Six African American Records That Mention Astrology

Edited by Azizi Powell
[updated 11/1/2011]

You can find just about anything on the internet, but I've looked and haven't found a list of African American R&B, Hip Hop, or Pop songs that mention astrology. This post partially fills that gap. However, this is not meant to be a comprehensive lists of songs which mention astrology that were recorded by African Americans. I've only featured "clean songs" (meaning songs with no profanity & sexual references, or songs with what I consider to be mild profanity and minimum sexual references).

Most of the songs on this list are from R&B/Hip-Hop genres. A few of these songs would probably be considered Rock and Roll, or Pop. There were/are recorded songs that mention astrology by non-African Americans and people from other nations. However, those songs aren't the focus of this post. No disrespect or qualitative judgement is intended by this focus.

These featured songs aren't presented in ranking order but in chronological order, with the oldest song provided first. The year that the song was first recorded is given in parenthesis. Excerpts of song lyrics, video links, and/or videos are presented for the songs on this list. This post also includes brief editorial comments about astrology, and about the featured songs. Source links, and some related links are also provided.

This post is provided for its entertainment, aesthetic, sociological, historical, and folkloric value.

A BRIEF STATEMENT ABOUT SUN SIGN ASTROLOGY
Without any scientific research to back up this contention, it seems to me that the mid 1980s were the heyday of songs that mention astrology which were recorded by African Americans. It also seems to me that mention of astrology in those 1980s songs reflected Americans' interest in sun sign astrology. And because astrology was mentioned in those African American dance songs-and in earlier African American dance songs-references to astrology are also found in certain African American children's playground rhymes & cheers which were based on those songs or were influenced by those songs. I'll share more about that later.

It's important to note that, besides for the Fifth Dimension's hit song Aquarius, all of the African American recorded songs that mention astrology, focus on sun sign astrology. Here's some information for those who aren't hip to what "sun sign astrology" means:

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_sign_astrology:

Sun sign astrology is the form of astrology most commonly found in many newspaper and magazine columns. It is a simplified system of astrology which considers only the position of the Sun, which is said to be placed within one of the twelve zodiac signs depending on the month of birth. This sign is then called the sun sign or star sign of the person born that month.

-snip-

For the record, I was born on December 16th of a certain year. That means that my Sun sign is Sagittarius (Yeah Sagittarius!!). According to the Western astrology, most people born on November 23 to December 21 of any year have their sun sign in Sagittarius. So when people ask me what sign I am, I'd say that I'm a Sag. However, since I've been informally studying astrology for almost forty years, I know that I have planetary placements that help shape who I am and who I was. For the record, my natal (birth placement of) Mercury & Jupiter are also in Sagittarius, and my natal Moon is in Aquarius. And there are other natal planetary placements that can tell me (& others) more about how & why I do the things I do, and feel the things I feel. So I'd agree if you said that I'm "in to" astrology. But whether you're interested in astrology or not, you might be interested in the following list of songs that mention astrology.

SONG LIST

1. The Fifth Dimensions - Aquarius (1969)

The Fifth Dimension - Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In (1969)



Uploaded by ViniBassMan on Mar 21, 2009

Editor: This song is a classic. And unlike the other songs on the list, there's mention of other astrological placements besides sun signs.

From http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/forrestgump/medleyaquariusletthesunshinein.htm:

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

-snip-

What do those words really mean? Well, I still haven't quite figured it out. I just know we're not there yet.

Also, unlike the other songs on this list, "Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In" isn't really a dance song, or at least I can't figure out what type of dance to do to it.

2. Diana Ross & Supremes - No Matter What Sign You
Are (1969)



Uploaded by MusicMike2 on Sep 4, 2010

"This Was Slated To Be The Last Single Release By Diana Ross And The Supremes...Just Before Diana Was Going To Leave The Group And Go Solo. Barry Gordy Didn't Think It Was Strong Enough To Close Things Out, So The last Single Actually Became "Someday We'll Be Together". Nonetheless, "No Matter What Sign You Are" Is One The Best Supremes Tunes.....That Rarely Ever Gets Any radio Airplay...Even Though It Made It To #31 In 1969."

-snip-

I admit that I had no knowledge of this song until I started researching this post. Of all the songs listed here, this is the only one that explicitly mentions astrology charts.

Excerpt from
http://www.lyricstime.com/diana-ross-and-the-supremes-no-matter-what-sign-you-are-lyrics.html:

No matter what sign you are,
You're gonna be mine, you are
Can't let astrology (baby baby)
Chart our destiny (baby baby)
No matter what sign you are,
Ooh, you're gonna be mine, you are
The beat of the heart, my love (baby baby)
Is stronger than the chart, my love

(Ooooooh-ooh, good vibration
Ooooooh-ooh, good combination)

3. The Boogie Boys - "Fly Girl" (1985)

Excerpt from http://www.mp3lyrics.org/b/boogie-boys/a-fly-girl/:

My name is Boogie Knight and yes I'm a Capricorn
I like the fly girls who know that they're on
To my experience the girls who please
Are Geminis, Scorpio, and yes Pisces
I'm not prejudiced but I'll tell you right now
I don't like the girl who eats the Puppy Chow
I don't like the girl with mud in her toes
and feet that smell like anything goes
Dirty nails are what I hate most
But the gold fingernails are high post
I like pretty hair but I also know
Girls look fly in Kangols
I must say this if you like it or not
I can't stand fluorescent socks
But let me shut up in our bow bow world
My name is Boogie Knight and I've got a fly girl
girl-GIRL, girl-GIRL girl-GIRL, girl-GIRL
girl-GIRL, girl-GIRL girl-GIRL, girl-GIRL
A flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy girl
A flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy girl

-snip-
A YouTube sound file for The Boogie Boys' song "Fly Girl" can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEfg6XU9tdQ

In what may now be retired African American slang, the term "fly girl" means/meant a female who is hip (street wise), sophisticated, sexy, and always wearing the latest "street" clothing (and hair) fashions. Note that this isn't exactly what "fly girl" means in that entire old school Hip-Hop song.

The Boogie Boy's recording of "Fly Girl" was the source of an African American foot stomping cheer which was also entitled "Fly Girl." "Foot stomping cheers" is my term for an African American orginated category of playground rhymes/cheers that emphasize the creation of bass sounding foot stomps while reciting a specific type of chant. The only version of the "Fly Girl" cheer that I've collected to date (from my daughter & her girl friends in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mid 1980s) contains no astrology references. However, I have collected other foot stomping cheers that include references to sun sign astrology. Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/foot-stomping-cheers-0 for information about foot stomping cheers and text examples of cheers which mention astrology. Among the examples on that page of foot stomping cheers which mention astrology that are presented on that page are "Check"; Cheerleader (Version #2); "Hollywood Goes Swinging"; "L.O.V.E"; and "Hula Hula".

4. Luke (Luther Campbell)-It’s Your Birthday” (1994)

Excerpt from http://www.allenrothschild.com/blog/2011/07/lyrics-to-its-your-birthday-by-luke-luther-campbell-finally-hit-the-web/:

Ah, ah, ah, say, Say, Say
Say what’s that birthday month out there?
I said, what’s that birthday month out there?
Is it December?
Is it March?
Is it January?
Is it April?
Go Sheila, it’s your birthday (x2)
Go Freddie, it’s your birthday (x2)
Go Annette, it’s your birthday (x2)
Go Derrick, it’s your birthday (x2)

...Before I go I want to know
What’s that number one birthday month?
I said, what’s that number one birthday month?
Now this time use your zodiac sign
What’s your sign?
Now what’s your sign?

Go Virgos, it’s your birthday
Go Leos
It’s your birthday (x5)
Go Virgos, go, go (x2)
Go Libras, go Twins
It’s your birthday (x3)

-snip-

It's obvious that some of the lyrics to rapper 50 cent's 2003 Billboard #1 song "In Da Club" were patterned after lyrics to Luke Campbell's It’s Your Birthday.”

Here is an excerpt of "In Da Club"* (Also known as "Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday")

Go, go, go, go
Go, go, go shawty**
It's your birthday
We gon' party like it's yo birthday
We gon' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday...

