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Vol. 10 No. 3…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…January
19, 2007
All Shook Up
By Otis Blackwell
A well I bless
my soul
What's wrong
with me?
I'm itching like
a man on a fuzzy tree
My friends say
I'm actin' wild as a bug
I'm in
love...I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh,
yeah, yeah!
My hands are
shaky and my knees are weak
I can't seem
to stand on my own two feet
Who do you
thank when you have such luck?
I'm in love...I'm
all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh,
yeah, yeah!
Please don't
ask me what's on my mind
I'm a little
mixed up, but I'm feelin' fine
When I'm near
that girl that I love best
My heart beats
so it scares me to death!
She touched my
hand what a chill I got
Her lips are
like a volcano that's hot
I'm proud to
say she's my buttercup
I'm in
love...I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh,
yeah, yeah!
My tongue get
tied when I try to speak
My insides
shake like a leaf on a tree
There's only
one cure for this body of mine
That's to have
the girl that I love so fine!
Otis Blackwell
(1932-2002)
Born February 16, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York, Otis Blackwell
learned to play the piano as a child. He worked as a penny-a-day floor sweeper at
a Brooklyn theater and later as a clothes presser. He dreamed of being a
singer. As a teenager, he won a talent contest at Harlem's Apollo Theater. His
victory led to a recording contract with Joe Davis' Jay-Dee label. In the
1940s, Blackwell performed in New York City jazz clubs, where he met another
aspiring singer/songwriter, Doc Pomus, who encouraged and helped him early in
his career.
Blackwell's first recording, "Daddy Rollin' Stone"
was released by Jay-Dee in 1953. Popular in Jamaica, it was recorded by Derek
Martin and The Who. During the 1950s, he recorded rock 'n' roll for RCA Records
and Groove, but never enjoyed much success as a singer, even as many of the
songs he wrote became hits. According to Blackwell, he "was thrown
into" the role of songwriter when asked to write songs while recording for
a small New York company.
Blackwell's big break came on Christmas Eve (1955); he sold
six songs for $150. Elvis Presley picked up one demo that featured Blackwell on
piano. The song, "Don't Be Cruel," became number one in 1956, as did
Blackwell's "All Shook Up," which was inspired by a shaken bottle of
Pepsi Cola. While Presley is listed as a co-writer on both songs, the King of
Rock 'n' Roll played no role in their composition. Other Blackwell songs performed
by Presley include "One Broken Heart For Sale" and "Return To
Sender" (1962).
Blackwell made demos of his songs before being recorded by
others. Some historians believe Presley adopted his vocal style and mannerisms.
Moreover, Blackwell made demos of songs he did not write, but were later
recorded by Presley. Presley, who died in 1977, never met Blackwell.
A prolific songwriter, Blackwell wrote hundreds of songs
that became hits for a long list of recording artists, including Little Willie
John ("Fever,"1956), Peggy Lee, Dee Clark ("Hey Little
Girl" and "Just Keep It Up", 1959), Jimmy Jones ("Handy
Man", 1960), Cliff Richard ("Nine Times Out Of Ten', 1960) and Jerry
Lee Lewis ("Breathless" and "Great Balls Of Fire" 1958).
Blackwell, who also wrote songs under the pseudonym John Davenport, wrote more
than 1,000 songs that were recorded by performers, including Ray Charles,
Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Otis Redding and Kris
Kristofferson. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall
of Fame in 1986. In 1992, Blackwell received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm
& Blues Foundation. Songs written by Blackwell sold more than 185 million
copies. Blackwell died May 6, 2002 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Sources: www.tennessean.com and www.vh1.com)
By John Burl
Smith
Honoring James Brown, most assessed his impact as an entertainer on the modern
world. Hugely popular, we say his whole name, as though he is a universe we can
only view telescopically or muse about in some altered state of conscious.
Unequivocally, a tremendous motivator during the turbulent 1960s and '70s,
James Brown's smash hit Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud propelled
blacks to establish their identity. An obvious thought today, being black, but
at the time - assassinations of Meager Evers, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.-- only men of courage made bold statements about our race.
Since being kidnapped and brought to America from Africa as slaves, a crucial
issue for black people is the fact that an identity eluded us. European slave
companies saw trafficking in human beings as a legitimate and ethical means of commerce.
They institutionalized racism by reducing Africans to a commodity. White
marauders dragged shanghaied Africans aboard ships and packed them like
sardines for sale in the New World. Crossing The Middle Passage, hundreds of
thousands died lying in their feces or at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Brought from different countries, all Africans had one designation -- slave.
Slavery in America was institutionalized racism; it systemized their
descendants as slaves in perpetuity. Making many into one, white slavers
destroyed our African heritage and gave us a slave's identity. They determined
everything about us, most notably what we were called. Alex Haley illustrated
this brilliantly in Roots, when Kunta Kinte is forced to accept
Tobie as his name. Slaves were given various designations, most prominently
'colored' and 'Negro.'
