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Monday, February 28, 2022

Beyonce - "Black Parade" lyrics (with explanations and a YouTube video entitled "Black Parade Harlem")



HARLEM PARADE, Sept. 19, 2020

Preserving Harlem's cultural legacy. Protecting Harlem's Black commerce. Empowering Harlem's thriving community. www.HARLEMPARADE.org

Song: Black Parade

Artist: Beyoncé

****
Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents a YouTube video that showcases some of the culture of  Harlem, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City, New York (United States).

That video features the 2019 Hip Hop track "Black Parade" by Beyonce. The lyrics for that song are included in this post along with information about that song. 

WARNING: This song includes two curse words. Those words are given with amended spelling in this post.

The Addendum to this post provides explanations for some of the references in this song. 

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain their owners.

Thanks to 
Beyoncé for her musical legacy. Thanks to all those who wrote this song and thanks to all those who are associated with this song. Thanks also to HARLEM PARADE for publishing this video and thanks to all those who are featured in this video and who are otherwise associated with this video. 

****
LYRICS - BLACK PARADE

https://genius.com/Beyonce-black-parade-lyrics

[artist: Beyoncé

[Intro]

Ah

[Verse 1]

I'm goin' back to the South
I'm goin' back, back, back, back
Where my roots ain't watered down
Growin', growin' like a Baobab tree
Of life on fertile ground, my ancestors put me on game
Ankh charm on gold chains, with my Oshun energy, oh
Drip all on me, woo, Ankara Dashiki print
Hol' up, don't I smell like such a nag champa incense?
Yeah, pure ice (Ice), ice (Ice), buss down
Uh, flooded (Flooded), flooded (Flooded), on my
wrist, out
Ooh, goin' up, goin' up, motherland, motherland drip on me
Ooh, melanin, melanin, my drip is skin deep, like
Ooh, motherland, motherland, motherland, motherland drip on me
Ooh, yeah, I can't forget my history is her-story, yeah
Being black, maybe that's the reason why
They always mad, yeah, they always mad, yeah
Been past 'em, I know that's the reason why
They all big mad and they always have been

[Chorus]

Honey, come around my way, around my hive
Whenever mama say so, mama say
Here I come on my throne, sittin' high
Follow my parade, oh, my parade
Talkin' slick to my folk (My folk), nip that lip like lipo (Lipo)
You hear them swarmin', right? Bees is known to bite
Now here we come on our thrones, sittin' high
Follow my parade, oh, my parade

[Verse 2]

Yeah, yeah, I'm for us, all black
All chrome (Yeah), black-owned (Yeah)
Black tints (Yeah), matte black (Yeah, yeah)
Roll by, my window down, let 'em see who in it
Crack a big smile (Ding)

Go figure, me and Jigga, fifty 'leven children
They like, "Chick, how?"
I charge my crystals in a full moon
You could send them missiles, I'ma send my goons
Baby sister reppin' Yemaya (Yemaya)
Trust me, they gon' need an army (Ah)
Rubber bullets bouncin' off me (Ah)
Made a picket sign off your picket fence (Ah)
Take it as a warning (Ah, ah)
Waist beads from Yoruba (Woo)
Four hunnid billi', Mansa Musa (Woo)
Stroll line to the barbeque
Put us any-damn-where, we gon' make it look cute
Pandemic fly on the runway, in my hazmat
Children' runnin' through the house to my art, all black
Ancestors on the wall, let the ghosts chit-chat
(Ancestors on the wall, let the ghosts chit-chat)
Hold my hands, we gon' pray together
Lay down, face down in the gravel
Woo, wearin' all attire white to the funeral
Black love, we gon' stay together
Curtis Mayfield on the speaker (Woo)
Lil' Malcolm, Martin mixed with mama Tina (Woo)
Need another march, lemme call Tamika (Woo)
Need peace and reparation for my people (Woo)
F&&k* these laid edges, I'ma let it shrivel up (Shrivel up)
F&&k* this fade and waves, I'ma let it dread all up
(Dread all up)
Put your fist up in the air, show black love (Show black love)
Motherland drip on me, motherland, motherland drip on me

****

ABOUT THIS SONG

credits-  
Stephen Bray, NOVA WAV, Rickie Tice, Blu June, Brittany Coney, Worldwide Fresh, Derek Dixie, Kaydence, JAY-Z & Beyoncé

Release dates - June 19, 2020
ten By

[...]

Genius Annotation by 5 contributors
" “BLACK PARADE” is a song celebrating blackness. It was released in the final hours of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.

On the track, Beyoncé proudly sings about her heritage, hometown, womanhood, and complexion. She also talks about returning to her African roots.

According to her official website, the proceeds of “BLACK PARADE” will go to the BeyGOOD Black Business Impact Fund. The fund is administered by the National Urban League and will be used to support black-owned small businesses in need.

This is Beyoncé’s second release of 2020, after she featured on Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage Remix” in April."