* da-a purposely used contemporary African American form of "the"

** shawty="shorty", an affectionate African American originated referent for a person, regardless of age or gender, although it is not usually applied to teen or adult males.
[Warning: This song includes profanity.]

50 cent's "In Da Club" has fundamentally changed the way that many African American children, teens, and adults celebrate their and other African Americans' birthday -at least when it comes to singing the "Happy Birthday To You". [And, as a reader reminded me, it's not just African Americans who sing this song for birthdays. An update that includes a video ciip is found at end of this entire post.]

Although "Happy Birthday" may still be sung the traditional way, afterwards, someone is bound to sing "Go ___ (birthday celebrant's name)/it's your birthday/we gonna party/ cause it's your birthday".

Here's a link to a YouTube video of Luke Campbell's song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvNDimHIfws

Although it contains no profanity, this video may not be suitable for children.

5. Prince - Kiss (1986)
This song references sun signs without mentioning them by name:

This song mentions astrological signs without actually naming any.

Excerpt from http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/kiss-lyrics-prince/a903a9f2be9d246c4825689000326094:

U don’t have 2 be rich
2 be my girl
U don’t have 2 be cool
2 rule my world
Ain’t no particular sign I’m more compatible with
I just want your extra time and your Kiss

-snip-

Editor: I'm sorry that I can't include a link to a video as Prince doesn't believe in YouTube or other public video sharing sites.

6. Beyonce- Signs (2003)



Uploaded by mstweetybaby on Jul 27, 2007

Excerpt from http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Signs-lyrics-Beyonce-Knowles/C23331FFE8BD788B48256D48002FB1A4 :
Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer oh!
Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius
I love all y’all
Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer oh!
Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius
I love all y’all

-snip-

[By the way, this isn't the correct order of astrological sun signs, but maybe it wasn't supposed to be.]

****
Update 11/1/2011 sent in by a blog reader:

A blog reader sent in a link to a YouTube clip of a girl singing 50 Cents' "Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday" song that I mentioned in my comments about Luke Campbell's "It's Your Birthday". These comments are an introduction to that video which I'll share below. As a reminder, the song "Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday" doesn't contain any references to astrology. However, I think that song is pertinent to this post since the "In Da Club"/"Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday" song so obviously echoes the astrological references in Luke Campbell's "It's Your Birthday" song.

Also, although the original version of "In Da Club"(also known as "Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday") contains profanity, YouTube contains a number of "clean" (no profanity) renditions of the entire song or the repeated "Go Shorty" lines from that song. Among those clean versions is a video of "The Chipmunks" singing that song, and this clip of a little girl singing those repeated lines:

Go shorty it's your birthday.. go shorty



Uploaded by bluebyrd007 on Nov 26, 2009

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Do you know any "clean" African Amrican songs that mention astrology? Please add to this list.

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Pattin Juba, Hambone, And The Bo Diddley Beat

Edited by Azizi Powell
[Revised 5/21/2013]

Derique McGhee @ Lincoln Center 8-12-10



Uploaded by newsriffs on Aug 13, 2010

"The International Body Music Festival, offered this performance of traditional African American Hambone. When the man takes your drums away, this is the alternative."

****
AFRICAN ROOTS OF BODY PATTING - Traditional Jola dancing. Video 1. July 2006



Ulf Jägfors, Uploaded on Sep 29, 2006

This video shows traditional Jola body patting and dances by girls from Mlomp, Casamance region, Southern Senegal. It was recorded at The Akonting Center for Senegambian folkmusic, Mandinari, Gambia July 2006

****
INFORMATION ABOUT PATTIN JUBA
From http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/1835818#cite_note-0
"The Juba dance or hambone, originally known as Pattin' Juba (Giouba, Haiti: Djouba), is a style of dance that involves stomping as well as slapping and patting the arms, legs, chest, and cheeks. "Pattin' Juba" would be used to keep time for other dances during a walkaround. A Juba Dance performance could include:
•counter-clockwise turning, often with one leg raised
•stomping and slapping
•steps such as "the Jubal Jew," "Yaller Cat," "Pigeon Wing" and "Blow That Candle Out."

The dance traditionally ends with a step called "the Long Dog Scratch". Modern variations on the dance include Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley Beat" and the step-shows of African American and Latino Greek organizations."
-snip-
The reference given for the statement about step shows including body patting is an old link to a page of my Cocojams website. The correct link is http://cocojams.com/content/fraternity-sorority-step-stroll-related-videos. A video of a steppin routine that includes body pattin is found below.

****
HOW TO "HAMBONE"
Here's a description of how to perform hambone patting from the 1972 book Step It Down, edited by Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes:
"Hambone may be performed alone or with a group all jiving together. While the rhyme is being said, the players slap their thighs lightly on the off-beat, After each line of the poem, they "pat"...

The "patting" may be done on one side of the body only, using the right hand and thigh, or on both sides at the same time in parallel motion. The triplet phrase is done as follows:

1.Slap the side of the thigh with the palm of the hand in an upward brushing motion.
2. Continuing the upward brushing; strike the side or the chest with the palm of the hand.
3. Strike the thigh downward with the back if the hand.

Do this series twice, then slap your thigh three times. The entire pattern is repeated after each line of the rhyme."

****
THE BO DIDDLEY BEAT
The rock & roll singer/musician Bo Diddley used this beat so much in his records that it became known as the "Bo Diddley" beat. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Diddley to read more about Blues and R&B singer, musician, song writer Bo Diddley. Here's an excerpt from that Wikipedia page:
"He [Bo Diddley] recorded for Chicago's Chess Records subsidiary label Checker. Bo Diddley is best known for the "Bo Diddley beat", a rhumba-based beat (see clave) also influenced by what is known as "hambone", a style used by street performers who play out the beat by slapping and patting their arms, legs, chest, and cheeks while chanting rhymes.

In its simplest form, the Bo Diddley beat can be counted out as a two-bar phrase:

One and two and three and four and one and two and three and four" etc."
-snip-
Bo Diddley used the "Hambone" beat in so many of his songs that the beat was referred to as the "Bo Diddley Beat". Here's a video of one of his hit songs "Bo Diddley":

BO DIDDLEY 1965



SURFSTYLEY4, Uploaded on Mar 20, 2011
-snip-
Here are the lyrics to that song:

Bo Diddley
(Ellas McDaniel) 1955

Bo Diddley bought his babe a diamond ring,
If that diamond ring don't shine,
He gonna take it to a private eye,
If that private eye can't see
He'd better not take the ring from me.

Bo Diddley caught a nanny goat,
To make his pretty baby a Sunday coat,
Bo Diddley caught a bear cat,
To make his pretty baby a Sunday hat.

Mojo come to my house, ya black cat bone,
Take my baby away from home,
Ugly ole mojo, where ya bin,
Up your house, and gone again.

Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley have you heard?
My pretty baby said she wasn't for it.
From www.stlyrics.com/songs/b/bodiddley598/bodiddley335168.html

-snip-
Ellas McDaniel is Bo Diddley's real name.
Notice the similarities between those lyrics and lyrics to the "Hambone" song.

HAMBONE SONG LYRICS
Hambone Song (Version #1)
Hambone Hambone pat him on the shoulder
If you get a pretty girl, I'll show you how to hold her.
Hambone, Hambone, where have you been?
All 'round the world and back again.
Hambone, Hambone, what did you do?
I got a train and I fairly flew.
Hambone, Hambone where did you go?
I hopped up to Miss Lucy's door.
I asked Miss Lucy would she marry me.
(in falsetto) "Well I don't care if Papa don't care!"
First come in was Mister Snake,
He crawled all over that wedding cake.
Next walked in was Mister Tick,
He ate so much it made him sick.
Next walked in was Mister Coon,
We asked him to sing us a wedding tune,
Now Ham-....
Now Ham....
-Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes, "Step It Down, Games, Plays, Songs & Stories From The Afro-American Heritage (Athens, Ga; University of Georgia Press, 1972, pps 34-36)

Hambone (Version #2)
(Red Saunders / Leon Washington)
Bill Haley

Hambone! Hambone!
Hambone, hambone
where you been?
Round the world and I’m going again
What you gonna do when you come back?
Take a little walk by the railroad track
Hambone

Hambone, hambone
Have you heard?
Papa’s gonna buy me a mocking bird
And if that mocking bird don’t sing
Papa’s gonna buy me a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring don’t shine
Papa’s gonna take it to the five and dime
Hambone

Hambone, hambone
Where you been?
Round the world and I’m going again
I just skinned an alley cat
To make my wife a Sunday hat
Took the hide right off a goat
To make my wife a Sunday coat

Hambone, hambone
Where’s your wife
Out to the kitchen, cooking beans and rice
Hambone (2x)

Hambone, hambone
Trying to eat
Ketchup on his elbow, pickle on his feet
Bread in the basket
Chicken in the stew
Supper on the fire for me and you

Look at him holler, look at him moan
That hambone just can’t hambone
Hambone (2x)
- http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/h/hambone.shtml

****
VIDEOS OF PATTIN JUBA (HAMBONE)

Video #1: Derique McGhee @ Lincoln Center 8-12-10
This video is found at the top of this page.