Image goes to the heart of self-esteem and is as much a part of identity as
designation. Whites developed caricatures for slaves and their descendants
which reflected the most negative characteristics and qualities to demean their
sense of worth. Moreover, slaves were forced, sometimes under the penalty of
death, to live their lives according to these images. Denied learning such as
reading, mathematics and writing, slaves were branded as dumb and stupid.
Forced to work without compensation for others, slaves were stigmatized as
lazy. Universally, chided as worthless, slaves were among the highest priced
commodities of that day.
James Brown's Say
It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud was a rejection of white imposed
identity, and it asserted our view of ourselves. Claiming our blackness, we
declared our intent to put our mark on the world in our own names. Hip hop is
only the beginning. No more blacking up to gain access or Otis Blackwell and
Elvis Presley. James Brown gave us the courage to accept our black faces and
the pride to show them any place we pleased. Our hair was nappy and we loved it
that way. We found a spirit in Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud that
acknowledged we were a new people made by slavery -- not completely African but
definitely not white.
Approaching fifty years since those immortal words blasted across the airways
and exploded in our hearts and minds, we face a new millennium. Lashed daily by
"Good Times" to change our minds, perms to change our hair and
bleaching creams to change our skin, the "colored" folks that
resulted are lined up, fighting to get back that slave mentality. Seeing
themselves as too rich, too intelligent, too sophisticated and too elevated to
be black, they reject James Brown's "declaration of identify."
Marching backwards, decked out in their slave mentality, they have traded in
their pride for the dream of being treated like "white folks."
After Say
It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud, slave descendants must embrace
their common heritage. Accepting that reality we can establish our claim to all
that slavery took from us. Dot M. Smith's Chasm of Inequality Analysis, which
measures institutionalized racism, proved slavery never ended. The result of
her analysis mirrors the 3/5 Compromise: the socioeconomic and political basis
of institutionalized racism in the USA. With the same spirit and love that we
embraced our blackness in the 1960s and '70s, we need to state clearly our
intent to represent our slave heritage so we can claim what is owed us for
being made into a hyphenated people. Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud
back then gave us one mind about who we were and what we wanted. We must be
just as clear and resolute today.
Black
Leaders....You're Fired!
By Min. Paul
Scott
Dear Black Leader..As the unofficial self- appointed representative of the
people who you are supposed to work for, I have a bit of bad news effective MLK
Day 2007....You're Fired!!! Or, as Martin Lawrence used to say, "Gets ta
steppin!"
It's not that we don't appreciate your hard work and dedication in fighting for
our civil rights and everything. We know your bio, which you always share with
us anytime we ask you what have you done for us, lately. We know about the
marches, the demonstrations, the police dogs and the jail stays. But that
history is lost on this generation. They are desensitized to the "going to
jail thang." My cousin Clyde, the Klepto can do a 10 year bid standing on
one hand. As far as the police dogs, Lil Tyrone has to deal with stray pit
bulls everyday coming home from school. So the tales from the past just don't
move Black folks like they used to.
Accounting is concerned about the expense account that you've been runnin' up.
They say that you have been abusing the company's Bank of Harlem Black Card. Is
it really necessary to wear $2000 Brooks Brothers suits and $1500 Italian
leather shoes, everyday while the people you work for get their clothes from
Wal Mart and Pick and Pay? (Work rule # 4081, never out dress the boss.) And, how about the first class airline
tickets and the 5 star hotels? Also, the board of directors thinks that the
$5000 honorarium that you charge historically Black colleges for 45 minutes of
your wisdom is a little excessive. Especially when you are going to ask the
strugglin' college kids to break you off $28.99 for your latest hardback after
the lecture?
My peeps in the street are also tired of seeing you flossin' on C-Span more
than they see you in tha hood, homie. They want you to step your rap game up
and come with something a little fresher than a remixed "I Have a
Dream" speech every year. At least Jay Z and them can bust a funky
freestyle off the top of their heads. And stop criticizing their spinning rims
and platinum teeth when you are bling blingin' more than they are. And for the
record, they said that they ain't gonna stop using the "n" word as
long as you keep referring to Black folks as minorities and "colored
people."
The Boyz in the Hood want a chance to shine on the cover of Ebony and on the
radio, too. My boy, Tre said that he was in the newspaper one time and his
mom's said that he looked real good dunking the basketball in the Cross City
Championship of '95. He once dropped some serious science after the Hurricane
Katrina disaster in the middle of Mr Luther's Barber Shop and got a standing
ovation and a free hair cut! Brotha's got some real talk for the people but NPR
won't holla at him, though.
The interns who have been running around getting your coffee and filing your
papers for the last 20 years are getting tired of being passed over for
promotions. Word around the break room is that they are planning a hostile
takeover if changes aren't made soon. I know that you always thought that the
main threat to your job would come from the Conservative cats on the 5th
Floor who you play golf with every weekend but you underestimated the Brotha in
the Red, Black and Green T-Shirt that you had in the field picking up garbage.
