DaPhunkeeProfessor.com

Aesthetics & Metaphysics: The Soul Music Crossroad

2018-11-27T08:47:00.000-05:00

While sitting down to a meal of fried chicken, greens, mac and cheese and green beans at an eatery in Winston - Salem, NC, I was informed, "It's only called soul food above Virginia. For us, it's just traditional cooking." I thought about how true this was, as the only spots that called themselves "Soul Food" restaurants in the south, did so to attract out-of-towners, and the locals usually scoffed at their fair. In the music industry, "Soul" became that moniker of pride for music coming from the Black experience. Understanding that the Black American experience is one of mixed influences and the music reflects that as well. Soul is largely shaped by syncopation and chord voicing, which is how the squarest of songs can become soul songs. For example, Al Greene's version of "Unchained Melody" verses the traditional rendition. The influence of the West African and Native American harmonic and melodic constructs had a profound impact of the music of European Americans, particularly the folk forms. In traditional European music, it is musically illegal for a Five chord to be followed by a Four chord; which is the turn around of your standard 12 - bar blues. A chord progression that is rather common to Blue-Grass/ Roots / Folk music is this: I - V - I - IV - I - IV - V - I - vi - IV - V - I - IV - I :|| Curiously enough this same progression can be found in music of Senegalese extraction. The construct of the 32-bar ballad can also be found with in the Congolese song forms, which also appears in the Latin American form, the bolero.

African American music is essentially what happens when African harmonies and rhythms meet Native American melodies, and European instruments. The 12 tones of the post Pythagorean theorem that we know as the chromatic scale allowed us a means of charting these complex harmonic structures. We also have to remember that the precursor to Country, which was called "Hill Billy" was one of the original forms to have hit records that were written by Black Blues artists. For example, "Careless Love" became a Hill Billy/ Folk standard, but was written by WC Handy. The voices of our ancestors crept back into the music through the jazz players, the unadulterated channels of the J Mood. In the music industry, the jazz payers have been the ones at the heart and soul of the backing music for almost all pop music. For Motown, Stax, Atlantic, Chess and all of your foundation boutique Pop and Soul record labels were a team of jazz trained players who could flex r&b, pop, rock, and soul at the drop of a hat. In the south, it was the country players who could flip over and play some Country/Hill Billy Soul and Gospel in a wink. As a result you have the southern soul sound (Muscle Shoals, Memphis, Georgia) and the northern soul (Stax, Motown, Atlantic). Northern soul was also interwoven with Caribbean influences, both Afro- Latin and West Indian. Case in point, the calypso and Bossa Nova overtones found in Jackie Wilson and various Motown recordings.

This northern and southern line finds it's way across the various decades to the extent that the hip-hop of the southern region very much maintains the percussion and bass patterns of traditional southern soul, including the use of 6/8 time signatures super imposed over 4/4. The difference being that the new sound is a drum machine instead of a drummer. On the other hand, norther hip-hop is more inclusive of African hand percussion carrying the counter-points.

"We Remain Sovereign" The ZYG 808 Delivers Keynote Speech for MassDOT Native American Heritage Month

2018-11-26T08:08:00.000-05:00

Grammy nominated Hip-Hop Jazz artist and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Member, The ZYG 808 Delivered the keynote speech and performed for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's Native American Heritage Luncheon.

BOSTON, MA| A large meeting room full of MassDOT employees and members of the general public gathered for the Native American Heritage Month Luncheon and Presentation at the DOT building in Downtown Boston, last Monday, November 19, 2018. This years keynote speaker: 15 year-old, Grammy nominated hip-hop jazz, The ZYG 808. 

In his presentation, entitled "We Remain Sovereign", he addressed the gathering with the following words:

 What's Good?

 …………… 

A curiosity with words, language and the oral tradition is something that my family has maintained in various forms for many generations.

 The word "Sovereignty" -According to the Oxford Dictionary- means, "…supreme power or authority; or the authority of a state to govern itself..." Free will is a form of sovereignty, where you have the freedom to make choices of both actions and words.

 My traditional name is Ahanamasq, which translates to "Laughing Bear". Having a traditional name is a type of sovereignty; considering that we had names forced upon us by he colonists and subsequent governments.

 However, with the rights of sovereignty and free will also come responsibilities. The question for a person or government exercising sovereignty is this: ·

- Are you ready, able and willing to accept responsibility for and the consequences of your actions? 