Uploaded by newsriffs on Aug 13, 2010

"The International Body Music Festival, offered this performance of traditional African American Hambone. When the man takes your drums away, this is the alternative."

**
Example #2: Traditional Hambone



Uploaded by atn151 on Aug 28, 2008

Dry Branch Fire Squad founding member Ron Thomason performs traditional Hambone at the Gettysburg Bluegrass festival, 2008.

****
hambone - Steve McCraven



mycompasstv, Uploaded on Oct 26, 2011

Great hambone technique from Archie Shepp's drummer Steve McCraven.

Recorded in Tunisia at the Tabarka International Jazz Festival.

video: Stephen Smith

****
INFORMATION ABOUT STEPPIN & A VIDEO OF STEPPIN
"Steppin" is an African American movement art. When other American groups (including Latino/a groups) perform steppin, they are basing their performance on a tradition that originated with African Americans. That said, steppin could also be influenced by various African dance traditions, particularly the traditions of South African gum boot dancing.

Here's one example of a steppin routine that includes body patting that is performed by a historical Black Greek lettered fraternity:

Alpha Phi Alpha Steps



Willy R·Uploaded on Nov 2, 2006

DI Step Show

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RELATED LINK
Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/african-american-secular-slave-songs for more text examples of Hambone.

Also, click this page of my jambalayah website for more videos of foot stomping and body patting worldwide: http://www.jambalayah.com/node/1150

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Visitor comments are welcome!

The Directing Styles Of African American Gospel Choir Directors

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases different styles conducting choirs by several African American Gospel Choir Directors. These videos are re-posted from YouTube with several comments from the video's viewer comment thread, and with brief editorial comments. The videos are presented in no ranking order. The numbers are assigned to the videos for the purpose of referencing them in the editorial comments.

This post is not meant to represent a comprehensive overview of the conducting styles of African American choir directors.

These videos are presented for their spiritual, aesthetic, and/or historical values.

****
Video #1
Rev James Cleveland featuring Albertina Walker - "If I Perish"



uploaded by dpdaniel2 on Mar 27, 2008

"Classic footage of the gospel legend Rev James Cleveland featuring Albertina Walker. Taken from 'The Brothers and Sisters Live in concert' which was a benefit concert for 'Save the Children' in 1972."

Editor: Note how the instrumentalists and choir are feeling the spirit and therefore continue in spite of the choir director's direction. This is called "working the song".

The young woman soloist at 3:06 is Loretta Oliver.

Here are several comments from that video's viewer comment thread:

The Queen of Gospel Albertina Walker & Loretta Oliver are Matchless on this video.
-DarylJFowler; 2008

**
If I Perish!!!! Loretta Oliver is a singing somebody...I'm telling you. Albertina carried it to third base,but Loretta hit a home run!!!
-gospelbird22; 2008

**
thats that ole' baptist shout where ppl would hold ya!...they dont shout like that no more! chile' had to be carted out of that choir stand! go'head!
-pluto17dre; 2008

**
RIGHT! That is throwback... when people were free and spontaneous in their praise. I love it!
-ReddzVoice; 2008

****
Video #2
Wilmington Chester Mass Choir- "Ride On King Jesus"



Uploaded by FreLi77 on Feb 17, 2008

"This is a classic clip of the late Rev. Ernest Davis Jr.'s Wilmington Chester Mass Choir sing "Ride On King Jesus" back in 1988. This was recorded by a local Philly TV station for an annual show called "Gospel Extravaganza"."

Editor:
This rendition of "Ride On King Jesus" is combined with the African American Spirituals "In That Great Gettin Up Mornin" (Fare Thee Well) and "Ain't That Good News".

Here are several viewer comments from this video's viewer comment thread:

hast wat u call ministering in song and not rushing and hoopen and holaren but nice smooth and very ministerial God bless u choir they should dont have choir's dat sing like that no more.......were u know its not fo sho..
-boyland69; 2009

**
I love how the choir leader is just calm, even though he knows his choir is on FIRE!
Love it!
-128Wright128 ; 2011

**
After all these years....I'm still loving WCMC. Hit, after hit, after hit. I can' t wait until May 6 2010 . That's when the 10th CD is going to be released. I miss Ernie greatly. I can truly say that WCMC wears his name loud, and proud!!!! Continued favor WCMC.....Maryland loves you!!!!
-dougiemac622 ; 2010

**
Added to my favorites! Takes me back.
-ChakaKhanian ; 2010
[Editor: This is a traditional (old school) style of Gospel Choir singing. Hence the statement that this "takes me back"].

**
@ChakaKhanian I like the harmony!
-Fbaise1; 2011

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Video #3
In HIS Presence Gospel Choir - "Ride On King Jesus"



Uploaded by myfleshdiesdaily on May 6, 2007

Editor:
This video of this Fairborn, Ohio choir is presented in part for contrast with the preceding video. In this rendition, "Ride On King Jesus" is combined with "In That Great Gettin Up Morning" (Fare Thee Well).

Here are several comments from the video's viewer comment thread:

MY MY MY, beautiful rendition of the song, what an awesome director
-njchocolate ; 2007

**
Yall better sang that! And you better direct them. Sopranos I bet not catch yall in the street yall sanging!
-crazyworship ; 2007

[Editor's note- "Sang" and "sanging" (which is often given as "sangin" are deliberate non-standard present tense uses of the verb "sing." "Sang" means "to sing very well, with a lot of spirit." This entire quote is an example of what I call "putting on the Black", meaning "to purposely speak or write in downhome (Southern), old time vernacular African American English."

For other examples in this post of this African American informal style of writing or speaking, see pluto17dre's comment in video #1 and boyland69's comment in video #2.

**
that a wonderful, outstanding, dramatically heart felt Choir Director!!!! You and your Choir Rock and I am not religious at all.
-bayardking . 2011

**
this is Minister Willie Blockum, jr. I enjoy this everytime I watch. God Bless.
-blockum2003 ; 2011

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Video #4
Chicago Mass Choir - "Hold On"



Uploaded by kadeemgraves on Oct 13, 2009

Editor: Here are several viewer comments that are taken from the viewer comment thread of another video of the same song http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=bWxvHQoDO7A [I chose the other video because it's visuals and audio were clearer.]

Chicago Mass, one of the nations top choirs, a reincarnation of the Thompson Community Choir.
-shadhom; 2008

**
i love this choir... they have the teamwork and collaboration... they love their music, and they love God! Glory to God! Hallelujah!
-imqueenesther ; 2009

**
I had the pleasure of working with Tony Tidwell for a couple years and remain good friends with him. He's written alot of good songs for Choirs
-bhubbart; 2009

**
The intro to this song is just so smooth. The Doc really take you to church and the choir make you think you are already in heaven. Lord have mercy!!!!!!!!!
-bethayc; 2011

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Are Black Immigrants To The USA African Americans?

Written by Azizi Powell

Editor: This post is an expansion of a comment that I added to http://contexts.org/discoveries/african-not-black/comment-page-1/#comment-986 Minor additions to this post were added for clarity on March 21, 2013.

