The Certain Sound

A Marvelous Life and Ministry

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:40:00 +0000

Fueled by the tremendous crossover success of the 1968 recording "Oh Happy Day" by Edwin Hawkins, the era of large choirs exploded onto the gospel music scene. Hawkins, his talented siblings and other family members broke the dominance of Chicago as the gospel music capital of the world and eclipsed James Cleveland's reign upon the music style and repertoire of the genre.

As a musician in a community gospel choir and founder of a university gospel choir at the time, I was drawn to the music of Walter and Edwin Hawkins because it seemed to blend together the soulful Motown and Philly R & B sounds, the introspective genius of a Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack, classic and contemporary jazz harmonies and even Latin and African rhythms and syncopations.

This new emergent gospel style, pioneered by the Hawkins, ultimately became known as contemporary gospel. Not only did the music possess more contemporary rhythms and fuller orchestration but the lyrics were like sermons set to music, being deeply rooted in scripture unlike the "7/11 (seven words sang 11 times over and over) songs" so prevalent even today.

The musical offspring of the Hawkins' creativity and spirituality include several contemporary performers who have prospered including the Winans families, Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams and more recently Kirk Franklin, who have all become internationally renowned artists.

Since the early 1970s when I was a church musician and Minister of Music until now as a Pastor, the music of Walter and Edwin has been the standard of excellence for me and I have always included one or more Walter or Edwin Hawkins musical compositions in the church order of service. They make up a substantial majority of our repertoire of praise and/or worship music even to this day.

RIP Bishop Walter Hawkins. What you have done is MARVELOUS!

Pimpin' The Game: Black Leaders and Leading Blacks

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:27:00 +0000

The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States was THE sign, many proclaimed, that the long, torturous climb toward the pinnacle of racial equality had finally been conquered.

The election of thousands of black legislators and public administrators along with the appointment of countless private industry CEO’s, corporate officers and executives, able to walk through doors opened by unprecedented grassroots political mobilization and the protest demands of the Civil Rights movement, also seduced us into thinking that the war against oppression had come to an end.

And more recently, an educational crisis representing what is arguably the most formidable challenge facing the African-American community in the 21st Century, was met head-on locally when a minority-majority public school board with three of the five members being African American and another being Hispanic, was elected in Toledo.

Yet the progress at TPS has been much like that elsewhere – symbolic only. With expanded black access to school board seats in a district where the majority of students are of color, it is reasonable to expect to see policy changes resulting in higher percentages of black teachers, more African-American male teachers, a larger proportion of blacks attending college, fewer minorities suspended, dropping out or in special education classes and more students of color in gifted programs and enriched classes.

And with an $821 million building construction program, you would also expect to see a drastically larger share of contract funds going to minority businesses as well as the establishment of a relevant minority supplier program.

Yet, despite the black leadership presence, there has been a lack of responsiveness to minority concerns such as the racial academic achievement gap, a need for a higher proportion of students going to college, the disparity in resource allocation resulting in vulgar inequities between schools within the same district. The election of the black board members appears to have had very little if any impact.

Why isn’t the community getting the results that we expect?

Read entire article @ The Sojourner's Truth

Turning Back the Clock in Education

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 02:25:00 +0000

How unjust it is, that they who have but little should be always adding something to the wealth of the rich!
– Terence (Publius Terentius Afer)

Last Tuesday, Toledo Board of Education member Brenda Hill, with support from Board President Bob Vasquez and Lisa Sobecki, voted to close Libbey High School meeting almost 56 years and a week following the momentous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision and in the building bearing the name of Brown attorney Thurgood Marshall.

The motion, following an epiphany by Hill, was prompted by voter rejection of Toledo Public Schools’ tax levy and the need to save $1.3 million of the district’s now estimated $39 million budget deficit. Board members Larry Sykes and Jack Ford opposed the measure.

I have fond memories of Libbey, having attended nearly every football, basketball or track event held there in the 60s and early 1970s. I met my wife at the school and all of my neighborhood homies were Cowboys, although I did not attend the institution myself. Yet the rollercoaster vote/re-vote and the emotional and polarizing experience of Libbey’s closing goes far beyond sentimentality to reveal sobering realities and insights that exceed what is attainable in any classroom.