 ****
ADDENDUM - MY EDITORIAL NOTES ABOUT SOME OF THE REFERENCES IN BEYONCE'S SONG "BLACK PARADE"

These notes are given in alphabetical order 

ANKARA PRINT
From https://kitengestore.com/everything-need-know-african-print-fabric/
"African wax print fabric is made from 100% cotton cloth, which is commonly used to make clothing, accessories, and other products in Africa. It can also be referred to as Kitenge or Ankara fabric.

 The method of producing the fabric is called batik, a wax-resist dyeing technique and ancient art form that originates from Indonesia.

The print design and colours look the same on both the front and back sides of the fabric. The quality of the fabric depends on the type of cotton cloth and the manufacturing processes used.

 […]

These new fabrics were not popular in Indonesia, as the original batik fabrics were preferred. However, they were well received when imported into West Africa in the 1880s.

West African soldiers brought batik fabrics home after serving in Indonesia and this made the fabrics popular. Several different manufacturers in Europe, including the British and Dutch, produced the fabric for many years before manufacturing expanded to African countries."...

**
ANKH
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh
"The ankh or key of life is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol that was most commonly used in writing and in Egyptian art to represent the word for "life" and, by extension, as a symbol of life itself.

**
BAOBAB TREE
From https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a32930736/beyonce-black-parade-lyrics/  The Historical And Cultural References In Beyoncé's 'Black Parade' Lyrics
..."
The iconic 'Baobab tree' is native to Africa and therefore grow despite the warm and dry conditions in the continent (hence the 'roots ain't watered down' reference which is also used to describe the Black history and continued culture of the deep South)."...
-snip-
The Baobab tree is known as "the tree of life" in certain African cultures.  

**
BEES AND HIVE
"Bees and hive" in Beyoncé’s song refer to her (bees) and her stans (ardent fans= hives) 

**
DASHIKI 
From https://steemit.com/history/@bookeyclaudia/history-of-african-dansiki
"A dashiki is a loose-fitting, pullover shirt usually sewn from colorful, African-inspired cotton prints or from solid color fabrics, often with patch pockets and embroidery at the neckline and cuffs.The dashiki appeared on the American fashion scene during the 1960s when embraced by the black pride ... movement. Dashiki" is a loanword from the West African Yoruba term danshiki, which refers to a short, sleeveless tunic worn by men. The Yoruba borrowed the word from the Hausa dan ciki (literally "underneath"), which refers to a short tunic worn by males under larger robes. The Yoruba danshiki, a work garment, was originally sewn from hand-woven strip cloth."...

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-yoruba-nigeria-origin-of-dashiki.html for the pancocojams post entitled "The Yoruba (Nigeria) Origin Of The Dashiki (information & videos)."

**
EDGES
From https://www.luxyhair.com/blogs/hair-blog/edges-hair
..."Baby hairs also known as edges, are shorter hairs situated at the hairline region at the perimeter of textured hair. They are most commonly found on Black and Brown women’s hair. For decades, women of color have turned them into works of art."

****
FADE
From https://www.menshairstyletrends.com/fade-haircuts-for-black-men/
"
Fade haircuts are one of the most popular looks for Black men. A fade cuts the sides and back of hair from short down to the skin. As far as the hairstyle, that can be anything from an ultra-short buzz or waves to long dreads."...

**
MALCOLM X
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X
Malcolm X (Malik el-Shabazz, born Malcolm Little; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Islam until 1964, he was a vocal advocate for black empowerment and the promotion of Islam within the black community

**
MAMA TINA
The line Lil' Malcolm, Martin mixed with mama Tina (Woo)" refers to  Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Knowles
"
Celestine Beyoncé Knowles-Lawson (née Beyonce; born January 4, 1954)[2][3][4] is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, and philanthropist known for establishing the brands House of Deréon and Miss Tina by Tina Knowles. She is the mother of singers Beyoncé Knowles and Solange Knowles, and, until 2011, was married to their father Mathew Knowles, the manager of Destiny's Child."...

**
MANSA MUSA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansa_Musa
"Musa I (c. 1280[2] – c. 1337), or Mansa Musa, was the ninth[3] Mansa of the Mali Empire, one of the most powerful West African states. He has sometimes been called the wealthiest person in history, though his wealth is impossible to accurately quantify and it is difficult to meaningfully compare the wealth of historical figures.

At the time of Musa's ascension to the throne, Mali in large part consisted of the territory of the former Ghana Empire, which Mali had conquered. The Mali Empire consisted of land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia and the modern state of Mali.

Musa went on hajj to Mecca in 1324, and traveled with an enormous entourage and a vast supply of gold. En route, he spent time in Cairo, where his lavish gift-giving caused a noticeable drop in the price of gold for over a decade and garnered the attention of the wider Muslim world."...

**
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.
"Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. An African American church leader and the son of early civil rights activist and minister Martin Luther King Sr., King advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi."