I’m African American. My maternal grandparents were from Trinidad and Barbados-hence they were Black immigrants. Also, my mother told me that her grandmother was of Black/White descent. My mother was born in the United States as were two more of her siblings. Her other four siblings were born in Barbados but were raised in the United States. All of my uncles and my aunt consider/ed themselves to be African Americans. As it happened, my maternal granparents both had green cards and thus were permanent legal residents of the United States.However, they never became citizens of this country. I'm not sure whether or not my uncles who weren't born in the United States and who are now deceased ever became United States citizens.

My father was raised as a foster child in Michigan. He had rather light skin and it’s likely that he may have been of African American/White American ancestry. I don't know if I have any Southern relatives (Black or any other race). And I don't know if any of my paternal ancestors were enslaved. I repeat-I’m African American.

I know a number of Black people in the United States who were born and raised in the Caribbean, or in Canada, or in various African nations. Some of those Black people have married African Americans who were born in the United States, and some of them have children from those unions. Almost all of the children from those unions who I know (some of whom are teens and adults) think of themselves as African Americans. Furthermore, from what I have gathered, it certainly appears to me that those children are thought to be African Americans by other Black people and non-Black people since in the United States it is generally though that the visual clue skin color & other physical traits such as hair texture largely determines who is considered Black and these children who I know "look Black". I put "look Black" in parenthesis because everyone who considers himself or herself to be Black doesn't conform to what most people considers a Black person looks like.

Ditto all of the above for those Black Africans living in the United States who I know who have children. Some of those children were born outside of the United States and some of whom have children who were born within the United States. Are they African American? I would say so, but it's cool with me if they prefer to be called by their national or ethnic group referent. Actually, I don't think it's an either / or choice.

I also have met some Black people online who now live in the USA who were raised in Europe, Asia, or in South America. Although their cultures are different in many respects from each other and from most African Americans, these Black people-and other Black immigrants all have one thing in common with other African Americans-they face the possibility and indeed the probability of systemic racism, if not personal racism directed toward them because of the way they look,and/or because of the racial group that they consider themselves a part of. That makes all of us kin.

As to when a Black immigrant becomes African American is quite complicated and subject to multiple correct answers nowadays. I wrote nowadays because- besides for our Native Americans ancestors- ALL of the ancestors of African Americans were/are immigrants. Also, if you were to leave off the list of historically famous African Americans those persons who weren't born in the United States, that list would be considerably smaller.

As to whether or when a Black immigrant chooses to use the referent "African American", I believe that depends on the person. I certainly have no problem with people of any race/ethnicity preferring to be known by their nation or their ethnic group. But if Black people who make that choice don’t recognize the tie that binds all Black people together whether they want to be tied together or not, then it’s their loss.

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RELATED LINK
To read a related blog post that I wrote on the word “ataka”, a derogatory Nigerian referent for African Americans, visit http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/ataka-is-mean-spirited-word.html

To read another related pancocojams blog post, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/11/changing-meaning-of-european.html The Changing Meaning of "European"

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FEATURED VIDEOS
Here's a video that celebrates African culture:

Baaba Maal – Yela (Senegal)



Posted by BaabaMaalVEVO ; October 07, 2009

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Here's a Caribbean song whose words & spirit I certainly can identify with as an African American:

Jimmy Cliff - "Many Rivers To Cross"

uploaded by houseofreggae; July 09, 2008

Live in Glastonbury 2003

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The Orisha Oshun & Hair Weaves

Edited by Azizi Powell

Updated on 11/4/2011 with definition of ashe and

Editor:
I came upon this story while searching the internet for other information about Yoruba (Nigeria) culture, and thought that it might be of interest to pancocojams visitors.

As background, Oshun is a Yoruba (Nigeria) river deity (orisha) whose color is honey yellow.

Note: Yoruba words that have the "sh" sound are almost always written in the United States with those letters. Thus "orisa", "Osun", "Sango", and "ase" are usually written as "orisha", "Oshun", "Shango", and "ashe (pronounced "ah-shay"). àṣẹ (ashe) means "power"; the spark of life.

Here's more information about Oshun from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshun

Oshun, or Ochun...in the Yoruba religion, is an Orisha who reigns over love, intimacy, beauty, wealth and diplomacy. She is worshipped also in Brazilian Candomblé Ketu, with the name spelled Oxum...

According to the Yoruba elders, Oshun is the "unseen mother present at every gathering", because Oshun is the Yoruba understanding of the cosmological forces of water, moisture, and attraction. Therefore, she is believed to be omnipresent and omnipotent. Her power is represented in another Yoruba proverb which reminds us that "no one is an enemy to water" and therefore everyone has need of and should respect and revere Oshun, as well as her followers.

Oshun is the force of harmony. Harmony which we see as beauty, feel as love, and experience as ecstasy. She, according to the ancients, was the only female Irunmole amongst the original 16 sent from the spirit realm to create the world. As such, she is revered as "Yeye" - the great mother of us all. When the male Irunmole attempted to subjegate Oshun due to her femaleness, she removed her divine energy (called ase by the Yoruba) from the project of creating the world and all subsequent efforts at creation were in vain. It was not until visiting with the Supreme Being, Olodumare, and begging for Oshun's pardon (as advised by Olodumare) that the world could continue to be created. But not before Oshun had given birth to a son. This son became Elegba, the great conduit of ase in the Universe, the eternal and infernal trickster.

Much more about Oshun can be found online, but that brief introduction leads me to this story gem that I found on http://www.angelfire.com/my/IyawoExperience. Without further introduction, here's that story:

As I was talking to someone about Oshun this month, I was also made aware that Oshun is really an incredible orisha. Can you believe my homegirl Oshun is one of the first Orishas who wore a weave? Also the orisha of cosmetology!!! There are several patakis (stories) that speak about Oshun and her hair. One story states that Oshun was suffering the lost of her lost child, Idowu, and became ill. Because of this she started losing hair due to her malnutrition. However when Oshun started coming out of her depression, she wanted to disguise her sadness and look radiant for the next town event, that she grabbed indigo and dried grass and started to weave this into her scalp to give the appearance was real hair. Not only her hair looked good, but Oshun also used the natural berries and shea butter to create natural forms of cosmetics to apply to her skin so that when she arrived into the town, people would stop dead in their tracks to admire at how beautiful Oshun looked. So now when I see girls with their hair braided with synthetic hair I always think of Oshun, *hahaha* Maferefun Beyonce from "Destiny's Child."

-snip-

(Hair) weave
"A hair weave is a very general term used to describe human or artificial hair used to alter one's natural hair appearance by adding additional hair to one's natural hair or by covering the natural hair altogether with human or synthetic hair pieces.

Some of the benefits of hair weaves are that they can lengthen hair, add volume and/or thickness to fine or thinning hair, add fashion colors to natural hair without the damage of chemicals, or change the user's appearance by adopting a different hair texture than that of their natural hair"

Maferefun:
In the Yoruba language, "maferefun" means "praises to the spiritual energy of"

Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_mythology for information on traditional Yoruba religion.
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Here's a video of Oshun:

Ochun Dance -- Marta Ruiz


Uploaded by afrocubaru on Nov 14, 2009

[Note that this video was taken in St Petersburg, Russia, which I find interesting because I didn't think that there were any Black people in Russia. I wrote that comment on that video's viewer comment thread, and another viewer malikhadad32 wrote that "Well it's not uncommon, the dancer is from Cuba, Cuba and Russia to this day still have many exchanges, economically, socially and not to mentioned culturally."]

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Here's a video of Oshun, and two other orishas Eleggua, Oggun (Elegua and Ogun)

Yoruba Andabo: Canto a Eleggua, Oggun y Oshun



Uploaded by awobabaeyiogbe on Jan 17, 2010

-snip-

Here's a video of one of Beyonce's hit songs. In this video, Beyonce and two other dancers wearing weaves. Beyonce was part of the R&B group, Destiny's Child, before she went solo:

Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)



Uploaded by beyonceVEVO on Oct 2, 2009

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Comparative Traditions - Masquerades & Whirling Dances

Edited by Azizi Powell

Video #1
spectacle des eguns au benin



uploaded by SAKIFAL on Feb 11, 2011

Editor: The actual video starts at 2:25

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The following videos of masquerades and/or whirling dances are from the Egungun traditions of Nigeria, West Africa, the Zangbeto traditions of Benin, West Africa, the Sufi Islamic whirling dervishers traditions of Turkey, the Egyptian tanoura dance tradition, the obby os tradition of Padstow, Cornwall (United Kingdom), and the Minehead hobby horse traditions of Minehead, Somerset, United Kingdom.