Having advocated to keep the school open, I realize more than ever that the fight for justice and equity does not consist of “one pitched battle that brings matters to a decisive outcome.” It is rather, a prolonged campaign of trench warfare with occasional small victories or setbacks but largely disappointing drudgery with little discernible change effected. If our commitment to community struggle is to ever last longer than two weeks, this needs to be fully understood.

But also, there remains a need to “fight through our discomfort with open and honest public discussion on race” so that legitimate grievances can be addressed rather than being trivialized or dismissed as “playing the race card.” Ford, in his dissenting remarks, indicated that the outcomes of past levies always fall to the advantage of the adults and schools in the more privileged neighborhoods despite the unfailing support of the black community and that the poorer schools bear the brunt of the budget cuts when levies do not pass. As a result, he was severely criticized in the media for bringing up the subject of race.

Was race a relevant topic in Libbey’s closing?

Read the entire article @ The Sojourner's Truth

R.I.P. Ollie Woodson

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:36:00 +0000

To carry on a great legacy is an impossible task. Ollie Woodson, however did a stellar job succeeding great lead singers and holding the magnificent Temptations together.

R.I.P. Ollie Woodson

Domestic Genocide

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Mon, 24 May 2010 03:52:00 +0000

What makes a teenager stab his mother over a cheeseburger? What tragedy in the black community does something like that reveal - domestic violence, missing fathers, out of control kids, poor parenting or demons within?

One thing is certain. The black family or African American home, where peace and harmony once prevailed, is no longer a sanctuary from societal assaults. Instead we have internalized the pressures turning them into demons which cause us to redirect violence and aggression upon ourselves and those whom we love.

My life, my real life, was in danger, and not from anything other people might do but from the hatred carried in my own heart. James Baldwin

Endings and New Beginnings

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:11:00 +0000

Congrats to my baby girl who received her PhD last week from Michigan State University, is expecting her first child (her parents' first grandchild) and also got a J-O-B! There are (2) insights to be shared from our new experiences.

They are:

1. "When a gift is praised, it will beget another gift." Igbo Proverb

2. With every progression or change in the circumstances of life we leave some things behind but in order to be successful we also are required to bring with us the enlightenment by all that went before.

From Staci PC's blog:

Monday, May 17, 2010
Final Updates Before I Discontinue this Blog
l hadn't posted in a while because I wanted to wait for the entire process to play itself out. As many of you know, I was in the process of completing my dissertation and applying for jobs. Now that that process is complete, let me offer a final post briefly reflecting on the process:

* I defended my dissertation April 1, 2010 and passed with distinction. The revisions are complete, and I am now ready to deposit at the graduate school. The dissertation is DONE!

Read Full Post at Staci PC's Blog

THIS IS NOT A TIGER MOMENT!

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:06:00 +0000

My marriage is fine. Besides, I'm not a celeb or a playa. However, for the past month and a half (or longer),Civic and Parish duties have continued to consume more and more of what little available time I had. As usual, the tasks without deadlines get pushed into the 'low priority' bin.

So in this formal announcement of my furlough I am stating the obvious...but I SHALL RETURN!

The Approaching Dawn: OSF Songs that Inspire

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:57:00 +0000

When you listen to this 1975 hit by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes it appears that nothing has changed in 35 years. In many ways that is true as we look around and see all that is wrong in society.

However, there is also much work that is being done under the radar including a rising tide in advocacy and social change. Many of the participants include both male and female feminists, youth from the Joshua or Hip Hop generation, churches and non-religious community organizations.

Don't Sleep Through the Revolution!

Fruitful Despite Forbidden: OSF Sade

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:33:00 +0000

Despite a supreme court decision (Loving v. Virginia) in 1967 and a bi-racial President of the United States in 2009, only 77% of Americans approve of black/white interracial marriage even today. Blogs BlackgirlinMaine and Nordette grapple with this issue and the nonsense in Louisiana.

Lead singer Sade Adu, according to Wipikedia, was born to parents Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background, and Anne Hayes, an English nurse who met in London and moved to Nigeria.

After the marriage ran into difficulties, 4 month-old Sade along with her older brother Banji returned to England with their mother Anne Hayes to live with her parents. Growing up in England, Sade was influenced by soul artists like Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye.

Interracial relationships continue to produce superb fruit despite human interdiction and prohibition.