- Are willing to verse yourself and your leadership in the ways of good governance? 

- Are you ready, able and willing to address the needs and concerns of the people you govern and those affected by your actions with temperance and equity?

 The Mashpee Wampanoag are a sovereign people, and for some of us that sense of sovereignty pre-dates being granted Federal Recognition by the US government.

It's a sense that is reflected when we maintain and practice our social traditions.

 For example

- Our sovereignty is reflected in the efforts of my elder Jessie Little Doe Baird in reintroducing our language to our people; 

- Our sovereignty is present in the work of my elders Gail Hendricks-Hill, Carla Riley, Marl Perry, Vonnie Brown, my father, and Joan Avant who provide a solid and culturally enriching education for upcoming generations. ·

- Our sovereignty can be found in the efforts of my father and cousins to revive and preserve our Ahanaheenunor "Sacred Clown" practices; ·

- Our sovereignty is seen when elders like Vernon "Buddy" Pocknett, Ralph Hendricks, and Courtney Mills to preserve and continue our hunting and fishing traditions; ·

- We remain sovereign because elders like John "Jim" Peters, and Hartman Deetz lead by example on the front lines in standing up for our rights. ·

- We are sovereign because of the efforts of Robert Peters, Annawon Weeden, and Russell Peters Jr, in preserving and teaching younger generations how to build our traditional dwellings.

- Our sovereignty lives in the work of Martin "Bruzzy" Hendricks, Chiefy Mills, Brian Weeden, Keon Jackson, the Wakeby Lake Drum, the Native Suns Drum, and Crystal Maddox in seeing that our traditional songs and dances are passed on to upcoming generations.

However, there remain some people who labor to keep tribes and nations like the Mashpee Wampanoag socially, politically and economically disenfranchised. These are the same people who maintain and re-introduce the Anti-Native sentiments of Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln.

 These are the same people who feel it is better to jeopardize the water supply of the people of Standing Rock with a leaky oil pipe line then run the pipeline through a golf course; or feel it's okay to build time share condos on ancient, unmarked burial grounds.

As a sovereign people, these are some of the issues and obstacles that we face. Thankfully there are so many people within our tribe like the ones I mentioned earlier who influence and help prepare the tribal members of my generation to function as a sovereign people whether the US Govt. Agrees or not.

 It should stand to reason that economic and educational self-sufficiency are among the things that any sovereign people strive for.

 If it is truly your intention to honor native people, I ask all of you sitting here to call your Congress-people and strongly encourage them to support the "HR - 5244 Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act". This is your opportunity to Stand with Mashpee. 

Thank you.

 And now for some hip-hop jazz...

________________________________________________

An active member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's Youth Council, as well as a sophomore on the honor roll at Mashpee Middle High School, the young musician came to share his thoughts on sovereignty as well as perform some of the Grammy nominated songs from his debut EP "At The Party".

Within his presentation he addressed the Land Into Trust Issue faced by his tribe after the current administration chose to reverse the tribe's status as a sovereign tribe.

Follow The ZYG 808 on Instagram:

http://instagram.com/thezyg808

Aesthetics & Metaphysics: Framing The Abstract

2018-11-12T17:23:00.000-05:00

I once heard an artist describe "impressionism" as a technique where the artists paints everything but
the subject, allowing the subject to unfold in the process. I remember sitting at a drum with some tribal members and a couple of kids joined us who were new to it, but had studied music. I explained to them that it's in 6/8 and they were able to follow the pattern. One of the drummers erupted telling me that "music theory doesn't apply to our music," totally missing the fact that this little bit of information allowed the two youngster to find the pattern and lock in with the rest of us. The fact of the matter is that all music with a melodic structure and tempo can be analyzed and interpreted with music theory.

A standard mantra of people who play music or instruments and never learned to read music is that they have more freedom than folks who know theory because they're not boxed in. By this same logic, illiterate people make better writers because they're not bound by an alphabet. While it all began as oral tradition, it was the introduction of the scribe that preserved the word. The sad reality is that the music that they "create" generally is either incredibly simple or so scattered and disconnected that it doesn't even work as free-form. I'll never forget the time I received one of these lectures from a cat who proceeded to show me his "free" composition and it turned out to be a very common three chord funk pattern. I had the advantage of teachers and elders who would tell me, "If you know the rules, you have a better understanding of how to break them."