I came across these different videos while surfing YouTube and was struck with the similarities between the body or masked character whirling (or twirling) of the dances. While the traditions of Egungun and Zangbeto in particular would be of cultural interest any time of the year, it's fitting to learn about the meaning of those traditions around the American & European holiday of Halloween.

These videos are presented for their aesthetic, folkloric, sociological, historical, and educational values. These videos aren't meant to imply that these traditions from different cultures share the same sources, cultural purposes, or meanings. I'll leave that for scholars to present those theories or proofs. While the inclusion of the United Kingdom hobby horse dances might be a stretch, I feel confident in asserting that movements of some of the Egungun & Zangbeto masqueraders dancers & the Egyptian tanoura dancers are amazingly similar. For example, compare the gown twirling clip of the Nigerian Egunguns at about 12:37 and otherwise in video #1 below with the gown twirling in Egyptian videos #6 & #7. But I also think that movements of the Egungun dancing at about 12:35 of video #1 is similar to that of the United Kingdom Minehead hobby horse featured in video #9. Again, the focus of this comparative look at these videos is the similarities in the movements and not the meanings of these performances.

Here are this post's featured videos, prefaced by information about each specific tradition:

Egungun Masqueraders

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egungun

Egungun is a part of the Yoruba pantheon of divinities. In the indeginous religious system of the West African tribe of that name, the spirit is of central importance. It is the eventual end of all living beings, and as such is regarded as the ancestral "collective".

The Egungun is celebrated in festivals, known as Odun Egungun, and in family ritual through the masquerade custom. In family situations, a family elder known either formally or informally as Alagba presides over ancestral rites.

-snip-

From http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/yor/yor07.htm

CHAPTER VI. EGUNGUN, ORO, ABIKU, AND VARIOUS SUPERSTITIONS.

EGUNGUN
EGUNGUN really means "bone," hence "skeleton," and Egungun himself is supposed to be a man risen from the dead. The part is acted by a man disguised in a long robe, usually made of grass, and a mask of wood, which generally represents a hideous human face, with a long pointed nose and thin lips, but sometimes the head of an animal.

Egungun appears in the streets by day or night indifferently, leaping, dancing, or walking grotesquely, and uttering loud cries. He is supposed to have returned from the land of the dead in order to ascertain what is going on in the land of the living, and his function is to carry away those persons who are troublesome to their neighbors. He may thus be considered a kind of supernatitral [sic] inquisitor who appears from time to time to inquire into the general domestic conduct of people, particularly of women, and to punish misdeeds.

Although it is very well known that Egungun is only a disguised man, yet it is popularly believed that to touch him, even by accident, causes death.

A crowd always stands round watching, at a respectful distance, the gambols of an Egungun, and one of the chief amusements of the performer is to rush suddenly towards the spectators, who fly before him in every direction in great disorder, to avoid the fatal touch. To raise the hand against Egungun is punished with death, and women are forbidden, on pain of death, to laugh at him, speak disparagingly of him, or say he is not one who has risen from the dead. "May Egungun cut you in pieces," is an imprecation often heard.

Egungun is thus at the present day a sort of "bogey," or make-believe demon, whose chief business is to frighten termagants, busybodies, scandalmongers, and others, but it seems probable that originally he was regarded as the incarnation of the dead, and that the whole custom is connected with manes-worship. In June there is an annual feast for Egungun lasting seven days, during which lamentations are made for those who have died within the last few years. It is a kind of All-Souls festival... Moreover, Egungun also appears in connection with funeral ceremonies."

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VIDEOS
Video #1 -
Placed at the top of this page.

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Video #2
Egoun.avi



Uploaded by allagberonel on Mar 9, 2010

[Note that these are only one type of Egungun masqueraders. Videos of other types of Egunguns can be found on YouTube.]

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Zangbetos Masqueraders
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zangbeto

Zangbeto are the traditional voodoo guardians of the night in the Yoruba religion of Benin and Togo which are known as the "Nightwatchmen". Similar to Egunguns, they are highly revered and act as an unofficial police force patrolling the streets and watching over people and tracking down criminals and presenting them to the community to punish. They were originally created to scare the enemy away, now the Zangbeto will wander around the street to detect thieves and witches, and dispensing justice.

They are men in a costume that resembles a haystack but are in a trance which enables their bodies to be inhabited by spririts who have special knowledge of the actions of people. However Yoruba legend tells that there are no humans under the costume, only spirits of the night.

Traditionally, the Zangbetos were the policemen of Benin and were the main guardians of law in the country before the official law establishment. They are said to form a secret society which can only be strictly attended by Zangbetos, and when in a trance are said to have magical abilities such as swallowing splinters of glass without coming to any harm and scaring away even witches. In a trance, the Zangbeto are said to evoke a power that inhabited the earth long before the appearance of man and provide a source of wisdom and continuity for the people of Benin.

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Video #3
Zangbeto du Bénin.AVI



Uploaded by jouissez on Jun 5, 2011

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Video #4
BENIN-YINMAKODJIVIDE BO ZE HANGOUDENAN



Uploaded by HERVAKOMDJ on Oct 11, 2009

Whirling Dervishers
From http://www.whirlingdervishes.org/whirlingdervishes.htm

The Order of the Whirling Dervishes is one branch of the vast Sufi tradition of Islam. The universal values of love and service shared by all Sufis are very much relevant to the social and political realities of today, and this ritual, which is only performed by the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, has come to symbolize these values in the hearts and minds of millions throughout the world.

THE SEMA RITUAL began with the inspiration of Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi (1207-1273) and was influenced by Turkish customs and culture.

It is scientifically recognized that the fundamental condition of our existence is to revolve. There is no being or object which does not revolve, because all beings are comprised of revolving electrons, protons, and neutrons in atoms. Everything revolves, and the human being lives by means of the revolution of these particles, by the revolution of the blood in his body, and by the revolution of the stages of his life, by his coming from the earth and his returning to it.

However, all of these revolutions are natural and unconscious. But the human being possesses a mind and an intelligence which distinguishes him from other beings. Thus the whirling dervish or semazen, intentionally and consciously participates in the shared revolution of other beings.

Contrary to popular belief, the semazen's goal is not to lose consciousness or to fall into a state of ecstasy. Instead, by revolving in harmony with all things in nature -- with the smallest cells and with the stars in the firmament -- the semazen testifies to the existence and the majesty of the Creator, thinks of Him, gives thanks to Him, and prays to Him. In so doing, the semazen confirms the words of the Qur'an (64:1): Whatever is in the skies or on earth invokes God.

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Video #5
Whirling Dervishes (Turkey)



Uploaded by tnbmoey on Sep 20, 2006

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The Tanoura (Egypt)

Tanoura or el-Tanoura (Arabic: التنورة‎) is an Egyptian folk dance usually performed in Egyptian Sufi festivals.

The tanoura dance is performed by sufi men. The dance is similar to the Sufi whirling (dance). In this version, the men wear long colourful skirts, where each colour on the skirt represents one Sufi order.

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Video #6
Derviches egipcios



Uploaded by dadaorton on Jul 12, 2007

Derviches en El Cairo

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Video #7
Tanoura - Egyptian folk dance



Uploaded by kapil04 on Mar 31, 2008

A performance held at a shopping mall. As part of the Egyptian Tourism promotion.

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Obby Os

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/'Obby_'Oss_festival

Padstow, in Cornwall, UK is internationally famous for its traditional 'Obby 'Oss day (dialect for Hobby Horse). Held annually on May Day (1 May), which in Cornwall, largely dates back to the Celtic Beltane, the day celebrates the coming of Summer.

The origins of the celebrations in Padstow are unknown. There is extensive documentary evidence of British community May Day celebrations in the 16th century and earlier,[1] although the earliest mention of the Obby 'Oss at Padstow dates from 1803. An earlier hobby horse is mentioned in the Cornish language drama Beunans Meriasek, a life of the Camborne saint, where it is associated with a troupe, or "companions."