I'm Tired Now but Y'all Go 'Head On: OSF Songs I Detest but Know All the Words

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:15:00 +0000

Sometimes too much of a good thing either makes you sick to the stomach or just too tired to take it anymore. I ain't tryin' to slow anyone else's roll, but for my own sanity, these are a couple of songs that I initially enjoyed but really don't want to hear for a few more decades:

I Gotcha:

Don't Worry:

Old School Friday: Freshman Year High School

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:38:00 +0000

The lyrics say it all:"I needed someone to understand my ups and downs; You were better to me than I was to myself; I want to stop and thank you....How Sweet it is to be loved..."

Otherwise, I never could have made it. Grace and Mercy.

Grown Children

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:57:00 +0000

Last week featured grown folk behaving badly and adults gone wild. From Serena Williams’ temper tantrum and tirade at the U.S. Open tournament to Kanye West’s disgusting and ill-timed protest of an MTV VMA award winner and from Republican U.S. Representative Joe Wilson's disrespectful outburst during President Barack Obama’s speech at a joint congressional session to the hissyfit thrown by conservative pundits, politicians and parents who jumped up and down to prevent the President’s speech to school children from being shown in class and labeling it as a “scheme to indoctrinate our youth into the president's socialist cult,” the cuttin' up rolled on seemingly out of control.

However, while grown people acting childish - impetulant, irrational, impatient and self-preoccupied – is ugly and sad, the growing presence of children who, because of the current economic crisis are forced to prematurely bear the weight of grown-up pressures is even more shameful, disgusting and disgraceful. It is also a subject that goes almost unnoticed.

Only 20 percent of teens are able to get jobs leaving over 1.5 million unemployed and 12 million young people without food. There are 14.1 million children or one in five, who are poor and living in poverty in the richest nation on earth according to The Economic Policy Institute. In 2009 a quarter of all children in this country will be living in poverty and by 2010 the child poverty rate will be 26.6%. This would represent an increase of 10.4 percentage points from 2000 to 2010. The EPI terms it – truly a lost decade.

Nearly 800,000 homeless youth are in schools attempting the nearly impossible feat of learning while simultaneously sharing in their parents' physical and mental anguish concerning how they will eat, handle illness, buy daily necessities, and pay for utilities, rent or mortgages.

I used to fret over what was termed "the first generation of African American children who grew up outside of the black church." But to also have to grow up in the hopelessness and despair of the 21st century's economic crisis and never experiencing access to the jobs and material resources of previous generations is exponentially worse. It means that the normal stage of innocence and children's future have been stolen by having to shoulder poverty, unemployment, crime, drugs, violence, HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy and other effects of inequality and economic disaster.

Growing up too late is a pity, but growing up too soon is a tragedy.

When Profit-Motive Meets Poverty

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:10:00 +0000

Contemporary portraits of poverty are usually painted with wide brushstrokes of individual responsibility, educational failure, moral deficiencies and even race or cultural factors. Always in the shadows but seldom mentioned in poverty discussions is the role or impact of corporate policy and the business decisions which often exacerbate the plight of the poor and vulnerable.

The Kroger Co., with annual revenues of $76 billion and a history of closing grocery stores in low income or “less desirable” neighborhoods that don’t fit its high-end image, has announced that it will conclude the lease on its Toledo, Ohio store at 559 E. Manhattan on October 10, 2009. Yet new stores are planned or under construction for two suburban stores including an 80,000 sf. store in Waterville scheduled to open in 2010.

Terry Glazer, Chief Executive Officer of United North Development Corporation, who has been actively involved with the issue feels that the needs of the community and the effects on the neighborhood Kroger leaves behind are not something that has been sufficiently considered. “They are grossing two hundred thousand dollars a week and a million per month, making a profit and the building owners have given them favorable lease rates and offered to help with expansion. Kroger is abandoning the older neighborhoods and leaving behind a loyal customer base, many of whom don’t have transportation to get to other supermarkets.”

Read entire essay @ The Sojourner's Truth

1st Things 1st, Cuddling: Old School Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:03:00 +0000

Several Isley ballads come swiftly to mind i.e. Voyage to Atlantis, For The Love of You,etc. but they remind me more of "baby-making" music. What about "fore-time"?

I chose to go with this Luther selection because cuddling, like the experience of being smitten, captivated, enamored and in love - heightens the pleasure of such things. 1st things 1st.ROMANCE!!!