The fine line between music and noise is structure. Even the most avant garde and free forms of music a structure, even if what you're hearing is working against the structure, like some of the more experimental tunes by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, John Cage, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane were reactions to structure as opposed to formless. I often think of Miles Davis' idea to take the compositions for "Bitches Brew" and remove the chord progressions -which is what musicians use to build their improvised solos- and build their solos from the melody and key.

In Hip-Hop, particularly of the late 1980's and 90's, there were producers who turned sampling into an artform in the same manner that collage is a visual artform. Pouring through thousands of records to find that one, obscure 2-4 bar section or "break" to paste over a drum machine groove, and sometimes layering several different samples over each other, or chopping and re-arranging sections of the beat to create their compositions can be seen as another way of framing the abstract.

Aesthetics & Metaphysics: Understanding The True J Mood

2018-10-26T08:54:00.000-04:00

I had taken a break from the blog to focus on a couple of projects, including music production and
completing a novel that I'd been threatening to write for a few years. Well the music projects are underway and the manuscript is completed and being reviewed by my publisher. Both experiences have left me with a need as a writer to look into the spiritual side of being an artist and the function that jazz holds in maintaining the wellspring for artists who's work evolves from earth-based, spiritual practices.

In the 1980's, "J Mood" was the name of a Grammy award-winning album by Wynton Marsalis, where it sounded like he was trying to tribute Miles Davis. It's a very modal sounding project, much mores than Marsalis' other efforts. With this, he scratches the surface of the actual J Mood which is a spiritual realm, part way between physical reality and -what some refer to as- the astral plane. The effect that jazz has had on aesthetics can also be seen in the styles and types of literature that developed during the 20th Century, with the clear influences of jazz upon mainstream

authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald and philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre, as well as the influence of the medium on the Beatnik Movement as well as the Black Arts Movement.

In the novel MUMBO JUMBO, by Ishmael Reed, the central "it" of the novel is a virus dating back to the murder of Osiris called "Jesi Grew" and jazz is alluded to as a manifestation of this virus. In the novel ON THE ROAD, by Jack Kerouac, his characters wax philosophical about the possession that takes place of a saxophonist when the saxophonist is playing a solo, and how this possession takes the audience and the band with him to another spiritual dimension. This possession is similar to that observed when a shaman or practitioners of a spiritual tradition are possessed. For Christians we see it in the Pentecostal and Holiness churches, where people are taken by the spirit. We see it in rituals when practitioners of Yoruba, Santeria, and Lacumi make contact with ancestral spirits and deities are invoked.

Duke Ellington hated the term jazz and referred to the genre as "Heritage Music" which is a very accurate description when you consider that its roots are essentially West African music played on European instruments and when you consider that even many European instruments are of North African origins (keyboards, guitars, flutes, etc.), as well as the melodic influence of eastern First Nations (so called Native American), and that jazz became a repository for the music of the Gauls and other French traditional folk forms, the musical roots of jazz are parallel to the evolution of spiritual music (i.e., the Black church). One of the reasons that the Black church has had a long-standing disdain for jazz is the unbridled spiritual roots of the medium. As a result you'll find that almost all true jazz musicians are very spiritual but not necessarily religious. The structure of Islam is such that it allows for jazz to function within the cosmology, explaining why so many jazz musicians at one point or another studied and/or converted to Islam as well as various traditional practices of West Africa.

For the next several installations on this blog, I will explore the abstract cosmology from wens jazz comes, and it's influences and manifestations in shaping physical reality.

The ZYG 808 Brings Down The House At The Mashpee High School Talent Show

2018-04-18T20:34:00.000-04:00

When you're 14 years old and have already headlined three jazz festivals, performed for crowds of 48,000 people and spent your last summer on tour as opposed to cutting lawns, a high school talent show might seem a bit passé, but not for The ZYG 808. When notices for auditions went up he jumped at the opportunity.

Mashpee Middle High School held it's talent show in the Victoria Viera Performing Arts Center to an audience of about 300 people including students and families. Mashpee is a school system that has always been proud of it's gifted music students and the April 12th show was no exception.