It has been speculated that such festivals have pre-Christian origins, such as in the Celtic festival of Beltane in the Celtic nations, and the Germanic celebrations during the Þrimilci-mōnaþ (literally Three-Milking Month or Month of Three Milkings) in England. It has also been proposed that the worship of horse deities such as Epona was found in ancient Celtic societies such as the possibly related Mari Lwyd ('Grey Mare') traditions of South Wales.

The festival itself starts at midnight on May 1 with unaccompanied singing around the town starting at the Golden Lion Inn. By the morning, the town is dressed with greenery, flowers and flags, with the focus being the maypole. The climax arrives when two groups of dancers progress through the town, one of each team wearing a stylised recreation of a 'horse.' The two 'osses are known as the "Old" and the "Blue Ribbon" 'osses. During the day a number of "Junior" 'osses appear, operated by children. Accompanied by drums and accordions and led by acolytes known as "Teasers", each 'oss is adorned by a gruesome mask and black frame-hung cape under which they try to catch young maidens as they pass through the town.

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Video #8
Folk Traditions - Obby Oss in Padstow



Uploaded by PeoplesPalaceTV on Nov 18, 2007

Obby Oss comes out of the Golden Lion on the morning of 1 May in Padstow, Cornwall and parades round the town. The festival has taken place for centuries.

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Video #9
Minehead Hobby Horses

One popular ancient local tradition involves the Hobby Horse, or Obby Oss,which takes to the streets on the eve of the first of May each year, with accompanying musicians and rival horses, for four days. In fact there are three rival hobby horses, the Original Sailor's Horse, the Traditional Sailor's Horse and the Town Horse. They appear on May Eve (called "Show Night"), on May Day morning (when they salute the sunrise at a crossroads on the outskirts of town), 2 and 3 May (when a ceremony called "The Bootie" takes place in the evening called "Bootie Night" at part of town called Cher).

Each horse is made of a boat-shaped wooden frame, pointed and built up at each end, which is carried on the dancer's shoulders. As at Padstow, his face is hidden by a mask attached to a tall, pointed hat. The top surface of the horse is covered with ribbons and strips of fabric. A long fabric skirt, painted with rows of multicoloured roundels, hangs down to the ground all round. A long tail is attached to the back of the frame. Each horse is accompanied by a small group of musicians and attendants. The Town Horse is accompanied by "Gullivers", dressed similarly to the horse but without the large frame; as at Padstow, smaller, children's horses have sometimes been constructed. The horses' visits are (or were) believed to bring good luck. In the past there was also a similar hobby horse based at the nearby village of Dunster, which would sometimes visit Minehead. The first of May has been a festival day in Minehead since 1465.

Minehead Hobby Horses



Uploaded by christopherhobson on May 15, 2011

The hobby horses in order of appearance - The Original Sailors Horse, The Traditional Sailors Horse, The Town Horse, Sailette (the pink horse), Baby Quay and Black Devil.

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My Conflicted Opinions About The Occupy The Hood Movement

Written by Azizi Powell

Juliet:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

I have a thing about names & nicknames. I collect names, particularly names from African languages & Arabic names. I like finding out the origins & meanings of specific names. Way back in 1967 I changed my first name and adopted the Swahili name "Azizi" to reflect my African heritage. Although my extended family still calls me by my birth name, I don't think it fits who I am any longer. And it's not just personal names that interest me. I like studying how nations got their names, and what those names mean. I also like the look and sound of certain business or group names more than others. And I like it when the name of a business or group reflects what the business or group is really all about.

Take the Occupy Wall Street movement and other Occupy movements. I don't have any problem with Occupy movement's goals. I am part of the 99%. But I don't like the Occupy name, mostly because of this:

OCCUPY WALL STREET: The Game of Colonialism and further nationalism to be decolonized from the “Left”

From the protests on the streets of WALL STREET in the name of “ending capitalism” – organizers, protestors, and activists have been encouraged to “occupy” different places that symbolize greed and power. There’s just one problem: THE UNITED STATES IS ALREADY BEING OCCUPIED. THIS IS INDIGENOUS LAND. And it’s been occupied for quite some time now.

I also need to mention that New York City is Haudenosaunee territory and home to many other First Nations. Waiting to see if that’s been mentioned anywhere.

http://www.racialicious.com/2011/09/30/occupy-wall-street-the-game-of-colonialism-and-further-nationalism-to-be-decolonized-from-the-left/; Jessica Yee On September 30, 2011

-snip-

Yeah alright. I realize that the "Occupy" brand is real hot right now and it's probably way too late to do anything about that name. But I still think that the problems that Jessica Yee and others have articulated about the use of the word "occupy" are righteous. That's partly why I think it's a shame that the People of Color spin off of Occupy Wall Street is named "Occupy The Hood".

Here's some information about "Occupy The Hood":

From http://www.blackenterprise.com/benext/2011/10/10/should-you-care-about-occupy-the-hood/

...going to ground zero of many of these [Occupy] protests will likely place you in a sea of white faces.

It’s this very reason that the sub-movement Occupy The Hood was born. It was started by two activist friends Malik Rhasaan, 39, from Queens, New York and Ife Johari Uhuru, 35, from Detroit, Michigan. What began as an awareness campaign to get people of color involved in Occupy Wall Street has caught on with media outlets such as BET, The Village Voice and Loop 21 documenting their story. Like the Occupy Wall Street movement, OTH is getting the word out via social media—which has proved to be quite successful.

From http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/10/occupy_the_hood.php

Occupy the Hood Aims to Bring More Minorities Into the Occupy Wall Street Fold

Strategically, Occupy the Hood doesn't want to separate itself from Occupy Wall Street. But the leaders say that minority concerns are often left out of the OWS discussion. "I see Occupy Wall Street putting forth demands and a lot of times those demands don't speak to the 99% that we all claim to be," Uhuru said. "Some people can't speak for certain people."

-snip-

I know that this isn't Occupy The Hood's fault, as their representatives didn't write that article, but I just wanna say that "minorities" is so 1960s. Instead of "minority", the group referent that means the same thing that is mostly used now is "People of Color" (PoC). Just so ya know.

But that's part of the problem. Is Occupy the Hood a movement that is directed to all People of Color or is it really just directed to Black folks and to Latino folks (as is mentioned in most of the videos and facebook comments that I've read about that new movement?) And if it's only directed to Black folks & Latinos, why not just say that instead of calling it a People of Color movement? Because, less we've forgotten this fact, Native Americans are People of Color too. And it seems to me that the Occupy The Hood sub-set of Occupy Wall Street is (further) dissin Native Americans by not being aware of or acknowleging that it is aware of the concerns that a number of Native Americans have voiced about colonialization and the "occupy" name.

But that's just one problem I have with the "Occupy The Hood" name. Another problem I have is that we (meaning People of Color) already Occupy our NeighborHOODS. But actually all People of Color don't really live in the hood. I know this might reflect the fact that I'm a grandmother, but the word "hood" sounds awfully ghetto to me. I guess I'm still not all that in to that particular hip-hop referent. I'm concerned the Occupy The Hood name reinforces a monolithic highly negative image of Black communities. Are all Black communities "the hood"? Really??

Furthermore, the Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements in the USA & around the world are demonstrating (engaging in protest marches) and engaging in sit-ins (occupying public spaces like the renamed Liberty Park) to call attention to the issues of the 99%. Occupy The Hood "chapters" which have already formed in numerous cities plan to have separate demonstrations. Perhaps some of these marches will be joined by the White demonstratators from the Occupy movement in that same city. But if these marches are comprised of all Black folks, or all Latino folks (some of whom are Black) or if the marches are made up of mostly Black & Latino folks, will they be treated with the same hands off wait & see treatment that's presently being used with the mostly White Occupy movement protests? I very much doubt it. And will those protest have the money to bail people out of jail when they get charged more excessively than White people get charged? (which is usually the case in the USA) I really hope so.

But, in spite of its name, and inspite of the concerns that I've articulated, Occupy The Hood has my support for things like this:

http://occupybostonglobe.com/2011/10/22/occupy-the-hood-rally-emphasizes-unity-fighting-injustice/

Occupy The Hood’ Rally Emphasizes Unity, Fighting Injustice

October 22, 2011; by Ann Coleman
Dudley Square in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston was transformed on the evening of October 21, 2011 into an open-air public forum for the area’s predominately Black and Latino residents. The meeting, called Occupy the Hood, included speeches and messages of solidarity with Occupy Boston from the more than 400 people gathered in the public park.