The music of Angela Bofill, the Latina Diva, born to a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother also for me, sets a great mood and atmosphere:

Learn more about the Old School Friday Meme here:

Caught Up: Old School Friday Prom Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:26:00 +0000

I thought I had expert knowledge, but had no idea of what life was about during my prom days. Being "caught up" but not "caught out there" is nostalgic. It is also an act of grace. Thank God.

You Got Me Goin' In Circles:

Can I?

Original Version

Later Version

Walking On Turbulent Waters: FemCees Flipping Pain

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:40:00 +0000

The "most beautiful music (and artistic expression)comes from pain and struggle."

Black women have a life span that exceeds that of black men by seven years. The reason, I believe, is that they process pain and struggle far more effectively than black men. The men often internalize anger, pain and struggle which becomes destructive as it devolves into health problems. Women, by and large, are able to survive longer because they are able to creatively channel or redirect the negativity into other areas including artistic expression where they have their own unique voice.

The artistic contribution to hip hop by women and of hip hop feminism has long been downplayed, ignored or outright denied. This theme is wonderfully articulated in my personal favorite works such as Home Girls Make Some Noise: Hip Hop Feminism Anthology edited by Gwen Pough, Elaine Richardson, Aisha Durham and Rachel Raimist and Pough's Check It While I Wreck It.

A welcome addition to the literary works of the aforementioned pioneers is Say My Name, a new documentary by Mamamess, directed by Nirit Peled which has been six years in the making.

The documentary promo states:

In a hip hop and R’n’B world dominated by men and noted for misogyny, the unstoppable female lyricists of Say My Name speak candidly about class, race, and gender in pursuing their passions as female MCs. This worldwide documentary takes viewers on vibrant tour of urban culture and musical movement: from hip hop’s
birthplace in the Bronx, to grime on London’s Eastside.

The personal stories of 18 artists, FemCees and Lady DeeJays such as Remy Ma, Rah Digga,Jean Grae, Erykah Badu, Estelle and newcomers Chocolate Thai, Invincible and Miz Korona reveal women balancing their professional dreams with the stark realities of urban poverty, racism, sexism, and motherhood.

The common themes connecting the new work to previously mentioned literary works is women speaking for women and women turning adversity into art.

Gangsta rap is just a part of hip hop, and a dying part at that. It is also the portion owned and distributed entirely by white corporate interests.

Thankfully, there is a new generation with a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them and that operates in a different context.

Included in this "post hip hop" generation are male and female voices whose messages empower rather than denigrate or exploit women.

Old School Friday: Turning Point

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 03:58:00 +0000

What cha' Gonna Do For Me by Chaka Khan was released in 1981, year of my baby's birth causing me to look at life entirely different than I ever had. Can't forget the song, the year, the new birth.

Overlooked not Unheard:OSF First Date Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:07:00 +0000

One of its greatest and most talented singer/songwriters is seldom mentioned in conversations concerning the historic heyday of Motown Music. Brenda Holloway, whom soulpatrol.com describes as:

taking some time out, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, during the late 60's to remind Black women that regardless of whatever is happening in the streets, whatever laws are going to be changed, it is in fact the Black Woman (and NOT the government), who is going to set the Black man free.

One reason for her underexposure may be because she commuted between Los Angeles (her place of birth and residence). It eventually became burdensome, yet she did avoid the hard partying of some of her company colleagues. She retired from music at age 22 and eventually wed a minister after lax promotion by Motown and disdain for the party life. You can find her discography at Soully Oldies.

I remember slow dancing to this sultry and sexy Brenda Holloway cut mingled with pain and anguish at a 1960s party as a young teen. One of my first.

Next? Or Not!

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:53:00 +0000

I have been getting spiritually re-energized at the 15th annual Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry. The theme this week is not only appropriate and insightful, but also timely: Charting a Course for the Next Generation.

Also timely is a new report which shows that human reproductive health is rapidly spiraling downward in correlation with a 30% increase in the number of chemicals approved for commercial use since 1979.

For women, this has resulted in increased fertility problems, miscarriages, preterm births, birth defects and children with learning and behavioral disorders. For men, there is an increase in male genital defects and declining sperm counts.

Exposure to these chemicals are believed to come through consumer products such as contaminated food, household products and cosmetics, or those used for industrial activities such as metals, pesticides, plasticizers, and other substances. When exposure is combined with inadequate health care and poor nutrition the consequences are devastating particularly minorities who are affected disproportionately.