You didn't know that the old school Public Enemy pumpin' in his IPod headphones
and the books on Garvyism that he was reading during his lunch break would give
him grand ideas about taking over the company.
We tried to get your pension straight, but funny thing, no one in Human
Resources remembers hiring you. It must have happened during the race riots of
'69 when the Brothas were handlin' their business in the streets. When the
smoke cleared all the rest of the Brothas were doing long prison sentences but
you were at the front of the line to be the first negro to integrate Whiteman
and Liverpool Inc.
To find a suitable replacement, we have decided to launch our own reality show
"America's Next Black Leader," and we will be going through hoods
across America with a camcorder to see who is actually out there feeding the
people, fighting the power and doing all of the other things that you preached
to us that we should be doing for the last 40 years.
So we thank you for your years of service and we know that you will have no
problem finding a new job with your white corporate sponsors. Best Wishes, Min.
Paul Scott
About Me: "TRUTH Minista" Paul
Scott represents the Messianic Afrikan Nation in Durham NC. He can be reached
at (919) 451-8283 or via email at minpaulscott@yahoo.com.
His lectures are available online on youtube.com at http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=minps.
On
Institutionalized Racism
By Dot
Epitomizing the views of blacks held by the United States'
founding fathers when they agreed to legalize slavery, the USA is a hostile
environment for slave descendants. There is no aspect of black American life
that is not negatively influenced by Article 1 Section 2 of the US
Constitution, the institutions created to enforce that law and the public
attitudes that reflect, support and nurture it.
In employment, which represents the single greatest source
of individual income and economic welfare, racial discrimination is the rule of
thumb. Historically, blacks are the last hired and first fired, insuring a
cycle of poverty relative to their white counterparts.
Reports that blame black poverty on out of wedlock births or
other statistics, including level of education and geographical location,
excuse and/or ignore the role of institutionalized racism in assuring the
disadvantage of blacks relative to whites. Fact is, blacks are mired in a legal
chasm of inequality, which is borne out by a retrospective analysis of the
economic welfare loss due to unemployment.
My 1982 chasm analysis, which is updated annually, shows
blacks bear the brunt of the economic pain of downturns in the US' business
cycle. Blacks experience unemployment rates twice that of whites. Even at low
levels, the official unemployment rate is deceptive, since many blacks are
discouraged and not counted as unemployed. Frequently, blacks work for temp
agencies and in day labor situations, i.e., neo-slavery, or they work on
part-time jobs that afford few, if any, benefits.
Victims of redlining, predatory lending and police
profiling, blacks are losing their homes and are being locked away in prisons
faster than black farmers are being pushed off their land. The slave
descendants' collective experience exemplifies a hostile environment. Whether
we examine it from an anthropological, economic, political, psychological or
social perspective, the black USA experience reflects the 3/5 Compromise of
white supremacy -- the law of the land.
Ironically, our so-called black leaders and members of the
black intelligentsia do not rail against the institutions established by
Article 1 Section 2 to enforce the first law of inequality. In fact, most
blacks ignorantly assume amendments to the constitution abolished slavery. Yet,
there is an Electoral College, which was created based on the first law, the
ghetto tax and federal, state and local public education funding formulas,
which systemically shortchange black children that reside in the nation's urban
centers.
On Monday, January 15, 2007, the nation celebrated the
birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His dream of racial equality figured
prominently in the public addresses and programs held across the country. Yet,
in none of those addresses covered by mainstream media did the speakers mention
abolishing the first law of institutionalized racism.
Disgruntled
wants to know:
Blacks in the United States were kidnapped and made into slaves. They were held
in bondage for life. White society robbed them of any sense of themselves, then
replaced it with the image and identity of a buffoon. The principle indicator
of a slave's mentality is emulation -- the slaves' pathetic attempts to look
like their masters. Look around today, do black people reflect images that say
we have overcome what slavery made us and take pride in our blackness, or do we
more resemble white imitators?
Disgruntled says: Great news! The stock market closed at
an historic high. From the nation's underbelly, news that the market
precipitously rose does not get a rise out of the black boats still sinking in
this tidal wave of prosperity. Many of those black boats that should have
stayed afloat got swallowed up by outsourcing, government downsizing and
privatization, illegal immigration, H1-B visas, business mergers and
acquisitions, all things that exacerbated labor conditions for black Americans.
Down under, people are unconcerned that the stock market closed higher or
lower. There is no wealth-effect in nonexistent portfolios.
Disgruntled feels: Shook up! For
those of us that have long seen George W. Bush in a decidedly negative light - some
of us believe the man is downright evil - it comes as no surprise that he would
turn the Iraq Study Group (ISG) report upside down. The ISG recommended
redeployment and diplomacy with Iraq's neighbors and others nations in the
region. Instead, Bush changed his military leaders, called for an increase in
US boots on the ground and hinted at war against Syria and Iran. The man is in
love and the world is in trouble; he is all shook up over killing and war
profiteering.
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