While the U.S. Senate hasn’t agreed on much of anything for several years, this week it unanimously passed legislation granting the Congressional Gold Medal to Willie O’Ree, the first Black player to compete in the National Hockey League.
The legislation now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives for approval so O’Ree, 85, and known as the “Jackie Robinson of hockey,” can receive this much deserved honor.
O’Ree broke the NHL’s color barrier in 1958 by playing as a winger for the Boston Bruins, one of six teams at the time. O’Ree, who is Canadian, played professional hockey in his home country before joining the NHL and retiring from the sport in 1979. He has spent the past two decades as the NHL’s diversity ambassador with his Hockey is for Everyoneyouth program.
In every game he played in, O’Ree… heard name calling from opposing players and from fans in the stands. “Besides being Black and being blind in my right eye, I was faced with four other things: racism, prejudice, bigotry and ignorance,” he said.
The legislation would award O’Ree the nation’s highest civilian award that Congress can bestow “in recognition of his extraordinary contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.”
O’Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018 for his off-ice contributions to the sport. The Bruins retired O’Ree’s No. 22 jersey in February of this year.
The term “rumba” refers to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, “rumba” was used as a synonym for “party” in Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba.
It has since been used in different countries to refer to styles of music and dance around the globe, most of which are only tangentially related to the original Cuban rumba.
This playlist gathers music from Cuba, The Americas, and Africa. This is another one that comes with a “Rump Shaker Warning.”
Jayla Jackson, 16 and Emani Stanton, 17, made history last week as the first Black female duo to win the Harvard Debate Council‘s international annual summer competition.
Jackson and Stanton secured the fourth consecutive championship for their Atlanta-based team, which has an undefeated 10-0 record. The topic of debate was, “Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization should substantially increase its defense commitments in the Baltic States.”
Each summer, the Harvard Debate Council, one of the oldest campus organizations at Harvard University, hosts a summer residential program for hundreds of gifted youths from over 15 countries around the world who converge on campus for two weeks of intensive study, which culminates in a program-wide debate tournament.
This year’s residency and competition were held virtually due to COVID-19 protocols.
Victors Jackson and Stanton are current members of the Atlanta-based Harvard Diversity Project, an initiative founded by award-winning debate coach and author Brandon P. Fleming.
To hear Jackson and Stanton talk about their triumph on npr.org, click below:
Producer, actor and entreprenueur Marsai Martin (Black-ish, Little) will executive produce Girls Inc.’s inaugural film festival, which will be held virtually this June 13 starting at 4pmPT/7pmET.
Amber Ruffin, creator and star of Peacock‘s The Amber Ruffin Show, takes on hosting duties for the ticketed festival that will also include appearances by Tracee Ellis Ross, Venus Williams, Hoda Kotb, and Tina Fey.
The ticketed fest will feature live and pre-taped appearances as it offers a series of short films featuring “an inspiring group of girls and young women who represent a new generation of leaders and change,” per Girls Inc. Renée Elise Goldsberry, Darnell Martin, Melinda Hsu Taylor, Busy Philipps and Amber Stevens West directed the projects.
During a VIP reception, Martin and Fey will host a panel to discuss the next generation of female producers. Later, during the program Girls Inc. will hand out a series of honors to Netflix’s Bela Bajaria, Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Rosalind Brewer, ballerina Misty Copeland, Schultz Family Foundation’s Sheri Kersch Schultz, and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine developer and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health assistant professor Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett. Also booked to perform during the event is Broadway and recording star Shoshana Bean.
Girls Inc. president and CEO Stephanie J. Hull said the inaugural festival is an “exciting opportunity” for girls to share their experiences through film. “The event will feature compelling stories from a group of girls and young women who represent a new generation of leaders and changemakers. Collaborating with Marsai Martin on this endeavor is a dream come true — she leads by example and inspires girls everywhere to believe in themselves and see no limit to their potential.”
Said Martin: “It gives us a chance to spotlight the next generation of talented filmmakers. It’s also important that we give young girls an opportunity to use their voices.”
Tickets to the virtual event and more information can be found here.
Happy Monday from your friend and selector, Marlon. This collection features Calypso classics from the late 1930s to the 1960s, where this musical style reached many through the internationally popular recordings of Harry Belafonte.
