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Vol.
8 Issue 28…Dedicated to the Dialogue
on Race…July 15, 2005
Oscar
Cicero Brown, Jr. (1926-2005)
Born
October 10, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, Oscar Cicero Brown, Jr. was raised in a
two-church household. Firstborn of Helen and Oscar C. Brown, Sr., a teacher and
lawyer/real estate owner, Oscar's mother attended St. Edmond's Episcopal Church
and his father was a member of and attorney for Pilgrim Baptist Church. Brown
attended Willard Elementary and Englewood High Schools. As a young man, Brown
performed in "Secret City," Studs Terkel's children radio series and
apparently fell in love with the medium.
Encouraged to pursue a career in law, Brown enrolled at
the University of Wisconsin (1943). He also attended Lincoln University in
Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan, where he excelled in creative
writing. After college, Brown returned to Chicago radio, working on a program
called "Negro Newsfront," where he became the "world's first
Negro newscaster."
Program director for the United Packinghouse Workers Union, Brown ran for the Illinois
legislature on the Progressive Party ticket (1948), and for Congress as a
Republican (1952). He left the Communist Party (1956), concluding he was
"just too black to be red." From 1948 to 1950, he worked with Richard
Durham's "Destination Freedom" Black Radio Days series.
Brown served two years in the Army, after which he composed songs and sang in
small local nightclubs. His big break came when Robert Nemiroff, Lorraine
Hansberry's husband and neighbor of the Brown family, introduced his music to
New York. This led to a contract with Columbia records and his classic debut
album "Sin and Soul," which made Brown a national celebrity.
Brown performed in a number of venues and toured with a host of artists. He
composed lyrics for the Miles Davis classic "All Blues" and
collaborated with Max Roach on "Freedom Now Suite," a civil rights
song.
In the early 1970s, Brown premiered the musical drama "Slave Song"
and starred in "Evolution of the Blues." He was featured in a (CBS)
WBBM-TV special, "Oscar Brown is Back" in Town" and hosted the
PBS program "From Jump Street: The Story of Black Music." He was a
regular on "Brewster Place," the television series starring Oprah
Winfrey, and he appeared in several other roles, including on episodes of
"Roc" and the PBS special "Zora Is My Name," written by
Ruby Dee. In recent years, he appeared on the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS and
Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on HBO. He also revived his production of
"Great Nitty Gritty," a show about gang violence originally staged
with young residents of Cabrini Green, a Chicago housing project.
Brown composed over a thousand songs and more than a dozen plays, mainly
musicals with history lessons and healing messages. Artist-in-residence at
Howard University in DC, Hunter College in New York and Malcolm X College in
Chicago, Brown served as Regents Professor at the University of California,
where in 2002 the state legislature honored him with a statewide "Oscar Brown,
Jr. Day" tribute. His hometown of Chicago also honored him as "Senior
of the Year" (2002). In 2004, Brown was inducted into the National Black
Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Actor, director, playwright, songwriter, lyricist, activist, essayist, and
television host, Oscar Brown, Jr. died May 29, 2005. (Sources: www.oscarbrownjr.com and www.aaregistry.com)
The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro recently had a life-altering
experience. Rainfall from hurricane Dennis and a compromised root system led to
a neighbor's tree landing on the roof right over his head. Sound asleep, he had
to be awakened and informed of his potentially perilous predicament. When he
crawled from his bed and saw the tree covering his shattered windows, the Dark
One/Ninja/Zorro sleepily said, "That's a really big one!"
People
of Soul (From the musical "Great Nitty
Gritty")
By
Oscar Brown, Jr.
To see clear
through despair
The way we've
always done
To be burdened
with care
And still find
some fun
And to make a
way where
There
truly was none
That's been
the role
That's been
the role
That's been
the role
Of the people
of soul
To be troubled
in mind
By the trials
life can bring
But to reach
and to find
Sweet reason
to sing
And to come
from behind
Just by doing
our thing
That's been
the role
That's been
the role
That's been
the role
Of the people
of soul
It's a spark
of the spirit
That shines
like a bright and morning star
We can feel it
and hear it
And know it
has brought us as far as we are
Through the
darkness to grope
With deep
faith in the dawn
And to manage
to cope
Until the
night time is gone
And then
summon up hope
And keep on
keepin' on
That's been
the role
That's been
the role
That's been
the role
Of the people
of soul
It's a
characteristic
Of people who
have what it takes to endure
It is magic,
its mystic,
It's African
Rhythmic
A cure that's
for sure
From the
powerful drum
To the songs
and the chants
From the
sorrowful hum
To the
jubilant dance
Taking life as
it comes
With the grace
that God grants
That's been
the role
That's been
the role
That's been
the role
News You Use
NBT Tribute to Oscar Brown, Jr.