**
CURTIS MAYFIELD
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Mayfield
"Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.[5][6] He first achieved success and recognition with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group The Impressions during the civil rights movement of the late 1950s and 1960s, and later worked as a solo artist.

**
MOTHERLAND
"The motherland" is a colloquial referent for Africa which is given with deep respect.

**
OSHUN
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshun
"Ọṣun, is an Orisha, a spirit, a deity, or a goddess that reflects one of the manifestations of the Yorùbá Supreme Being in the Ifá oral tradition and Yoruba-based religions of West Africa. She is one of the most popular and venerated Orishas. Oshun is an important river deity among the Yorùbá people. She is the goddess of divinity, femininity, fertility, beauty and love.[1][2] She is connected to destiny and divination.[3]"

****
STROLL LINE
"Strolling" is a group performance art form that originated with historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities. Members of one fraternity or sorority (or members of more than one fraternity and/or sorority in the case of "Unity Strolls" form a vertical line and move around a circle or move in a zig zag line to a Hip Hop record or to some other recorded music. Strollers usually "throw" their organization's hand sign and do their organization's signature call. "Stepping" is another performance art form that originated with Black Greek letter organizations. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/10/black-greek-letter-fraternities.html for a pancocojams post entitled "Black Greek Letter Fraternities & Sororities Unity Steps & Unity Strolls (information & videos)."

** 
TAMIKA
The line "
Need another march, lemme call Tamika (Woo)" in Beyonce's "Black Parade" is probably a referent for Tamika Mallory
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamika_Mallory
"Tamika Danielle Mallory (born September 4, 1980)[1] is an American activist. She was one of the leading organizers of the 2017 Women's March, for which she and her three other co-chairs were recognized in the TIME 100 that year.[3][4] She received the Coretta Scott King Legacy Award from the Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom in 2018.[5] Mallory is a proponent of gun control, feminism, and the Black Lives Matter movement."...


**
WAIST BEADS
From https://www.demandafrica.com/style/what-is-the-significance-of-yoruba-waist-beads/#:~:text=Yoruba%20waist%20beads%20are%20also,%2C%20strung%2C%20and%20threaded%20together.
"Yoruba Beads Waist beads

Waist beads are accessories with deep cultural significance in Africa. The cultural significance of waist beads is peculiar to each region, however, there are similarities in most of its functions. Waist beads are even mentioned in Beyoncé’s song “Black Parade.”

 “Waist beads from Yoruba (Woo) Four hunnid billi’, Mansa Musa (Woo).”

 The Yorubas in West Africa are known to have the most varied and peculiar reasons for using waist beads. Yoruba waist beads are also called Ileke, Jigida, and Lagidigba. They are worn mainly by females, from the littlest to the oldest."...

**
WEAVE
From https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/18076912
"weave" refers to hair that is added to someone's head that's either fake (artificial) hair or just not their own. It's normally put on the head by being sewn into braids on the person's scalp so that all that's visible is the fake/additional hair and not their natural hair. It's a term often used by black women to talk about the hairstyles that they do."...

**
YEMAJA
https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a32930736/beyonce-black-parade-lyrics/ includes this statement about the line that includes Yemaja in the song "Black Parade"

 "Baby sister reppin' Yemaya"

Fans know of Beyoncé's close relationship with her sister Solange. In this line, the singer likens the 'Don't Touch My Hair' singer to Yemaya, another West African Yoruba goddess of the ocean. She is considered a protector of women and motherhood. Yemaya and Oshun (referenced above) are considered to be sisters too."
-snip-
Here's more information about Yemaja from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yem%E1%BB%8Dja
"Yemanjá (Yoruba: Yemọja) is a major water spirit from the Yoruba religion.[1] She is the mother of all Orishas. She is an orisha, in this case patron spirit of rivers, particularly the Ogun River in Nigeria; and oceans in Cuban and Brazilian orisa religions."...

****
YORUBA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people
"The Yoruba people (Yoruba: Ìran Yorùbá, Ọmọ Odùduwà, Ọmọ Káàárọ̀-oòjíire[29]) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabits parts of Nigeria, Benin and Togo that constitute Yorubaland. The Yorubas constitute around 45 million people in Africa, are a few hundred thousand outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 15.5% of the country's population according to CIA estimations,[30] making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers.[31]"....

****
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Sunday, February 27, 2022

Beyoncé - Formation (2016 official video with three excerpts from online websites)



Beyoncé, Dec. 9, 2016

Grammy nominated best video of the year "Formation" from LEMONADE the Visual Album -snip- WARNING: This song/video contains explicit lyrics. -snip- Statistics as of Feb. 27, 2022 at 1:01 PM ET - total # of views for this video: 267,658,439 **** Edited by Azizi Powell This pancocojams post showcases Beyoncé's 2016 song/video "Formation" and presents excerpts from three online websites about that song/video. The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes. All copyrights remain with their owners. Thanks to Beyoncé for her musical legacy. Thanks to the writers of this song and all those who are associated with this song/video. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this pancocojams post.
**** THREE EXCERPTS FROM ONLINE WEBSITES ABOUT BEYONCE'S "FORMATION" SONG/VIDEO

These numbers are given for referencing purposes only.
EXCERPT #1 From https://genius.com/Beyonce-formation-lyrics 
Beyoncé - "Formation"
...Written By Slim Jxmmi, Pluss, Jordan Frost, Mike WiLL Made-It, Swae Lee & Beyoncé

Release date- Feb. 6, 2016

 [...]