Among the many acts, Vocalist Shane Barros moved the crowd with his original rap song "Ten Toes Down"; William Henley brought the room to their feet with his rendition of AHA's "Take On Me". Peter DeFrancesco kept the room in stitches with his generic love song. A group simply called 'The Girls' demonstrated instrumental and vocal prowess with their version of Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby". The ZYG took to the stage and the room went wild. Dropping into his song "Explanation" from his upcoming album. He ended to a standing ovation.

https://youtu.be/6GSA105amSA

At the end of the night, the winners were announced. The Girls came in 3rd, Peter DeFrancesco came in 2nd and The ZYG 808 was the first place winner of the night. "I was in shock!" explained The ZYG 808 in his post show interview with The Falcon . The ZYG 808 will be the featured performer at Art Is Life Itself @ Haley House in Boston and will be on The Phunk Hits Tour 2018 with The GroovaLottos and other artists, including dates in New York, Boston and the DMV.

For more info, visit:
http://thezyg808.com

Wellness, Storm Preparedness & The John Henry Complex

2018-03-21T19:00:00.000-04:00

What are our eating habits? How prepared are we for emergencies and disasters? What determines repair protocols? What is a killer source of stress.

In the latest episode of DaPhunkeeProfessor.com, Mwalim visits the drive-tru, talks about an observation of the practices of the power company in making repairs after a storm and the need for people to be prepared in case of a storm. With his guest, Eddie Ray Johnson of The GroovaLottos, they discuss the deadly effects of the "John Henry Complex" and a excerpt from The ZYG's performance on board the Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Sea.

More information on heart and cardiovascular issues can be found here:
https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_472910.pdf

For a description and supply list for a disaster kit, visit here:
https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1390846764394-dc08e309debe561d866b05ac84daf1ee/checklist_2014.pdf

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Mashpee Middle School Jazz Band Brings The Phunk with Mwalim

2018-03-14T23:35:00.000-04:00

Mashpee Middle School Jazz Band & Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor Bring The Phunk

As a graduate of Music & Art/ LaGuardia H.S. in New York City, Mwalim views studying music as essential to enhancing the development of math and critical thinking skills in students. All of the members of The GroovaLottos are products public school music programs, and pay it forward.

In this episode Mwalim displays the fruits of his mentoring with the Mashpee Middle School Jazz Band at the All School Music Concert, where the band performed The GroovaLottos' Grammy nominated hit, "Do You Mind (IfWeDanceWitYoDates)?" featuring solos by student musicians including The ZYG drumming and rapping.

Since 2015, The Mashpee Middle School Jazz Band has been of the mentoring projects under Song Keepers, LTD's Artist Mentoring (AMP) program, bringing professional musicians and media artists together with aspiring performers and artists.

Members of the jazz band have performed with The GroovaLottos during The Phunk Hits touring concert series as well as the Boston Jazz Fest. According to Eddie Ray Johnson, "We are a band that believes in training our own replacements."

THIS HOUSE - A New Play Premiering In Boston on April 27

2018-03-09T19:34:00.001-05:00

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED!!!

The P.A.C.K.

(Performing Artists Communicating Knowledge)

Proudly Presents:

In the years following Prince Halls' passing, African Grand Lodge gained considerable popularity Black Abolitionists seeking freedom for the enslaved By Any Means Necessary...

THIS HOUSE is Free & Open To The Public

International Women's Month, Music, Education & More!

2018-03-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

Episode 3: Mwalim pays tribute to Women's History Month, discusses the importance of parental involvement in the education process, a bit of the Louis Apollon Band, the Mass Hip-hop Archive, and a performance by The ZYG.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

The Value of Studying Music & The Louis Apollon Band

2018-03-01T23:00:00.000-05:00

Mwalim's discussion: Studying Music vs. Shooting-From-The-Hip with 'Natural Ability'. Studying music, be it from a teacher, mentor or self-taught has many advantages that go beyond learning to play an instrument or sing. Also selections from the Louis Apollon Band's performance at Great Woods.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW EPISODE

https://youtu.be/ju4MvWoAghg

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The Truth About Navigating Public Education

2018-02-21T13:34:00.000-05:00

In this episode, Mwalim discusses the history and purpose of public education in the United States, it's built-in pitfalls against rising socially and economically, and ways to navigate the system so that it works for you and your children.

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The Academy's Origins As A Temple & The ZYG Drops A Verse

2018-02-14T15:15:00.000-05:00

A brief meditation and discussion about the origins of the university in the temples of Kemet and subsequent academies of Greece. A sample of a rehearsal by The ZYG caught on video with one of his upcoming releases called "INSANITY (The Sequel)"

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The Irony of Being [ethno]centric on Facebook

2018-02-14T14:46:00.000-05:00

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Understanding That Haters Are Cowards

2018-02-07T13:57:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, a basic understanding that people are watching your moves if you're making moves. Some will admire your drive and some will be irritated by it. What you need to understand is that your drive somehow, to them, magnifies their insecurities and lack of mobility. Unless it's of some threat to the safety of yourself, family or community, let them marinade and stew.