This contemporary generation of youth has, like our urban areas and inner cities, also been abandoned. Many youth grow or grew up feeling hungry, hated, abandoned, unloved as well as un-parented and uneducated while bearing a constant barrage of put-downs and condemnation of their culture by the generations that preceded them.

While yells or shrieks of rebuke and disdain concerning our youth have been loud and constant, African American cries for environmental justice, which is directly related to youth issues, have yet to reach the legal or legislative decibel level needed to address its tragic consequences.

Who will fight this silent killer and toxic destroyer of our future? Who will give voice to the ecological or economic justice concerns of our young, the poor and people of color? The African American pulpit? Our traditional Civil Rights organizations?

They will if they are to remain viable and relevant 21st century institutions. If not, the rocks or brownfields will cry out!

Ask Me! The Diva of Divas: Old School Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:01:00 +0000

Real beauty NEVER FADES.Nowhere is this more in evidence among female entertainers than in Nancy Wilson aka "Sweet Nancy, The Baby" and the "Fancy Miss Nancy."

Born in 1937, she has blessed us with seventy-plus magnificent albums, and received three Grammy Awards to date. Although she prefers the title of song stylist, she excels artistically as a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop. She has also been described as a "consummate actress" and "the complete entertainer."

There are two things about Nancy that are striking to me. Her unfading inner beauty matches her remarkable physical attractiveness. But additionally, her internal and external elegance, grace, and symmetry remain as fine and lovely today as when she began her career many years ago.

Bad Choices: OSF Going On Your Own

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:21:00 +0000

The desire for independence and the casting off of restraints or constraints can end up with promise (as in Abraham's looking for a better country) or disappointment as in the case of the prodigal who had to return home.

Philippé Wynne (born in Detroit and raised in Cincinnati)began his singing career as a gospel singer. He switched to R&B, singing with Bootsy Collins's Pacesetters in 1968 and with James Brown's J.B.'s shortly thereafter. Wynne then starred as the lead singer in the popular R&B group The Spinners, joining them in the early 1970's replacing his cousin, G.C. Cameron.

After a number of top-selling albums and singles with the Spinners, Wynne then launched a solo career, but it was not nearly as successful. He then garnered a measure of success again as he joined George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic around 1979. He performed with them on several recordings, and was a featured vocalist on the Funkadelic single "(Not Just) Knee Deep", as well as continuing his solo career which produced the album Wynne Jammin' in 1980, though he never regained the super stardom he had enjoyed with the Spinners.

This song by The Spinners epitomizes bad choices that not only artists make, but all of us make in life:

How Could I Let You Get Away, When I Knew I'd Need Somebody Soon?

With Gene Dunlap:(One of my all-time faves!)
Something Inside My Head

The Solo:
Can't It Wait Til Tomorrow?

Dust It Off!

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:10:00 +0000

There is a scene in the Color Purple movie when Sophia lands a devastating punch after being slapped and called a big fat heifer by her estranged husband Harpo's new belle. The band members immediately pack up their instruments, close up their cases and state "Time to go," recognizing the need to leave before all hell breaks loose.

William Shakespeare, in Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene 3 puts the thought like this:

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

It is part of the wisdom of life to know when to catch the flowing tide and not to waste hope and effort on what cannot - at least at the time - be done. There is a time to hold onto and a time to let go; a time to work for reconciliation and a time to shake the dust off one's feet.

When the timing of the tide of opportunity comes very, very early in a new context or relationship it often catches many people off guard and leaves them in a state of perplexity.

Although many were aware of the conflict and controversy at Riverside Church in Manhattan, the sudden resignation of Senior Pastor, Rev. Brad Braxton, PhD. after a mere nine months in the pulpit leaves many in the religious community in a state of stunning amazement.

Dr. Braxton, like his predecessors, continued Riverside's long and storied fight for social justice but found himself in a fierce and relentless battle with a portion of the congregation and the public over his compensation which exceeded $600,000 a year, including a $250,000 salary and a housing allowance. Braxton was exceptionally credentialed and experts on American churches indicated this pay package was well above average among pastors nationwide, but within the range of packages for senior pastors in New York and similar major churches in other big cities.So while the controversy appears to be over pastoral compensation the real argument, and which lies unspoken and beneath the surface is the issue of Black Leadership.

Dr. James Forbes, the previous pastor was also African American but internal fighting for this progressive, pacifist, and iconic 2,700 member well-to-do church built by John D. Rockefeller, has been going on for over a decade. The racial mix has gone from 60/40% white to 60/40% black as an older white generation becomes younger and African American as well as less politicized. These racial and generational changes are bound to spark intense conflict.