Genius Annotation
[9 contributors]

"Formation” is a Black Power anthem, a fitting contribution to Black History Month and an important conversation piece in the Black Lives Matter movement. The song was released one day after what would have been Trayvon Martin’s 21st birthday and one day before what would have been Sandra Bland’s 29th birthday. Martin and Bland’s deaths are focal points of Black Lives Matter.

Continuing the trend commonly attributed to her surprise 2013 album release, “Formation” was surprise-released alongside an unlisted music video the day before her appearance as part of the Super Bowl 50 halftime show, where she performed this track. After her performance, she announced The Formation World Tour. “Formation” was later included as the closer for Beyoncé’s sixth album, LEMONADE, which was surprise-released on April 23, 2016.

New Orleans bounce musician Big Freedia, who appears on the interlude, noted the song and video showcase Bey “paying homage to her roots.” Bounce music originated in New Orleans and is a faster paced style of hip-hop music.

Shots from the music video come directly from Chris Black and Abteen Bagheri’s 2012 That B.E.A.T., a bounce music documentary filmed in New Orleans. After some initial controversy, a rep for Beyoncé confirmed proper credit and compensation had been attributed to the film makers. Watch That B.E.A.T. below. "...

Ask us a question about this song

"What have the artists said about the song?"

Verified Commentary

Swae Lee via Fader:

"When I made that Beyoncé hook I was thinking nothing about it. I make a lot of songs, so I’m just thinking that this is another song. A couple months later, Mike tells me that Beyoncé wants it. I couldn’t imagine!"

[…]

What has the media said about the song?

Genius Answer

[contributed by the breakup:

"In 2018, NPR ranked this as the #19 greatest song by a female or nonbinary artist in the 21st century, saying:

Beyoncé’s two great obsessions — love and power — combine on her personal-is-political masterpiece, 2016’s Lemonade. Like the album itself, ‘Formation’ is a defiant celebration of black womanhood and the singer’s Southern heritage. Though it finds her croon flawless, the song shines when she shifts to a raspy rap and deploys a series of lethal one-liners, culminating in a masterful parting shot: ‘You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation.’ It’s a brilliant single, but Bey transcended the sonic realm with her self-titled album in 2013, and every track she’s recorded since is inseparable from the imagery rolled out to accompany it. In this case, that meant a music video dense with references to Hurricane Katrina, racist policing and the resilience of black communities, followed a day later by dancers in Black Panther berets flanking Beyoncé at a Super Bowl performance. Released early in a year when overt racism and misogyny bum-rushed American politics, ‘Formation’ remains the radical apex of a sui generis career." "

****
EXCERPT #2
From https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/feb/08/beyonce-formation-review-super-bowl-rallying-cry-black-consciousness Beyoncé's Formation review – a rallying cry that couldn't be more timely

Beyoncé’s Super Bowl surprise single was the perfect way to follow her shock album from two years ago: she’s made a black consciousness masterpiece

Alex Macpherson,  8 Feb 2016 EST
"Fully realising a masterpiece can be a double-edged sword. In the two years since Beyoncé “changed the game with that digital drop”, I’ve frequently wondered just how she could possibly follow it.

If Beyoncé herself has been beset by such concerns, it doesn’t show. On Formation, she doesn’t just answer that question, but savours every delicious moment of making her statement. Just listen to her voice – or rather, voices; hanging out with Nicki Minaj (and indeed co-writer Swae Lee, one half of rap scamps Rae Sremmurd) has clearly had an effect. There’s the amused drawl of “y’all haters corny with that Illuminati mess”, the barely suppressed giggle about keeping hot sauce in her bag, the sudden giddy exclamation as she lands on the word “chaser” in the chorus. It’s one of Beyoncé’s most playful performances to date: she treats the Mike Will Made It-produced beat the same way a cat treats a ball of wool. With its rubbery springing steps giving way to horns, clattering martial tattoos and the kind of heavy bass that goes straight to your hips, there’s plenty for her to toy with; its loose approach to structure makes it more akin to a freeform dance routine than a conventional pop song.

[…]

Formation’s declarations of identity are carefully chosen for political weight and layers of meaning. “I like my negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils,” she declaims in the half-rapped, half-sung cadence that’s served her so well ever since she haughtily flipped In Da Club in 2003. It’s radical self-love, of course, but the metaphor is a flashing reminder of the troubled alternative that has faced black stars before now.