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Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor

Black History Month Is Supposed to be a Launch Pad, Not a Destination

2018-02-01T18:30:00.001-05:00

Originating from the efforts of Carter G. Woodson, whose landmark dissertation ' The Mis-Education of the Negro' challenged the social structure of American education.
However, the white supremacist orientation of the United States makes it impossible for Black History Month to have any significant impact in the education of the masses.

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Treating Hip-Hop As A Tradition

2018-01-31T19:00:00.000-05:00

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Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor

Having Respect for Locks & Personal Space

2018-01-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

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Showing Wednesdays @ 7PM!!!

DaPhunkeeProfessor.com on Youtube Every Wednesday @ 7PM

2018-01-26T20:54:00.000-05:00

Every Wednesday Night @ 7PM!!!

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Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor

The GroovaLottos Move The Crowd at UBC-TV Pre-Grammy Launch

2018-01-24T10:09:00.002-05:00

The GroovaLottos being interviewed on Rhythm & Soul Radio.

Upstart Cable and Streaming Network UBC-TV hosted a Pre-Grammy Launch that featured Grammy Nominees The GroovaLottos, along with a host of up and coming Indie talent, got the crowd going.

Packed to capacity and The GroovaLottos are two phrases that we're hearing in the same sentence a lot these days. The 'Road To The Grammys' continued with an appearance on Tuesday night at a Pre-Grammy Launch party at Taj II in Manhattan, hosted by UBC-TV, a brand new cable network in New York City. A who's who of the urban music industry gathered to enjoy a celebration of the launch of UBC-TV as well as hear some of the best indie talent in the business today. Topping the list was an appearance by The GroovaLottos.

This was also an opportunity for the industry to meet percussionist, MC and soon-to-be solo artist, The Z.Y.G. and talk about his upcoming project. Up until last night, The GroovaLottos were simply a legend in the New York music scene, to those familiar with their Grammy nominated album and unapologetically old school soul sound. Quickly gathering new fans, the group sold handfuls of CDs and collected a bag full of business cards.

Urban Broadcasting Company (UBC-TV Network), is a streaming, broadcast multi-media company that creates, produces and distributes ‘Urban Lifestyle Programming.” UBC-TV Network’s slate of ‘UBC Originals’ consist of news, entertainment, business, fashion, health and wellness, live concerts and events, food, sports, comedy and other lifestyle programs. UBCTV content is distributed over multiple platforms that include streaming, cable, satellite, VOD, OTT, mobile, live stream, on- demand, wireless devices, social media, radio and other platforms. UBC-TV’s goal is to provide relevant, diverse, exciting and uplifting programming geared towards the underserved urban multi-cultural market.

The GroovaLottos will be in concert with folk-jazz band, The Louis Apollon Band on January 27th at the MMAS Arts Centre @ Great Woods, 888 South Main Street, Mansfield, MA.

Keep up (if you can) with The GroovaLottos by becoming a member of The Phunk Squad. Membership is free. Just visit the link below:
http://tinyurl.com/phunksquad

The GroovaLottos Road to the Grammys Start Off with a Packed House

2018-01-21T13:44:00.002-05:00

Dedham Square Coffeehouse was packed to capacity and the windows were covered with steam from the dance floor. The GroovaLottos kick off mini tour with a true party. Next stops: Taj II in New York City, and MMAS @ Great Woods in Mansfield, MA.

If you weren't at the Coffeehouse Soul Sessions on Saturday, January 20th, you truly missed, what has been described as a party and a revival. The GroovaLottos had the suburban eatery packed to capacity, with the dance floor full most of the night and a lot of the food and beverages sold out. CDs were sold hand over fist and people lined up to sign the mailing list. It's the kind of night indie bands dream about and the kind of night that The GroovaLottos have been experiencing more and more.The premiere of Soul Sessions as a monthly offering at the Dedham Square Coffeehouse, in Dedham, MA was an amazing event and the kick-off of The GroovaLottos 'Road To The Grammys' mini tour.

