The African-American Experience and Imus

Alex Haley

Roots

Our American Cultural Reality

The country has been talking non-stop about the Imus event (see last post An Old IgnorImus). It is such a pivotal phenomenon in America at this time that it deserves more contemplation. I just saw Roots, the 1977 American television award-winning miniseries. Juxtaposing the Imus story and Roots gives much food for thought.

The question is, what has happened to Black culture over time—from its African roots, to the horrible time of slavery, and Reconstruction, to the Civil Rights movement, and on up to the Imus story?

I don't propose to write a detailed thesis here. I just want to express a few thoughts on the hopes and dreams of the good Black people in this country, as I understand from being an outsider looking in.

Roots

I'm sure most of you have already seen the record-breaking mini-series, Roots. I was out of the country when the series showed in the U.S. originally, and so for all my life I've never seen it. I finally got to view this great television series on DirectTV the last few nights. I watched the whole thing. I was richly rewarded.

I went into it skeptical, since it had such great hype. I was afraid it would be politically correct and another liberal propaganda piece. It wasn't. It is a beautiful work of art and history that brings wonderful and noble characters to life.



It humanizes slavery, and fleshes out the slave traders, owners, and the slaves.

Some Critiques of Roots

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Roots does idealize the slaves, but you know what—I have entered the homes of African-American foster parents for some years (when I was a social worker), and I can definitely say that I experienced the same kind of quiet dignity that Roots portrays. Nothing in Roots reads untrue for me.

Anti-White?

One thing I disliked about Roots was the total anti-White sentiment that was expressed by most of the slaves. Yet, who am I kidding—what else would a slave feel but hatred and contempt for the slave owners who denied him/her their freedom, slept with their women, physically and emotionally abused them, and robbed them of money, property and their very names? It's totally understandable. Besides, there were plenty of good white characters in the series, like Old George and his wife.

Islam

I wasn't crazy either about Kunta Kinte being a Muslim. Of course I feel this way because of 9/11 and terrorist reasons, which were not a factor at the time of the making of Roots. So, I'll give it a pass on this one.

Afro-Centrism

One main objection I have to the series is the insistence on Afro-centrism. I guess you might say I disagree with Alex Haley's main premise—that in order to be free, you must know your roots. I think you are free in America as an American. You don't need to be hyphenated to be a full human being. If you celebrate your roots, that's fine—but not to the extent that you separate yourself, so that you are not a part of the whole, as a full member of America.

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Lessons of Roots

Family

What I think is lost in modern African-American society is the sense of complete family that is present in Roots. Despite the slave traders and owners, the characters in Roots fought hard to keep the whole family together, including the presence of a strong father. Present-day African American families often are missing a father, and/or have parents who are not married.

Respect for Women

Plus, present in Roots is respect for women. This is absent in many hip-hop records and rap music. Imus was supposedly trying to be cool and "in" with his Black brothers by mentioning "hos" in the comments that got him fired. It seems it's not okay for a White guy to say this, but it is okay for a Black guy.

Chicken George

The wonderful character Chicken George, played brilliantly by Ben Vereen, was, like all the central Roots characters, a living human being. He rose from slavery to become a wealthy landowner and form a Tenessee town of former slaves. He used his love of cockfighting to become the expert at it. He earned enough to buy his freedom and escape the misery of servitude, and then rescue his whole family from the evil of racist Whites. He is truly an example of the American Dream, in its richest sense.

Learning from Roots and Imus

This is a good time for Blacks and Whites to contemplate what is and is not acceptable in music and public discourse. I think it is important, as Alex Haley knew, to get back to the best parts of our roots, which for both Whites and Blacks means returning to the importance of intact families, a quiet dignity, and respect for strong, responsible men and persevering, dignified women. God bless Chicken George, his family, and their descendents.

Rock

(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)


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Messy but Beautiful

James Brown.



I saw James Brown perform in person in 1992 in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Celebrating James Brown

I was kind of looking for a bit of guidance on writing today's post from paz, the path, but what I got was that paz, like many Americans, is reverent about James Brown, the godfather of soul, the hardest working man in show biz, which is fine. I was watching on TV the public funeral, billed as a "Homecoming Celebration" for Mr. Brown, coming from the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia, and had some thoughts on the whole thing. I missed the beginning of it, but I saw enough of it to get a flavor.

Pleased and Dismayed

I was pleased by the event, and dismayed.

James is Smiling

One thing that made me happy was that I felt Mr. Brown would have approved much of the celebration.

African-American Contribution to the World

Second, in listening to the music, the rhythms, the cadences of speaking, the living poetry spoken by such masters at it as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, two people who are normally not my heroes—I had to admit that blacks in America, African-Americans, have created something unique in the world.





A musician myself, though not an expert at the various genres, I recognize that African-Americans have created the blues, soul, funk, rap and other genres, and that this is a magnificent contribution to the world.

One thing that is cool is that African-American singers, and even rappers, have taken and used human resonances in ways and combinations never done before. Having traveled the world, I am acutely aware of variety in the human being's musical expression, from the Middle-Eastern ululations, to the atonal Japanese kabuki, to the rich Muslim call to prayer. The sounds at James Brown's "funeral" were rich and melodious. I do believe that African-American performers send their vibrations to parts of their bodies that no singers have done before.