The video, meanwhile, opens with the singer crouched on a New Orleans police car, half-submerged in a flood – and closes with her lying back as the water engulfs both her and the vehicle. In between, footage of the city post-Katrina is interspersed with grainy shots of dancers shot from above, as though from a police helicopter; opulent gothic mansions straight out of the antebellum South, now owned by Beyoncé and her band of black women in vintage lace. Most effective of all is an extended shot of a child dancing in front of a row of riot police, who raise their hands in response to his moves before the camera cuts to graffiti reading “STOP SHOOTING US”.

[…]

As with her hyper-specific lyrics, it feels notable that she seems increasingly uninterested in universality; Formation’s references are designed for maximum resonance – or perhaps alienation, depending on where you stand. It’s a song ostensibly about Beyoncé’s identity that forces the listener to acknowledge their own identity – a bold move from the world’s biggest pop star, who over her career has been no stranger to the kind of song written so vaguely as to apply to anyone and anything. The presence of New Orleans bounce rapper Big Freedia works in a similar fashion; Formation may be Beyoncé’s blackest song yet, but thanks to Freedia and a healthy dose of exhortations to slay, it’s also her most gay.

[…]

The central tension in Formation is between its playfulness and the anger underpinning it; often, there’s a disconnect between Beyoncé’s carefree voice and the powerful images on screen. As it goes on, though, the significance of the dance becomes clearer. If Beyoncé’s self-titled album was a fundamentally personal statement, the painstaking work of a woman engaged in deep analysis of herself, her desires and her place in the world, Formation finds her turning her attention outwards. Ultimately, it is a rallying cry, and it couldn’t be more timely; when Beyoncé begins to exhort her ladies to get in formation, it’s the sound of a militia being prepared for battles ahead."

****
EXCERPT #3
From 
https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/beyonce-formation-music-video

7 Reasons Beyoncé's "Formation" Music Video Is a Powerful Statement During Black History Month

This was no coincidence.

BY INDIA HILL, FEBRUARY 6, 2016
… "ASIDE FROM the video obviously showing off Bey’s killer moves — because this is a Beyoncé music video, after all — and her adorable daughter, Blue Ivy, the video dives deep into the issues that the black community is currently facing, from police brutality to unrealistic standards of beauty. The timing is perfect, considering it is Black History Month. And if you know Beyoncé, you know that nothing she does is a coincidence. She’s got something to say, and she’s going to make sure you hear her loud and clear. IT IS a literal ode to black culture, and it makes no apologies for that. People who say that they “don’t get” this video or that it’s not “speaking to them” need not apply: it’s not for the entire world to approve of, or even consume. Beyoncé does not need the world’s approval — she has her own. In a time where we have to remind others that black lives do matter, in a time where the parts of our culture that we were previously ridiculed for are currently being appropriated and made into the mainstream by our white counterparts, it’s absolutely refreshing to see Beyoncé stand up in her blackness, unapologetically, and make a statement. SHE HAS created her own lane and is using it to take a stand, while simultaneously SLAYING in every way possible...and here’s how:

1/7

She’s going on record to take a stand against police brutality.

[…]

2/7

It may have seemed like the government forgot New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but she hasn’t.

[...]

3/7

She unapologetically references multiple aspects of black culture...and wants you to remember where they come from.

Black culture has been becoming increasingly popular, and is more often than not appropriated by the mainstream culture that likes to pretend they “discovered” it. (For the record, Miley Cyrus did not invent twerking.) Beyoncé wants you to know that she is not here for your Columbusing. She's been nodding to her Creole heritage ever since the “Deja Vu” video, and her Texas roots have been evident since “No Angel," but "Formation" is a blend of everything and more. The references in the song range from her choice of soul food — “I like cornbread and collard greens, b*tch, best to believe it” — to the livelihood of a black marching band, worshipping in a small, black church, and even the voodoo magic that is still very much a part of Creole culture. Bey has not forgotten her roots: “Earned all this money but they never take the country off me,” she says. She is not in the business of shying away from her blackness to appease anyone, but rather embraces it and everything that comes along with it. And her presence demands that you believe her.

4/7

Black children matter.

If it’s wasn’t enough that Blue Ivy is already slaying in music videos at the age of 4, she — along with all of Beyoncé’s dancers — are donning afros. This is not an unconscious choice on Beyoncé’s part. Blue’s hair has long been the topic of unsolicited critique, even though she’s a toddler who shouldn’t be subjected to complete strangers’ scrutiny about her appearance. Blue and the rest of the squad serve as a reminder that natural hair is beautiful. And in case you wondered, Beyoncé says she “like my baby hair, with baby hair and afros.” Any more questions?

5/7

She's flipping the script on “Hands up, don’t shoot.”