The National Black Theatre (NBT), which is located in the Village of Harlem,
New York, will salute the memory of Oscar Brown, Jr. in a three-day tribute
honoring his contributions to black culture, theatre and art. A respected
playwright, poet and civil rights activist, Brown, who achieved world renown,
is considered "The High Priest of Hip and the Granddaddy of Rap."
On Saturday, July 16, 2005 from 6:00 PM-10:00 PM, NBT will host a block party
and dedicate an "Ancestral Tree of Immortality" to Brown's memory in
a ceremony with drummers, lights, testimonials and food in front of the
National Black Theatre's landmark building at 2031-33 Fifth Avenue (between 125th
& 126th streets). Following the tree dedication, guests will
move inside to enjoy an evening of poetry and rap hosted by poetess Sonia
Sanchez, featuring Maggie Brown and Simone, the daughter of Dr. Nina Simone,
and other artists.
On Sunday, July 17, 2005, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM, NBT will host Musical
Tributes-"Serenade The World" with Genovis Albright and other
performers. Written and composed by Genovis Albright, "Serenade The
World" was produced by NBT last year. A must experience this is a
magnificent theatrical piece that vividly presents the musical history and life
of Oscar Brown, Jr.
On Monday, July 18, 2005, 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, NBT will present the documentary
"Music is My Life, Politics My Mistress - The Oscar Brown Jr. Story"
by filmmaker donnie l. betts. The documentary will be followed by a question
and answer session with the filmmaker and Oscar's daughter, Maggie Brown.
Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, Founder and CEO of NBT, cordially invites the Village of
Harlem and community-at-large to this three-day tribute and salute to American
icon and creative genius Oscar Brown, Jr. For more information about the
tribute, contact Jackie Jeffries at 212-722-3800 or email nbitca@aol.com.
Venus:
A Person of Soul
For the past two years, Venus Williams has battled injuries, family tragedies,
which included her parents' divorce and the murder of an older sister, and
played second fiddle on the tennis circuit to her baby sister- Serena. When she
took on fellow American Lindsay Davenport at the All-England Club in the
ladies' finals at Wimbledon, her world professional tennis ranking had slipped
from number one to sixteen.
Over this trying period, there were times when her fans wondered, does Venus
have soul, the mental toughness necessary to win, not just a slam, but any WTA
tournament? Well, on Saturday, July 2, 2005, Venus resoundingly answered that
question. Facing match point in the third and final set, Venus reached deep
within herself and found the will to prevail.
Announcer Mary Carrillo wondered aloud, as Venus valiantly staved off defeat,
"How do you teach a kid to fight back from down under like that?" Of
course, the answer resides in the fact that Venus is a person of soul; people
of color have always faced incredible odds and had to fight from a position of
disadvantage to survive in a hostile environment. Venus did what should come
natural to a black American. She gave it her all, and this time, she came out
on top.
Venus' 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 9-7 victory over number one Davenport gave her a third
Wimbledon title, her fifth major. In addition to the honor of hoisting the
Venus Rosewater Dish, the ladies' singles trophy, Venus became the lowest
seeded player ever to win the tournament, a distinction more recently held by
tennis phenom Maria Sharapova, who Venus beat in the semi-finals. The
Davenport-Williams match lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes, setting another
Wimbledon record.
No doubt setting another kind of record, a leggy Venus looked like a Watusi as
she leapt for joy in celebration of her win. Her fans around the world joined in
the jubilant dance of a person of soul.
Neo-Colonization
of Africa
In the run-up to the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, there was much talk
about debt relief, ending poverty and otherwise aiding Africa. Is the Group of
8 nations - Canada, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and
the United States - genuinely interested in helping Africans? Given the history
of these nations, particularly France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and the
United States, it strains the imagination to believe their publicly declared
charitable intentions are genuine.
Astute observers have aptly labeled what the G8 is really doing as a "new
scramble for Africa," the title of an investigative report by the Guardian
(www.guardian.co.uk/hearafrica05/story/0,15756,1496561,00.html).
The report documents how the conjunction of natural resources, such as oil,
diamonds, gas, etc., profit-driven corporations and corrupt African rulers
operates to loot otherwise rich African nations.
In the 19th century scramble, western nations competed to carve Africa into
colonies. Africa's more serious contemporary economic problems, including its
poverty and mountains of debts, exist in large part as a consequence of western
colonization. Today, the new colonizers are large corporations that compete for
profits in resource rich countries that are often ruled by corrupt regimes,
such as the Abacha military regime that looted billions from oil-rich
"Nigeria with the assistance of western banks and bribes paid by US oil
firms."
The Guardian article provides a number of examples of this practice,
highlighting the billions of dollars worth of natural resources being removed
from regions like sub-Saharan Africa, an object of newly aroused western
charitable concerns. Instead of enriching debt-ridden African countries, big
corporations facilitate corruption and instability. Organizations, such as
Friends of the Earth and Global Witness, speak of an oil curse in countries
like Equatorial Guinea and Angola that are now the focus of corporations
competing for their oil.