This coming Tuesday they are bringing their party vibe to Taj Lounge II, 48 West 21st St, NYC for the UBC-TV Pre-Grammy Kick-Off Party. There the band, their Grammy nominated song, "Do You Mind(IfWeDanceWitYoDates)?", and the line dance 'The Phunk' will be featured at the party and on the New York Cable show. The party starts at 6pm.

Saturday, January 27th, the band will be in concert, with international folk-jazz sensation, the Louis Apollon Band at the MMAS Center for the Arts @ Great Woods, 888 South Main Street, Mansfield, MA. Show time is at 7:30 pm.

Coffeehouse Soul Sessions will reconvene on Saturday, February 10, 8pm at the Dedham Square Coffeehouse, 565 High St, Dedham, MA.

Join the Phunk Squad and stay informed on the activities and events of The GroovaLottos:
http://tinyurl.com/phunksquad

The GroovaLottos to be Featured at UBC Pre-Grammy Launch Party 1/23

2018-01-18T13:32:00.000-05:00

RECIPE: French Onion Soup

2018-01-15T20:39:00.004-05:00

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Olive Oil or Butter
4 Cups sliced onion
40 oz Beef Broth
3 tblspns Sherry
1 tsp thyme
Salt & Pepper to taste
6 slices of Provolone Cheese
1 cup of diced Swiss cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 slices of French bread (or any bread lightly toasted)
2 gallon stock pot
6 oven-safe soup bowls
baking sheet
foil

Process:

Heat olive oil or Melt butter in stock pot.
Add onions and stir constantly until translucent.
Add broth, thyme, salt and pepper.
Simmer for 30-40 mins.

Pre-heat broiler.
Spread foil on baking sheet.
Arrange bowls.
Ladle soup into bowls.
Place piece of bread onto of soup and place a slice of Provolone on the bread with some pieces of Swiss cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Play baking tray with bowls of soup in oven a broil until cheese melts and starts to bubble.

Remove, cool and serve.

Happy MLKish Day!!! The Unfortunate Exploitation of Dr King's Legacy

2018-01-15T20:23:00.001-05:00

Today, across America people observed the birthday of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his various services to humanity. Our mutual fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. has declared today as a day of service to our communities. Unfortunately, as is the usual outcome when we canonize people, but treat their actions, philosophies, and efforts like tertiary fodder, the true message and meaning of Dr King's work is lost and his identity has been co-opted to serve a stagnant and reactionary social agenda.

Given the current socio-political climate of the United States, many well-intentioned MLK Day organizers missed out on a golden opportunity to reflect on the content of MLKs book, Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community, which pretty much predicted that it should be expected that a Donald Trump would follow a Barack Obama into the presidency, along with throngs of white supremacists marching for their rights. It would clarify why even the most liberal seeming of white people would unconsciously operate under the perceptions of white superiority/supremacy and white privilege. It also predicted that a person, like MLK, would have their image and message manipulated to cultivate passivity among Black people to the extent that they would never take a stand to the extent that Dr. King did.

MLK Day and his legacy have somehow been perverted into yet another opportunity for the well-intentioned to tell Black people what to think and how to think; often invoking contextually incorrect quotes and examples of Dr. King's works, as opposed to being an opportunity to further study, learn and grow from his rich legacy. Part of white privilege is the ability and expectation to be able to only embrace -or even tolerate- those elements of a culture or philosophy that appeal to them. Case in point, my son and I performed at an MLK event where he played the drums and I sang. He also played the drums and rapped. The majority of the people gathered seemed to enjoy and appreciate the performance, but one elderly woman took it upon herself to take me to task after the performance about the drumming and the kind of 'cultural' music she would have preferred. I believe my response was a bit unsatisfying as I explained that we were celebrating the fact that Black people no longer had to hide our cultural practices that offended white American sensibilities, largely due to the progress of the Civil Rights Movement. Her response was to point to the fact that Dr. King was a fan of spirituals, that did not have drumming. I replied that according to people who knew him from his BU days he was a fan of many forms of music, both with and without drums, and "I guess this is all part of MLK's legacy about being open to that which is different from yourself." Was what I said before excusing myself and moving on. One of the curious habits of some people is the ability to pluralize their point of view; whereby her distaste for drumming, 1) was something that she felt compelled to share with me; 2) presented her opinion as a reflection of Dr. King's musical tastes; 3) apparently felt that her opinion was not grounds for discussion, but something that I should absorb.