I have included many of his predecessors: Attila the Hun, Roaring Lion, The Mighty Sparrow and Lord Invader to name but a few. Lord Invader’s “Rum and Coca-Cola” was covered with great success by the Andrews Sisters.
Another “Lord,” Lord Kitchener, was one of the longest-lasting calypso stars in history. He continued to release hit records until his death in 2000.
The roots of Calypso music started in 17th century Trinidad. The Africans brought to toil on sugar plantations, were stripped of all connections to their homeland and family, and not allowed to talk to each other.
They used calypso to mock the slave masters and to communicate with each other. It is characterized by highly rhythmic and harmonic vocals and is usually sung in a French creole and led by a griot.
While Calypso is most often danceable, there often much social commentary, and innuendo laced in the lyrics.
Hope you enjoy this collection of music that would go on to influence Ska, Rocksteady, and Reggae.
Have a great week! And as always stay safe, sane, and kind.
Today being her birthday would have been reason enough to honor the life and career of the one and only Janet Jackson.
But in 2021, it’s also turned out to be once-in-a-lifetime event — the weekend Ms. Jackson has decided to sell over 1,000 personal and professional items viaJulien’s Auctions to fans and collectors alike — and donate a portion of the proceeds to children’s charity Compassion International.
(Sunday, May 16 is the last day to watch and/or bid during the auction. You can do so here.)
As a personal fan who lives in Los Angeles, I was able to go to the public display prior to the auction. Seeing her iconic outfits and costumes along with personal items from her childhood and homes was, in a word, mesmerizing.
If you’ve grown up with her like I and a lot of GenX has, it’s easy to take Janet’s legacy and prowess for granted. But when you look at the history, the music, the videos, her eras across the decades and the impact of them all represented in one place, you fully realize what a uniquely innovative, influential artist she has been, is, and always will be.
With producing partners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jackson has crafted some of the most insightful and inspirational — and hey, let’s say it, danceable — issue-oriented songs ever.
Today, we celebrate her contributions to elevating our consciousness and calling for action on topics such as discrimination, poverty, racism, illiteracy, domestic violence, depression, sexism and homophobia with the playlist “The Knowledge” – Janet Jackson Social Justice Music:
“Rhythm Nation” is not only represented on this list by its titular track, but also by “The Knowledge,” “State of the World,” “Livin’ In A World (They Didn’t Make)” and its connective tissue interludes, but also by “The Skin Game,” a track about racial discrimination from that didn’t make the album but was a B-side to its “Come Back To Me” single.
“Like so many Black people, I have my own stories of being profiled — of being stopped, searched and frisked twice in the same month by cops skeptical about a Black woman driving a fancy car. And you have to think, if the cops stop me, how much worse must it be for others?” she wrote. “Yet we go on.”
Janet recently revived “Skin Game” during at her State of the WorldTour, at the 2018 Essence Festival and during her Global Citizens performance in 2018. Check out the kick-ass opening sequence below:
On her 1993 Janet. album, Jackson offered “New Agenda” with Public Enemy’s Chuck D, “This Time” about domestic violence with opera singer Kathleen Battle.
On 1997’s The Velvet Rope, Janet tackled self-esteem and self-worth on “You,” the unhealthy reliance on connections made through the internet on “Empty,” feelings of depression and worthlessness “Special,” homophobia on “Free Xone” and overcoming racial and gender discrimination on the hidden track “Can’t Be Stopped.”
The depth and breadth of this album’s themes are discussed deftly by Ayanna Dozier in her book on The Velvet Rope from the acclaimed 33 1/3 series about music’s most impactful albums.
“Got Til It’s Gone” (seen below) and “Together Again” are also included because visually, this pair of Afrocentric videos were all about self-possession, expression and finding joy in the most difficult of circumstances — in South Africa during apartheid in “Got Til It’s Gone,” and healing oneself through the acknowledgement of the importance of lives of those who passed from AIDS and need to celebrate not stigmatize their lives in “Together Again.”
“What About” mixes the softness of her sweetest love songs with a hard rock edge reminiscent of “Black Cat” as she delivers a tour de force on domestic violence.
