Author's posts
Soundtrack to the Struggle: Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson had been invited to sing at the Fourth Canadian Convention of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers in Vancouver in February of 1952. An outspoken supporter of civil rights worldwide and an admirer of the Soviet Union, where he perceived there to be no racism, Robeson had been increasingly persecuted …
Soundtrack to the Struggle: The Green Book
1936, and New York City postman Victor Hugo Green publishes the first edition of the Negro Motorist Green-Book. This directory of hotels, restaurants, mechanics, and other services open to Blacks became an indispensable resource for travelers of color. Each annual edition grew in size and detail, mapping roads relatively safe from police profiling. “Driving while …
Soundtrack to the Struggle: Clyde Otis “This Bitter Earth”
It’s 1959 and Dinah Washington records the latest from hit-maker Clyde Otis. As she sings, she knows the song – “This Bitter Earth” – will be a classic. But neither Washington nor Otis could predict just how great an impact “This Bitter Earth” would have on American culture. Clyde Otis wrote over 800 songs during …
Clean Up Your Act 3-22-23
Researchers at Iowa State University will study planting fruits and vegetables under solar panels.
Soundtrack to the Struggle: Blood On the Fields
It’s 1994 and it’s opening night for Wynton Marsalis’s Blood on the Fields – an extended jazz oratorio on the condition of American slavery. The narrative unfolds and the music courses through elements of work songs, call and response, blues, ragtime, and jazz. The audience realizes that Blood on the Fields is far more than …
Soundtrack to the Struggle: Territory Bands
Outside the bright lights of Harlem, where Ellington and Armstrong reigned supreme, hard-working, lesser-known orchestras brought jazz to the masses. Like the barnstormer leagues of baseball, these “territory bands” of hungry newcomers played small-town dance halls, ice cream socials, and Elks Lodges, and introduced rural America to its native music. Based in smaller cities and …
Soundtrack to the Struggle: Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis, son of Greek immigrants, eloped at age 19 with his childhood sweetheart of African American descent to Reno, Nevada. Interracial marriage was more accepted there. Otis later wrote, “As a kid, I decided that if our society dictated that one had to be black or white, I would be Black.” Young Johnny forged …
Soundtrack to the Struggle: Terence Blanchard
“Everybody has a breaking point,” says trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, “and I feel we’re getting close to ours.” Blanchard refers to the level of gun violence in America, and the number of violent acts committed against people of color. With his band E-Collective, Blanchard has recorded two albums considered open conversations, consciousness-raising dialogues on …