. The iconic director was recognized in the category of best adapted screenplay for BlacKkKlansman. Lee honored American slaves in his speech and made a call to action for the 2020 presidential election.
In his acceptance speech, Lee didn’t shy away from politics. “Let’s all mobilize. Let’s all be on the right side of history,” he said. “Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing!”
The New York City filmmaker was previously nominated for two Oscars—Best Original Screenplay for Do the Right Thing and Best Documentary for 4 Little Girls. He was also nominated for Best Director.
A documentary series about the Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America originally aired on the PBS network (1987). Created and executive-produced by Henry Hampton at the film production company Blackside, and narrated by Julian Bond. The series uses archival footage, still photographs, and interviews of participants and opponents of the movement.
The title of the series, which is used to open each episode, is derived from the folk song “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.”
Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years 1954–1965 — chronicles the time period between the United States Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education (1954) to the Selma to Montgomery Marches of 1965. It consists of six episodes, which premiered on January 21, 1987 and concluded on February 25, 1987.
Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965–1985 — chronicles the time period between the national emergence of Malcolm X during 1964 to the 1983 election of Harold Washington as the first African-American mayor of Chicago. It consists of eight episodes, which aired on January 15, 1990 and ended on March 5, 1990.
MARCH 7, 1965 — In his historic effort to persuade the United States Congress to pass a bill securing voting rights for black Americans, Martin Luther King Jr. led a march (to Montgomery, Ala.) of thousands across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama. Upon crossing, King and his fellow activists were attacked by a hostile group of residents and Alabama State Troopers. The violent event became known as “BLOODY SUNDAY.”
• NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS MUSEUM
Selma, Alabama
As Georgia Congressman John Lewis, 50 Years Later, stood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, he told CBS’ Charlie Rose,
“I thought I was going to die on this bridge.”
Georgia Congressman John Lewis was a young man who had marched with Martin Luther King Jr. as an important part of the original Freedom Riders. He narrates this short video of his crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, and his being assaulted by Alabama State Troopers as he and the group reached the other side.
“I thought it would be my last demonstration.
I thought I was going to die.”
John Lewis and Civil Rights activists were met by violent Alabama State Troopers after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
— illustrations by Nate Powell from John Lewis’ (w/Andrew Aydin) graphic novel “March”
“Mississippi Goddamn”
LISTEN …
THE BRIDGE’s RACIST NAMESAKE
Edmund Winston Pettus (July 6, 1821 – July 27, 1907), was an American lawyer, soldier, and legislator, for which the Selma, Alabama bridge crossing the Alabama River is named. He served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, during which he was captured three times. After the war he was the Grand Wizard of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan, and was elected U.S. Senator. [READ MORE]
Two weeks after “Bloody Sunday” (March 21, 1965) Martin Luther King Jr. joined John Lewis and thousands of like-minded activists who successfully crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge and marched their way to the Alabama State Capitol Building in Montgomery.
Young and old, black and white, a diverse group of thousands participated in the Voting Rights march that was planned between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama.
Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of Voting Rights activists (including Georgia Congressman John Lewis, right) march toward the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
After announcing that Alabama Gov. George Wallace had forbidden the march, State Troopers deployed 40 canisters of tear gas, 12 cans of smoke, and eight cans of nausea gas, before striking the marchers and chasing them back across the bridge. That is now Georgia Congressman John Lewis in the foreground, being struck by one of the Alabama State Troopers.
A mother and child (Selma residents) watched as Martin Luther King Jr. and his Voting Rights protesters approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge crosses the Alabama River.
After signing the Voting Rights Act (August 6, 1965) U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Martin Luther King Jr. with the pen with which he had signed the document. [READ MORE]
“Abraham Martin and John”
b/ Marvin Gaye That’s The Way Love Is (1970)
(original) b/ Dion DiMucci, 1967
((play))
“I Can See Clearly Now”
Today, under white nationalist assault, Civil and Voting Rights have never needed advocates more. Those who believe in the democratic, American way of life. Those who care about more than themselves, who are willing to stand up and fight back, for the underprivileged, the overlooked, the lonely, and the forgotten. Resistance is not enough. FIGHT FOR TRUTH.
((play))
Juke Joint Improvisaton
[ LOOK TO SEE ]
Green Book
cont’d …