Jackson’s performance at the 1998 VH1 Fashion Awards was poignant, powerful and unforgettable:
Rounding out the playlist are the songs “Black Eagle” and “Shoulda Known Better” from her number-one album from 2015, Unbreakable, which acknowledge the work that still needs to be done, how difficult it is to overcome the complex issues of racism and abject poverty and how heart-breaking they are, but why it’s still worth trying.
Though not released as a single or official video, “Shoulda Known Better” was used by a fan to make a video tribute to the victims of the Orlando shooting in 2016, and Janet Jackson shares it as part of her official YouTube channel:
I hope I get to add new songs to this list later this year, if Janet resumes the Black Diamond Tour and releases the Black Diamondalbum, both postponed from 2020 due to the global pandemic.
Or even if she records an entirely new project, I have no doubt that in some form, Ms. Jackson’s outspoken caring and compassion for the world will come through once again.
[Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business, airing as part of AfroPoP:The Ultimate Cultural Exchange (image courtesy of LACMA)]
Exploring modern art, human rights and politics, the AfroPoP shorts program premieres on Monday, April 26 at 8 p.m. ET on WORLD Channel and worldchannel.org with films from Christine Turner, Michèle Stephenson and Amir George.
See the teaser for the Shorts Program below:
The episode opens with Turner’s Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business, a look at the trailblazing Los Angeles-based Black visual artist.
In her 90s and still actively creating art, through interviews with Saar and archival footage, the documentary explores her acclaimed method of using collage, assemblage and more to make pieces — including her famous “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima” work — addressing Black culture, racism, feminism, empowerment and more since the 1960s.
[The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972. Wood, cotton, plastic, metal, mixed media. UC Berkeley. de Young]
Later in the episode, AfroPoP examines racism and xenophobia in the Dominican Republic with Elena from filmmaker Michèle Stephenson.
An intimate look at Elena Lorac, a young woman of Haitian descent raised in the Dominican Republic working tirelessly to combat anti-Haitian laws in the island nation. As her parents, who have worked the sugarcane plantations on the island their entire lives, and other Haitians face possible deportation as a result of new government policy, Elena struggles to obtain her own identification papers and also works with social justice groups to increase voting access and legal rights for Dominicans of Haitian descent, efforts made harder by the government at every turn.
The evening closes with Man of the People from director Amir George. Through a mix of sound and archival footage, Man ofthe People relates the story of political leader Harold Washington, his path to victory to become the first Black mayor of Chicago, and his mysterious death.
Presented by Black Public Media and WORLD Channel, new episodes of AfroPoP: TheUltimateCulturalExchange premiere each Monday through May 3. All episodes will be available for streaming at worldchannel.org and on the PBS app starting at the time of their TV premiere.
The Weeknd donated one million dollars to the United Nations World Food Program to bolster hunger relief efforts in Ethiopia, according to his recent Instagram post.
Born Abel Tesfaye in Toronto, Canada to his Ethiopian immigrant parents Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye, the “Blinded By The Lights” performer is using his platform to shine a light on the conflict between the government in Addis Ababa and the Tigray region that has been going on for months and lead to deaths and the displacement of over two million people.
Happy Music Monday from your friend and selector, Marlon. Hope this playlist and missive finds you safe and well.
For most of this lockdown, I have not been able to listen to crowds enjoying great music. While I’m still months away from attending a live show myself, the vaccine rollout has me seeing light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
To that end, I have made this collection to celebrate great live music performances. Live records aren’t nearly as plentiful as they once were. Though to many old-school music lovers, live albums were ubiquitous especially in the 1970s and ’80s, where live-recorded albums seemed to come out every week.
That being said, there are recent offerings by The Black Pumas, Beyoncé, and Gary Clark Jr. Along with B.B. King at Cook County Jail, Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, and Sam Cooke at The Harlem Square Club, there are “Unplugged” performances by Jill Scott, The Roots, Jay-Z, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, and Lauryn Hill.
At upwards of 12 hours, I am still sure to have missed some gems. Feel free to make suggestions in the comments so I may add them. This is another eclectic journey through hip-hop, R&B, reggae, and rock ‘n roll. I didn’t even touch on jazz.
Next week’s offering will be devoted to live jazz recordings.
Until then, stay safe, sane, and kind.*
Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
*A note to those listening to Spotify on a desktop or laptop. This is a good one to put your crossfade settings at the 12-second maximum. It will carry the crowd reactions across the tracks, making it feel like one long show. Kinda.