The Spoken Word

I even admit that African-Americans, despite the whole Ebonics thing and bad grammar etc., have contributed these same resonances and rhythms to the spoken word, again as with the poetry of Jesse Jackson, rap, and jive talking. I know that the "bad grammar" part of the whole deal is in one sense just a shortcut to allow the rhythms and resonances to flow. So, I guess it's kind of a separate language, a language with a beat. A language with soul.

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The only problem I have with this is when people rely just on this language and don't develop also proper English. Again, Reverends Jackson and Sharpton are adept at both "languages," which is a good thing.

Church Cadences

Another interesting consideration is the "church cadences," which blacks get into in public events. This cadence is a beautiful thing. The crowd gives their "Amens" etc. showing they are in sync with the speaker. The only problem I have with this is that it doesn't matter what the speaker is saying. The rhythm is the thing. He could be saying, "Brothers and sisters, I want you to go home and fry your hamsters," and the crowd would be yelling, "Tell, it Brother." We tend to turn off our brains when we get into these flows. Still, this was a funeral, so church cadences were appropriate. I was just making a global comment.

A Great Show

A Bit Messy

Overall, it was a great show. This is part of the problem. Part of it was seemly, and part of it unseemly. In case you think this is just another white guy critiquing a black event, you could hear members of the audience actually saying real-time some of the things I'm writing now. You could actually hear one person complaining, "This is so egotistical," and there were other comments too. Several members of the audience told certain people to "get off the stage." For example, there was some animosity for James Brown's companion of many years, Tomi Rae Brown. She sang beautifully, with soul, like James Brown used to sing; and spoke eloquently too. She and Brown had many troubles over the years, and I'm not an expert on this, but part of it involved accusations of physical abuse. I don't take sides on this issue because I wasn't there, and it's none of my business. I just report, however, that the crowd seemed to be blaming her. Recently of course, she was in the news after Mr. Brown's death for not being allowed back into their home of residence.

So, again, it was a great show, if a bit messy. Even the messiness of it all, though, I don't think would have necessarily bothered Mr. Brown. Part of the reason for Mr. Brown's genius I imagine was an attempt to deal with the messiness of life. He had been in and out of marriages, four of them, and in and out of jail. Overall, I'd say he led a good life, and the good he contributed to the world far outweighed the bad, but you have to admit it was a bit "messy." So, the funeral celebration was apropos.

Show or Funeral?

My second critique of the "show" was that it was just that, a show. I couldn't figure out at times if I was listening to a New Orleans' type funeral where the participants "celebrated" the life of the now deceased rather than mourn his passing. Nobody seemed sad that James was gone. Many of the "performers" were just that, performers. They were there to show off their talents, with songs often that had nothing to do with James Brown. It seemed like a chance for them to shine, rather than an opportunity to make James Brown's memory shine. This is the second time I've seen an African-American funeral where (the first time I actually attended) the "mourners" were competing, it seemed, to give the best "performance" at the funeral. I of course will make no generalizations from this, but I do think the center of attention ought to be the deceased, not the mourners. If you're at a James Brown funeral, sing a James Brown song, mention James Brown, tell a story about James Brown. Don't get up there and start reviving your singing career.

Again, oddly enough, the ones who steered away from this kind of thing, and kept things proper, were Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who were most appropriately somber and centered on James Brown.

Tribalism

My third critique is quite a serious one—one that has little to do with this particular funeral, but one that is directed at the African-American community. I don't suppose Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson could have done anything different, but their welcoming of Michael Jackson to the event went a bit too far. To Mr. Jackson's credit, he had been urged to sing at the event, but he declined. I don't mind welcoming people back into the community when they are prodigal sons. Forgiveness is a virtue sometimes. But you have to be sorry to be forgiven. With Michael Jackson, there is no admission of anything, and no expression of regret. He has not received any psychological therapy to make him less of a threat to young boys. Al Sharpton, like he did with the fraudulent case of Tawana Brawley, seemed to stand with Michael Jackson against his unjust, and white, accusers.

Mr. Sharpton seems to communicate quite consistently that if you are black, then you are good, period. This is tribalism. This is what happened with the O.J. trial, where a black man was defended by his race simply because of his race, despite mountains of evidence. I don't hate Michael Jackson. I can understand why he would be included in this funeral. James Brown loved Michael Jackson. Yet, don't make Michael Jackson, or O.J. Simpson, or Tawana Brawley, out to be heroes, heroes who are slandered by the white community. Even if Mr. Jackson never did all the things he was accused of, his behavior with children has been inappropriate, and this ought to be recognized. Don't treat the guy like a returning hero, a victim of society. The children were the victims.

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Messy but Beautiful

All this being said, and allowing that my life has been just as "messy" as James Brown's, and forgiving Mr. Brown for his taste in friends and judgment about them; and inserting my big punch about tribalism; I'm willing to admit that the funeral celebration, despite being "messy" and despite my two other criticisms, was, on the whole, a good thing. It made me feel good; smile; laugh; and get into its rhythm. It showed Mr. Brown's influence on music, musicians, on America, and on the world.

James Brown was a great man, gave us great music, and I loved hearing it and grooving to it.

Thank you James. Go in peace my Brother.

Rock

(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)


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