For more than three hours, Jamarhl Crawford, editor and publisher of The Blackstonian, emceed a list of community organizers, ministers, teachers, students, and workers of color. The speakers articulated issues many racially segregated neighborhoods face including unemployment, the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) program, police brutality, foreclosures, lack of diversity in city government, lack of educational opportunity, racial profiling, redistricting, budget cuts, housing, human services, civic engagement, and racism.

Of course, articulating issues isn't enough. We (People of Color) already know what the issues are. But it would be a good thing if the energy that is fueling Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements is directed to these specific issues that usually impact us more than those same issues impact most White people. If so, and depending on the strategies for change that these Occupy movements use, regardless of their names, count me as a supporter.

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Here's a video about an Occupy The Hood march:

Occupy Troy / Occupy the Hood



Uploaded by urbandisasterrecords on Oct 13, 2011

Pastor Willie Bacote from The Missing Link Street Ministry is leading a Occupy Troy and Occupy the Hood March at 12:00 from Monument Square in downtown
Troy to Freedom Square at 101st and 5th in N. Troy. At 2:00 Pastor Willie will help facilitate a Peoples Mic for our neighbors and friends to aire their greivencesabout what's happening in the world and our communitiy right now..So come march, rant and then we will feast on the bounty of the Collard City Garden..
This may be a demonstration but in reality it will be a great awakening and party..peace..c u there..

-snip-

Here are two comments from that video's viewer comment thread:

That's hilarious! What's to even occupy there? You occupy the Power centers silly. No one will hear you and no one will care. You can't just have a rally and just get what you want. We all have to vote on things and fund things. If there is no money, how are you going to do that?
-mymailbox4404

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This goes beyond protest, this is about individual empowerment in our future through inclusion, solidarity, direct action, and crowd sourcing solutions.
-electromagics

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Occupy The Hood (Occupy Pittsburgh)



Uploaded by lordvyke on Oct 17, 2011

occupy the hood at occupy pittsburgh 10/15/2011

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Occupy The Hood We love The Babies!!!!



Uploaded by MrMalikification on Sep 29, 2011

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African Americans' Historical Contribution To Old Time Music

Written by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a series of pancocojams posts that focus on the historical & cultural ties between so-called "Hillbillies" and African Americans.

Part I of this series, entitled "The Shared Steroptypes For Hillbillies & African Americans, Part I" explores the similarities between the stereotypes used for so-called "hillbillies" and for African Americans. The link to that post is http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/shared-steroptypes-for-hillbillies.html

The purpose of this post is to raise awareness among Americans and others about Black contributions to the history of Old Time music.

Few White contemporary fans of old time music seem to be aware of African American contributions to the history of that music. Furthermore, in spite of the award winning African American performers such as the Carolina Chocolate Drops,it appears that few African Americans know anything about the history or current performances of old time music. However, documentation of African Americans' contribution to old time music are found online. Several online quotes on this subject are presented with minimal editorial comments.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old-time_music:

The term "old-time"

With its origins in traditional music of Europe and Africa, old-time music represents perhaps the oldest form of North American traditional music other than Native American music, and thus the term "old-time" is an appropriate one. As a label, however, it dates back only to 1923.

Fiddlin' John Carson made some of the first commercial recordings of traditional American country music for the Okeh label. The recordings became hits. Okeh, which had previously coined there [sic] terms "hillbilly music" to describe Appalachian and Southern fiddle-based and religious music and "race recording" to describe the music of African American recording artists, began using "old-time music" as a term to describe the music made by artists of Carson's style. The term, thus, originated as a euphemism, but proved a suitable replacement for other terms that were considered disparaging by many inhabitants of these regions. It remains the term preferred by performers and listeners of the music. It is sometimes referred to as "old-timey" or "mountain music" by long-time practitioners.

Note that the term "hillbilly" referred/refers only to White inhabitants of Appalachia in spite of the fact that there were/are numerous Black people and other People of Color who also resided/reside in Appalachia. Also note that the term "race music" was only used as a referent for music performed by Black people, in spite of the fact that there were/are other races besides "Black".

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillbilly:

Hillbilly music was at one time considered an acceptable label for what is now known as country music. However, some artists and fans, notably Hank Williams Sr., found the term offensive even in its heyday. The label, coined in 1925 by country pianist Al Hopkins, persisted until the 1950s.

Now, the older name is widely deemed offensive, but the term hillbilly music is still used on occasion to refer to old-time music or bluegrass. An early tune that contained the word hillbilly was "Hillbilly Boogie" by the Delmore Brothers in 1946. Earlier, in the 1920s, there were records by a band called the Beverly Hillbillies. In 1927, the Gennett studios in Richmond, Indiana, made a recording of black fiddler Jim Booker with other instrumentalists; their recordings were labeled "made for Hillbilly" in the Gennett files, and were marketed to a white audiences.*...

Popular songs whose style bore characteristics of both hillbilly and African American music were referred to, in the late 1940s and early 1950s as hillbilly boogie, and in the mid-1950s as rockabilly…

Elvis Presley was a prominent player of the latter genre and was known early in his career as the "Hillbilly Cat". When the Country Music Association was founded in 1958, the term hillbilly music gradually fell out of use. However, the term rockabilly is still in common use. Later, the music industry merged hillbilly music, Western Swing, and Cowboy music, to form the current category C&W, Country and Western.

The famous bluegrass fiddler Vassar Clements described his style of music as "hillbilly jazz."

*Italic font added by me for emphasis.

From http://www.oldtimemusic.com/otdef.html

Most of the `old time' musicians were white rural agrarian Southerners…

Resonant in meaning and methodology, `old time music' had been the heartbeat of Anglo-Celtic Southern America for many generations…

Despite the European background of much of this music and of such instruments as the fiddle, the influence of African-American phrasing and syncopation profoundly affected old time music. (This influence becomes particularly striking when you compare American stringband music to that of Canada, a New World culture which lacked a significant African-American presence.) The banjo is the most obvious legacy of African-Americans in old time music, for the instrument itself is African in origin. It came to white Southerners via the nineteenth century minstrel show, vestiges of which echoed in such performers as Uncle Dave Macon, an early Opry star imitated [more recently] by his longtime accompanist, Sam McGee.

From http://sondahl.com/sammcgee.html

The McGee brothers [Sam & Kirk] grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, where Sam learned to pick guitar from local black musicians. The use of alternating bass and playing the melody on the treble strings had more in common with black blues than local string band playing, where a guitar kept time with bass runs while backing the fiddle…

Besides guitar, Sam played the banjo and the Gibson banjo-guitar. He and Kirk were often billed as comedy acts, with Sam wearing a red wig to become a Toby character developed in minstrel shows. A lot of his songs show his comedic side (with lines like, "Met a little gypsy in a fortune telling place--she read my mind, and then she slapped my face..."), but were accompanied with masterful runs and bends on the guitar. Charles K. Wolfe's excellent book on the early Opry, A Good Natured Riot, tells how Uncle Dave taught showmanship to the McGee brothers, particularly playing up the hillbilly aspects for comedy.

*Italic font added by me for emphasis.

Here's information about the Toby shows from http://thetobyshow.typepad.com/the_toby_show/whats-a-toby-show.html:

Toby Show is a classic American theatre form. They traveled the country in the 19th & early 20th centuries performing vaudeville style shows with music, dance and variety acts in tents like the circus.

The central figure of the Toby Show was Toby, a redheaded rube who, with homespun humor and smarts, always got it over on the big city folks.