One of the most powerful scenes in the entire video is that of a small child dancing in a hoodie in front of a line of officers in full combat gear — a scene reminiscent of police officers seen in Ferguson, Missouri, the town where Mike Brown was shot — before they put their hands up and surrender to him….

6/7

Not only is Beyoncé black, but she’s a black woman.

In a world where things are tough for people of color and women, being a woman of color is an extra hurdle. The singer isn’t going to apologize for either her blackness or her womanhood; instead, she embraces every aspect of her identity. Hair is and has always been a way for black women to bond with each other, express themselves, and make a statement. Bey and her dancers rock multiple hairstyles in the video: she hangs her long, golden braids out of her car window, and women with blue and purple extensions stand defiantly in the beauty supply store….

7/7

She's proud of what she's accomplished...and is telling her girls to "get in formation" and run the world right alongside her. ..."
-snip-
The bold font is used in this article.

Regarding 4/7, here's information about what African Americans mean when we refer to "baby hair" (also called "edges") from https://www.allure.com/story/how-to-style-baby-hairs-2016-06 ; 12 Inspirational Ways to Style Your Baby Hairs by Andrea Arterbery, June 28, 2016 
"Baby hairs are those small, very fine, wispy hairs located around the edges of your hair. They can be long, short, or even curly, depending on your hair type and texture. Typically found on children (hence the word "baby"), they can also follow you into adulthood.”...

Click 
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/06/videos-and-article-excerpts-about-doing.html for the 2021 pancocojams post entitled "Videos And Article Excerpts About "Doing Your Baby Hairs" ("Laying Your Edges")"

****
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Visitor comments are welcome.

Saturday, February 26, 2022

What United States Supreme Court Judge Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson's First & Middle Names Mean (according to online name websites)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision - April 8, 2022: Title change from Nominee to Judge

This pancocojams post presents information about the 2022 United States Supreme Court Judge Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson.

Information about how Ketanji Brown Jackson got her personal name/s is also included in this post.

The Addendum to this post includes information 
from several online sources about the etymology of the names "Ketanji" and "Onyika" 

The content of this post is presented for etymological and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. 
-snip-
Congratulations to Ketanji Brown Jackson on her confirmation to the United States Supreme Court (April 7, 2022). https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/ketanji-brown-jackson-senate-confirmation-vote/index.html

****
INFORMATION ABOUT KETANJI BROWN JACKSON
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketanji_Brown_Jackson
"Ketanji Brown Jackson (born September 14, 1970)[1] is an American attorney and jurist serving as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 2021.[2]

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Miami, Florida, Jackson attended Harvard University for college and law school, where she served as an editor on the Harvard Law Review. She began her legal career with three clerkships, including one with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Prior to her elevation to an appellate court and from 2013 to 2021, she served as a district judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Jackson was also vice chair of the United States Sentencing Commission from 2010 to 2014. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers.

On February 25, 2022, President Joe Biden announced that Jackson was his nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, filling the vacancy created upon Breyer's retirement.[3]

Early life and education

Jackson was born Ketanji Onyika Brown on September 14, 1970, in Washington, D.C.  Her parents were both graduates of historically Black colleges and universities.[6][4][7] Her father, Johnny Brown, ultimately became the chief attorney for the Miami-Dade County School Board; her mother, Ellery, served as school principal at New World School of the Arts.[8][9] Jackson grew up in Miami, Florida, and graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High School in 1988.[5]

[...]

Personal life

In 1996, Jackson married surgeon Patrick G. Jackson, a sixth-generation Harvard graduate, whose family is considered Boston Brahmin.[86] Jackson is descended from delegate to the Continental Congress, Jonathan Jackson, and is related to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.[87] The couple have two daughters. Patrick Jackson's twin brother is the brother-in-law of Janna Ryan, wife of former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.[88]"...

****
INFORMATION ABOUT HOW KETANJI BROWN JACKSON GOT HER PERSONAL NAME/S
From 
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/nation-world/jackson-traces-law-interest-to-preschool/507-525ee41a-3210-4e84-812b-8bd27ade8b66 Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson? Meet Biden's Supreme Court nominee, author Jessica Gresko and Mark Sherman (Associated Press); Feb. 25, 2022
..."Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Miami. She has said that her parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, chose her name to express their pride in her family’s African ancestry. They asked an aunt who was in the Peace Corps in Africa at the time to send a list of African girl's names and they picked Ketanji Onyika, which they were told meant “lovely one.”
-snip-
This exact same paragraph is found in several other online sources on that date, including https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/biden-to-nominate-judge-ketanji-brown-jackson-to-the-supreme-court and https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/25/ketanji-brown-jackson-miami-family-parents/.

The wording of this part of the sentence ..."they picked Ketanji Onyika, which they were told meant “lovely one” implies that the Supreme Court nominee's parents chose "Ketanji Onyika" as a double first name rather than as a first and middle name.    

Common examples of  female "double first names" in the United States are "Mary Ellen" and "Mary Beth."