The Perils of Black Leadership are legion but the following small sample may provide an indication of the need to evaluate whether to cut ties and move on, shake the dust off of our feet and go in a different direction:

1. The struggle or gap between the leader's vision, leadership or persona and the expectations of the congregants.

Leaders, Pastors in particular, will always be challenged directly or indirectly to live up or down to the congregation's perception of what a pastor should be, look like, and attempt to accomplish. A lot of people prefer leaders that they can shape and mold instead of those who are able to reshape the congregation and congregants. Sometimes this challenge arises out of a struggle to control the leader to maximize one's own personal agenda and is played out by sniping, misreading or mis-characterization of the leader's motives, maligning of his/her family, or other types of subtle and not-so-subtle abuse or control mechanisms.

The leader has to decide to what extent his/her leadership will be determined by these expectations and what level of respect or disrespect he/she can live with. It may be time to shake dust.

2. Trying to minister with the constraint of worry about ordinary personal financial needs being met.

These needs can vary greatly, especially living in a large urban center with a high cost of living. When the institution is not willing or unable to compensate on a level with comparable peers for a given locale and the leader's attention is divided between shepherding and one's own survival, it may be time to shake dust.

3. Trying to make a drastic change of course while the institution itself is changing

A wise man once said "It's unwise to move with a small majority." It's impossible to effectively fight external battles while consuming energy and resources on simultaneous internal wars. Without a mandate, it may be time to shake the dust.

4. The institution of slavery systematically taught slaves and whites that no slave was capable of leading whites or another slave. Therefore black leaders are often rejected by their own as well as majority persons.

Therefore one must know that A leader isn't always the one at the head of the table. A leader is always thinking ahead of any situation. The leader is the one that makes the most sense in crucial situations. Look for leadership where it is most in evidence, not in positions of authority. Anthony Samad

Just Dust it Off!

Same Beat: OSF Dancing Thru Depressions and Recessions

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Same Beat by Fred Wesley

We cannot allow ourselves to be defined by "good times" or "bad times." We cannot allow hard times to cover up the calm times, or cause us to forsake the best times yet to come.

Anthony Samad

Youtube video: Max1xxx

Public Sins of Omission

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:16:00 +0000

Statistics do not lie and facts are their own evidence. The over-representation of African Americans and women in negative or dysfunctional categories and their under-representation in areas of wealth and well-being are the visible representation of behind the scenes discrimination in the labor market.

The NFL's Rooney Rule which required all teams to interview at least one minority candidate when seeking to fill its head coaching positions has been expanded to include front office and football operations positions.

The Rooney Rule goes directly at the myth of colorblindness in hiring practices which is used to disguise the legacy and preference for white applicants by mandating that African Americans be included in the pool of people being considered for a job. The omission of blacks and women from the interview process makes visible the hidden agenda and intent of those who favor the status quo.

While the rule is not perfect, it has enjoyed a measure of success in the NFL and is a direct attack upon the problem of lack of opportunity and access provided to blacks in the labor market.

The next step?

Expand the Rule or a modified version to other employment areas where African Americans are scarce such as college football coaching and administration, government, university faculty and other positions as well as in the private sector.

Only by assertive positive endorsement will the behind-closed-door sins of passing on jobs to whites without serious consideration of minority candidates continue.

All in the Family:OSF

noreply@blogger.com (Revvy Rev) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:12:00 +0000

Family by Hubert Laws with Debra Laws on vocals:

One of my favorites, Hubert Laws, Jr. was born in Houston. Many of his siblings also entered the music industry, including saxophonist Ronnie Laws and vocalists Eloise, Debra, and Johnnie Laws. According to Wikipedia, he began playing flute in high school after volunteering to substitute for the school orchestra's regular flutist. He became adept at jazz improvisation by playing in the Houston-area jazz group the Swingsters, which eventually evolved into the Modern Jazz Sextet, the Night Hawks, and the Crusaders. At age 15, was a member of the early Jazz Crusaders while in Texas (1954-1960), and he also played classical music during those years.

This is our home and this is our country. Beneath its soil lie the bones of our fathers; for it some of them fought, bled and died. Here we were born and here we will stay.

Paul Robeson

Youtube video by: Jazzyman 63