This year in Dallas, protest by the NAACP shut down the MLK Day observation, when organizers saw fit to invite Governor Greg Abbott as the keynote speaker. Abbott's political tenure routinely opposes many of the tenets of freedom, justice and equality that MLK represented, including his imposition of Gerry-Mandering exclusively in communities of color in an effort to frustrate the possibility of people block voting in their own interests. The fact that the organizers chose Abbott as the keynote speaker for an MLK Day event demonstrates how far removed these organizers are from the realities of MLKs legacy as well as their obvious removal from their their own constituency.

What also amazes (and occasionally amuses) me are the folks who organize MLK Day Events, or any social justice peace and freedom oriented event, and don't actually know any people of group directly effected by the situation, to participate in the activities; or make a token invitation . I remember seeing benefit concerts springing up all over with absolutely no direct involvement of any indigenous people in the planning or implementation; and thousands and thousands of dollars were sent to phony organizations claiming to be working on behalf of the water protectors.

Is it possible to have actual peace in society when you have no justice? Can you effectively address a subject, if you can only see the human beings involved as objects? Unfortunately, this is a concept that evades many well-intentioned people desperately in search of doing the right thing? Unlike movements like Save The Whales, Save The Seals, or Save The Glaciers; the foundation of the human rights struggle is the ability to recognize that the affected parties are human beings; which can make things rather awkward for the detached nature of most people in search of a Do Gooder fix. A lot of it can be blamed on the various Save The... movements that have become staples among television commercials. "... for the price of a cup of coffee you can... we'll even send you pictures and letter written by the child you sponsor..." For a monthly or annual credit card charge, you have bringing rights to the change your making in a third-world child's life. I can't tell you how many times I've been to a social event where somebody feels compelled to tell me about how they sponsor a child in Africa or hosted a child (once) for the Fresh Air Fund. Apparently, this has replaced the conversation standard, "... some of my best friends are..."

Social media also accounts for the detached element as well, where folks mistake ranting and venting on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts as social organizing. The distance factor is what makes moral outrage easy without it being inconvenient. For example, the response of people in New England who were outraged over the water issue in Standing Rock was tremendous. However, the response of these same people to social and environmental issues adversely effecting local, indigenous people and communities were not as much of interest or concern. Gerry-Mandering remains a remarkable issue in New England but is rarely addressed as entire communities of low-income folks and people of color are re-districted in such a fashion that folks will never be able to vote in their own interests. Case in point, 7th Congressional District is voted in almost entirely by Somerville, but a good chunk of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Randolph, Chelsea and Everett are under the district's purview as well. I remember attending a meeting in 1999 of The State of Young Black Boston where the guest speaker was the congressman of that district who basically bragged to the young people present that he was not beholden to them at all to get elected as the voting block in Somerville had and would continue to get him elected. This immediately confirmed the truth for me in the content of Malcolm X's "Bullet or the Ballot" speech.

The unfortunate reality is that the vast majority of people who are and remain unaffected by the socio-political dynamics of American society -primarily race and class- honestly don't want change to come about as much as they want to feel good about themselves. So they make signs with catchy slogans, dust off the protest songs from the 1960's, bundle up and gather to have peace marches and vigils, or organize breakfasts and brunches where they bring in people to speak about the MLK legacy. Unfortunately, their actually commitment to change or the philosophies that they are celebrating usually end with their last sip of tea or hot cocoa at the post rally repass, or with their departure from the church or community hall.

Ironically, if the purpose of remembering Dr King did almost entirely focus on his work in civil rights, and actually contemplated, addressed and presented his ideas an activities in the areas of poverty, anti-war movements, and class struggles (let us not forget that he was in Memphis to support the garbage worker's strike), it would almost make sense to plan an event in his honor and fail to consider seeking out and engaging people of color to participate. Sadly, Dr. King and his rich legacy fall under a larger American tradition, which is to view Black Americans and all that they produce as commodities to be exploited.

Perhaps the best solution would be to employ the suffix "ish" to the events; indicating that it 'has similar properties, but is not exactly the authentic entity' so we could have MLKish Day. It's an idea that has about as much merit as a lot of the celebrations I've seen over the past thirty years.

MMAS @ Great Woods Presents The GroovaLottos & Louis Apollon In Concert

2018-01-14T22:18:00.001-05:00

Congratulations To J.R. Native and The Artists To Watch Tour 2018

2018-01-14T17:37:00.002-05:00