**
Unfortunately, I've not found any information about where in Africa the aunt was when she sent that list of African names. The aunt could have sent a list of female names gleaned from multiple regions of the African continent. However, particularly if she was in East Africa or South Africa, it's possible that East Indian names were also included in that list, as people from India have lived in those regions of Africa for generations. Furthermore, many East Indian names are "spelled like" and "sound like" what African Americans in the 1970s and later thought (and still think) African names look and sound like. 

Read my Editor's Note about African Americans in the 1970s choosing or being given African names. Also, read the Addendums to this post for more information about the etymologies that I've found online for the names "Ketanji" and "Onyika". 

****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
Prior to the publication in the United States of books of traditional African names*, and prior to the internet, African Americans only knew a limited number of traditional African names (notwithstanding that some enslaved Black people in the Americas and the Caribbean had forms of African names-such as some Ghanaian day names.)

I remember in the late 1960s and in the early 1970s United States that lists of African names were very hard to come by and very much prized among African Americans who wanted to change their first names and/or wanted to give their children actual names from traditional African languages.

In part because of the Moorish Science Temple and The Nation of Islam, we African Americans knew more Arabic names than names from traditional African languages such as KiSwahili, Yoruba, Igbo, Twi (Akan), Wolof, or Zulu. However, since Arabic had been spoken in the continent of Africa, including West Africa, for centuries, we (I believe correctly) considered Arabic to be a traditional African language.

From my interaction with other afro-centric adults in the 1970s United States and from my subsequent reading, I would say that next to Arabic, KiSwahili names were the ones that were most often given to or chosen by African Americans during the 1970s. In the early 1970s we were excited to find "zeroxed" (photo-copied) lists of "African" names with or without any publication source. These lists usually didn't have any pronunciation codes and the meanings that were ascribed to those names were usually someting positive whether or not those meanings were actually true. 

Futhermore, some African Americans in the 1970s and later have purposely chosen (choose) non-European and non-Hebrew names for our children whether those names came (come) from traditional African languages or not. Usually, how those names look/ed and sound/ed were (are) much more important than what those names actually meant (mean). And we might have 
unbeknowingly pronounce/d those names differently than they were/are pronounced in Africa or elsewhere.

That said, African Americans who choose African names for ourselves and for our children want names with positive meanings. There are lots of traditional African, Arabic, and other non-Euopean/non-Hebrew names that actually have positive meanings. However, some African Americans have purposely "make up" positive meanings for names from traditional African languages, and from Arabic, and from other non-European and non-Hebrew languages, using their creativity and their self-determination.  

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-i-got-my-african-name.html for a closely 2011 related pancocojams post entitled "How I Got My African Name."

*Three relatively early publications of paperback books of African names with their meanings are "The Book Of African Names" As Told By Chief Osuntoki (originally published by Drum & Spear Pres, 1977, republished by Black Classic Press, 1991), "Golden Names for an African people: African & Arabic Names" by Nia Damali (Blackwood Press, 1986), and "The Book of African Names" by Molefi Kete Asante (African World Press, 1991).

The names "Ketanji" and "Oyinka" aren't found in any of these books under female names or male names or unisex names. 

****
ADDENDUM #1 - O
RIGIN AND MEANING FOR THE NAME "KETANJI"
From http://www.indiachildnames.com/originof.aspx?name=Ketanji

"Name  Ketanji  generally means Home or Pure Gold or Mark or Sign or Dwelling,  is of  Indian  origin,  Name  Ketanji  is a  Unisex  name, which means both Boy and Girl can have this name”…
-snip-
I found this meaning in several online websites for baby names.

Since there were/are people of East Indian descent in East Africa, it's possible that  East Indian names were included in the list of "African names" that the aunt in the Peace Corps in Africa sent Ketanji Brown Jackson's parents.

Alternatively, (based on my informal internet searching), it appears that "Kitanji" is a KiSwahil surname (last name). I don't know what that name means.  I wonder if the name "Ketanji" could be a form of that Swahili name (meaning that the name "Kitanji" could have been on that list of African names that was sent to Ketanji Brown Jackson's parents and they changed the spelling of that name to "Ketanji".   

****

ADDENDUM #2- THE ORIGINS AND MEANINGS OF THE NAME "ONYIKA"
"Onyika" is a form of the name "Onyeka". "Onika" is another form of this name. 

Here's information about the name "Onyeka" from several online sources (given in no particular order)

Source #1
From https://www.name-doctor.com/name-onyeka-meaning-of-onyeka-18892.html
"Onyeka

Diminutive of: Onyekachi

Languge Family: Afro-Asiatic

Origin: African (Igbo)

Name Root: Ukwu Chukwu

Meaning:

This name derives from the African (Igbo) "Ukwu Chukwu", meaning "Who is greater than God?". In the traditional Igbo spiritual belief system and Igbo mythology, Chukwu is the infinitely powerful, undefinable, Supreme Deity encompassing everything in space and space itself."
-snip-
All of these words were written with upper case letters. I changed this lettering for aesthetic purposes.