According to Simon Taylor, Director of Global Witness, "Western companies
and banks have colluded in stripping Africa's resources. We need to track
revenues from oil, mining and logging into national budgets to make sure that
the money isn't siphoned off by corrupt officials." This kind of
accountability to aid Africans is unlikely under the corporate neo-colonization
of Africa.
Disgruntled
wants to know: Russian astrologer Marina Bai filed a lawsuit against
NASA claiming the Deep Impact probe that blasted a hole in the Tempel 1 comet
"ruins the natural balance of forces in the universe." NASA dismissed
the notion, saying the blast did not alter the comet's orbit. Yet, if the
flapping of a butterfly's wings can impact the atmosphere on Earth, why
wouldn't a detonation in space affect the universe?
Disgruntled feels: On Message! Outing a CIA operative is
a breach of national security. In our post-911 world, national security is a
top priority that should not fall victim to partisan politics. However, as
mainstream media find some backbone and dare ask a few pointed questions of
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, the Republican Party's leadership
has issued talking points that blame Democrats for the press' feeding frenzy.
Fanning out across the airwaves, Republican talking heads uncannily stay on
message that this desire on the part of the media to know whether or not George
W. Bush will do as he said and fire the person (s) that leaked Valerie Plame's
identity to the press is all about the mean-spiritness of Democrats. This is
about as ridiculous as the uncanny ability of Republicans to disregard facts in
staying on message.
Disgruntled says: As a nation, Mexico is ruled by whites
that represent a small percentage of its population. In response to criticism
and claims of racism with the release of a series of postage stamps depicting
the cartoon character Memin Pinguin, the Mexican government basically refused
to consider withdrawing the stamps, claiming critics lack knowledge about the
nation's cartoons and culture. Drawn with very dark skin, an oddly shaped head,
thick red lips, a large nose and wide-open eyes, Memin Pinguin is an
unattractive caricature of blacks. In the "beloved" comics, his white
counterparts often ridicule him. Only the most insensitive and blatantly racist
nation would find nothing offensive about this comic depiction.
Leaks
and Speculation
Speculation is rife over who outed Joseph Wilson's wife. Here is what we know:
In 2002, Wilson, a former U.S. Ambassador, went to Niger on a CIA mission to
investigate reports that Iraq sought uranium from the African nation of Niger.
Wilson found no evidence to support this assertion. Despite Wilson's report
clearing Saddam Hussein of attempting to obtain uranium, George W. Bush used
the fictitious nuclear claim in his January 2003 State of the Union Address.
On July 6, 2003, the New York Times published an editorial written by Wilson
that was critical of the uranium lie used to justify the war against Iraq. On
July 14, 2003, syndicated columnist and CNN commentator Robert Novak identified
Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife, as a CIA employee, suggesting nepotism got Wilson
the Niger assignment. Within days, Matthew Cooper wrote that a government
official leaked Plame's name and CIA function to Time Magazine. To knowingly
disclosure the identity of a CIA operative is a criminal offense.
The CIA turned to the Justice Department, which launched a criminal inquiry
into the disclosure in September 2003. In the meantime, Wilson publicly claimed
someone inside the White House intentionally revealed the identity of his wife
as payback for exposing the lie in Bush's State of the Union Address as a way
of discrediting him and to send a chilling message to anyone that dared
criticize the Bush administration. Then Attorney General John Ashcroft recused
himself and Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed to conduct an independent
investigation into who outed agent Plame.
The grand jury subpoenaed Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller of the New York
Times, a reporter that did not write a story about Plame, but according to her
critics wrote plenty in support of the war. Others giving grand jury testimony
included Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Karl Rove,
Bush's Deputy Chief of Staff and architect of Bush's political success, and
Scott McClellan, the White House Press Secretary.
When legal efforts to quash subpoenas failed, Time magazine agreed to comply
with a court order to turn over Cooper's notes, e-mails and other documents to
keep Cooper out of jail. In addition, Cooper's source released him from his
confidentiality pledge. Cooper spent more than two hours before the grand jury
on July 13, 2005. Miller went to jail for contempt of court.
According to Newsweek, e-mails show White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove
leaked information about Plame to Cooper. Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, has
confirmed that his client did indeed talk with the reporter. Carefully couching
what Rove did in legalese, "he never said her name," so maybe Rove
did not commit a crime in talking to Cooper and most likely Robert Novak. But,
he did clearly leak information he should have known was classified. Now that
this leaker has been identified, who the heck is Miller protecting? Could her
source be a higher up in the Bush administration? Like Rove, Bush and Cheney
have hired criminal defense attorneys. So, is Miller protecting one or both of
them? Would either Libby or Rove act independently of their bosses? We don't
think so!
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