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Some banjo & fiddle tunes & verses have been traced to various European folk songs/ tunes while other old time tunes & verses have been traced to 19th century (or earlier) African American dance songs or African American children's play songs. Here's a quote about blackface minstrel songs, a precusor of a considerable portion of old time music:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface

"Author [John] Strausbaugh summed up as follows: "Some minstrel songs started as Negro folk songs, were adapted by White minstrels, became widely popular, and were readopted by Black'...The question of whether minstrelsy was white or black music was moot. It was a mix, a mutt – that is, it was American music.'
John, Strausbaugh Black Like You: Blackface, Whiteface, Insult & Imitation in American Popular Culture

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Here are five video examples of Old Time Music:

Cluck Old Hen (1927) The Hillbillies



Uploaded by cabinbowman on Oct 8, 2009


Charlie Bowman(fiddle), Al Hopkins(vocal) and the Original Hillbillies from 1926.

Charles Thomas "Charlie" Bowman was the fiddler with the original Al Hopkin's Hill Billies, the first country string band to gain national notoriety on radio and records. The group is generally thought to be responsible for establishing the string band as an important part of country music. When the recording company asked for the group's name, one member mentioned that they were just an "old band of hill billies." The name stuck. Bowman is credited with bringing the Hill Billies their most popular song, "Nine Pound Hammer".

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Appalachian Music Makers



Uploaded by BAYSIDEBOB on May 18, 2008

A tribute to the early Appalachian music people. That was the for runner to swing, bluegrass, jazz, blues, country blues, old time music, and American music. Hope you enjoy this little clip.

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Blind James Campbell String Band - "John Henry"


uploaded by suprovalco on Oct 11, 2008

[Two commenters guessed the date for this film clip as "[19]55-60 somewhere in Tennessee, judging from the Type 2 Microbus and the ridge in the background" or "from the crinoline on the young girl dancing, maybe [19]57/58"]

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Uncle Dave Macon-"Sail Away Ladies"



Uploaded by BBYMRLCCOTN on Dec 8, 2009

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Uncle John Scruggs - Little Log Cabin in the Lane



uploaded by madocseren on Oct 14, 2007

Times ain't like they used to be [video recording]: early rural and popular American music, 1928-1935

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For more videos, lyrics, and comments about American Banjo & Fiddle Songs, visit this page on my cocojams website http://www.cocojams.com/content/american-banjo-fiddle-songs

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

The Shared Steroptypes For Hillbillies & African Americans, Part 1

Written by Azizi Powell

I applaud Occupy Wall Street and the other Occupy Movements for focusing attention on the huge economic disparities that exist in the United States and elsewhere in the world. But a lot of systemic changes would have to occur in order for those disparities to be greatly minimized or erased even for a time, let alone forever.

And in order for there to be real systemic changes, we have to change the societies' attitudes about and perception of people who are poor. I purposely use the term "poor people" instead of "the poor" because people who are poor aren't a monolith. Individuals who are poor aren't the same, don't always like each other, and don't necessarily see each other as allies. Furthermore, people who aren't poor may be stigmatized by those who actually are poor using the same negative characteristics mainstream society has conferred on "the poor". In the United States, automatic assumptions of poverty with its socialized attendent stereotypes are routinely conferred on African Americans and those people who are referred to as "hillbillies".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillbilly gives this definition for 'hillbilly':

Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of Appalachian heritage.

For the purposes of this post, I will continue to use the term "hillbilly" with apologies for its offensiveness.

With regard to the part of the above quote that indicate that the term 'hillbillies' refer to "certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia", it's important to note that that same Wikipedia page indicates that "According to Anthony Harkins in Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon, the term first appeared in print in a 1900 New York Journal article, with the definition: "a Hill-Billie is a free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama..." The emphasis on "white citizens" is also found in that "white trash" is given on that page as a synonym for "hillbillies". It's important to note that there is some disagreement about where "Appalachia" actually is. That said, historically and in the present, "Appalachia" referred/refers to American states and parts of states where there are lots of Black folks.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachia:

The most commonly used modern definition of Appalachia is the one initially defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1965 and expanded over subsequent decades. The region defined by the Commission currently includes 420 counties and eight independent cities in 13 states, including all of West Virginia and 14 counties in New York, 52 in Pennsylvania, 32 in Ohio, 3 in Maryland, 54 in Kentucky, 25 counties and 8 cities in Virginia,[3] 29 in North Carolina, 52 in Tennessee, 6 in South Carolina, 37 in Georgia, 37 in Alabama, and 24 in Mississippi.

The previously cited quote from the 1900 New York Journal article goes on to give this description of 'Hill-Billies':

...a Hill-Billie is a free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in the hills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him.

That same Wikipedia page also gives this information about the referent "hillbillie":

The "classic" hillbilly stereotype - the poor, ignorant, feuding family with a huge brood of children tending the family moonshine still - reached its current characterization during the years of the Great Depression, when many mountaineers left their homes to find work in other areas of the country. It was during these years that comic strips such as Lil' Abner and films such as Ma and Pa Kettle made the "hillbilly" a common stereotype…

The term hillbilly is commonly used outside of Appalachia as a reference in describing socially backward people that fit certain "hillbilly" characteristics. In this context, it is often (though not always) derogatory.

The Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redneck indicates that

Redneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor white farmers, especially from the Southern United States. It is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Georgia and Alabama), hillbilly (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks),and white trash (but without the last term's suggestions of immorality.)

In recent decades, the term expanded its meaning to mean bigoted, loutish, and opposed to modern ways, and has often been used to attack Southern conservatives and racists. At the same time, some Southern whites have reclaimed the word, using it with pride and defiance as a self-identifier.

Negative depictions of hillbillies and of African Americans are deeply embedded in the literature, music, and mass media of the United States. What surprised me was how similar the stereotypes were for African Americans and hillbillies. For example, note this description for the once popular cartoon character "Snuffy Smith" from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Google_and_Snuffy_Smith:

Snuffy is an ornery little cuss, sawed-off and shiftless. He lives in a shack, mangles the English language and has a propensity to shoot at those who displease him. He makes "corn-likker" moonshine in a homemade still and is in constant trouble with the sheriff. He wears a broad-brimmed felt hat almost as tall as he is, has a scraggly mustache and a pair of tattered, poorly patched overalls. He constantly cheats at poker and checkers. He also has some proclivity toward stealing chickens, which led to a brief but effective use of his character in a marketing campaign by the Tyson Foods corporation in the early 1980s.

Much of that description is exactly the same as the stereotypical Black "coon". I particularly note the parts about "mangl[ing] the English language, constantly cheat[ing] at poker and checkers, and having "some proclivity toward stealing chickens". Visit http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/coon/ for information on the coon stereotype.

Snuffy Smith was preceded in those cartoons by "Barney Google". Eventually, Snuffy would later replace Barney Google in those cartoons. From that same Wikipedia page:

Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, originally Barney Google, is a long-running American comic strip created by cartoonist Billy DeBeck (1890–1942). Since its debut on June 17, 1919, the strip has gained a huge international readership, appearing in 900 newspapers in 21 countries. The initial appeal of the strip led to its adaptation to film, animation, popular song and television. It added several terms and phrases to the English language and inspired the 1923 hit tune "Barney Google (with the Goo-Goo-Googly Eyes)" with lyrics by Billy Rose

Barney Google is described as

...a little fellow (although he would shrink in stature even more after the first year) with big "banjo" eyes, was an avid sportsman and ne'er-do-well involved in poker, horse racing and prize fights....Barney [was]relentlessly henpecked by "a wife three times his size" (as the song lyric goes). The formidable Mrs. Lizzie Google...[and is a member of] the mysterious hooded fraternity "The Order of the Brotherhood of Billy Goats", a parody of mystic secret societies.

In that comic strip Barney also has a Black jockey named "Sunshine". Regardless of the presence of a Black character, the descriptions of Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, Barney's wife, and the Order of the Brotherhood of Billy Goats certainly sounds a lot like the Amos & Andy characters. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_'n'_Andy for information about Amos & Andy.

It's my position that Barney Google, Snuffy Smith, and other hillbilly characters have many of the same negative stereotypes as Black coon characters. I'm not sure which came first, but maybe that's a chicken or the egg question.

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Part II of this post will focus on the musical ties between African Americans and so-called "hillbillies".

Here are two video examples of "Barney Google":

seeashow 1964 - Barney Google


Uploaded by waffyjon on Sep 26, 2008

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Barney's Blarney (Snuffy Smith)



Uploaded by SuperClassicToons on Feb 12, 2011
The little man goes off telling tall tales to Jughaid.

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