The saying "Who is greater than God" in the Igbo (Nigeria, West Africa) language means "No one is greater than God".
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/01/igbos-comments-about-names-beginning.html for a 2018 pancocojams post entitled "
Nigerian Igbos' Comments About Names Beginning With "Chi" & Comments About The Frequent Use Of "Chi" In Igbo Names".

****
Source #1
From https://www.meaningofthename.com/onyeka
"onyeka- God is the greatest, awn-YEH-kah,

Meaning: God is the greatest

Origin: African

Gender: Boy, Girl

Pronunciation: awn-YEH-kah

Info:

Onyeka is a diminutive of Onyekachi. Onyekachi originates in African languages and means "God is the greatest". It can be used as both feminine and masculine given names and it functions as a surname as well. In the United States it is rather rare."
-snip-
Here's information about the "chi" ending in the name "Onyekachi":
From https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/african-gods-the-importance-of-the-chi-in-igbo-culture/qhdefws 
African gods: The importance of the 'Chi' in Igbo culture by Temi Iwalaiye,  July 21, 2021
"Chukwu can be translated as 'The Great Chi'. The Chi is a part of Chukwu that resides in human beings.

Chi is a person’s spirit. It is a personal life force or, a person's providence, or a portioned-out life principle.

Chukwu created the world, then he put the creative spirit in the man known as his Chi to decide the course of his life."...
-snip-
"Onyika" and "Onika" are variant forms of the name "Onyeka" in the United States, in Trinidad, and probably in other nations. I've heard "Onika" pronounced as "oh-KNEE-kah".

****
Source #3
From https://babynames.com/name/onika
"What is the meaning of the name Onika?

The name Onika is primarily a female name of African - Igbo/West Africa origin that means Who Is Greater Than God?."

****
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Visitor comments are welcome.

 

The Origins Of The Stereotype About Black People And Fried Chicken (featuring two article excerpts and a YouTube video)



MemoryMuseum, July 2, 2020

Ella Fitzgerald in a 1983 commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken -snip- Two commenters wrote in that YouTube video's discussion thread that the girl scatting along with Ella Fitzgerald is the R&B singer Shanice. Some commenters wrote that this ad was racist. I don't believe that every ad or every reference to Black people and fried chicken is in and of itself racist. **** Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents two article excerpts about the history behind the stereotype of  African Americans and fried chicken.

A 1983 Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial of Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald scatting about fried chicken is also showcased in this pancocojams post. 

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-story-behind-stereotype-of-black.html for the 2013 pancocojams post entitled "
The Story Behind The Stereotype Of Black People & Fried Chicken."

Also, read the rhyme entitled "How To Please A Preacher" from Thomas W. Talley's 1922 collection Negro Folk Rhymes, quoted in Part II of the pancocojams series "
Food Or Beverages References In Some Examples In The 1922 Book "Negro Folk Rhymes" (Part II). That rhyme (song) is the only example in that collection that refers to eating parts of a chicken (i.e. a chicken wing). In contrast, a number of rhymes in that collection refer to Black people eating chicken pies, a much less time intensive meal.  https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/food-or-beverages-references-in-some_21.htmlThe link to Part I of that series is found in that post. 

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ARTICLE EXCERPTs ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICANS AND FRIED CHICKEN

These excerpts are numbered for referencing purposes only.

EXCERPT #1
From 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fried_chicken
"Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior of the chicken while retaining juices in the meat. Broiler chickens are most commonly used.

The first dish known to have been deep fried was fritters, which were popular in the European Middle Ages. However, it was the Scottish who were the first Europeans to deep fry their chicken in fat (though without seasoning). Meanwhile, many West African peoples had traditions of seasoned fried chicken (though battering and cooking the chicken in palm oil). Scottish frying techniques and West African seasoning techniques were combined by enslaved Africans and African-Americans in the American South.

History

The American English expression "fried chicken" is first recorded in the 1830s, and frequently appears in American cookbooks of the 1860s and 1870s.[1] The origin of fried chicken in the southern states of America has been traced to precedents in Scottish[2][3][4] and West African cuisine.[5][6][7][8] Scottish fried chicken was cooked in fat (though unseasoned)[2][4] while West African fried chicken was seasoned[2][3][8] (but battered[6][9] and cooked in palm oil).[5] Scottish frying techniques and African seasoning techniques were used in the American South by African slaves.[2][3][4][8] Fried chicken provided some means of an independent economy for enslaved and segregated African-American women, who became noted sellers of poultry (live or cooked) as early as the 1730s.[10] Because of this and the expensive nature of the ingredients, it was, despite popular belief, a rare dish in the African-American community[5] reserved (as in Africa) for special occasions.[9][7][8]

After the development of larger and faster-growing hogs (due to crosses between European and Asian breeds) in the 18th and 19th century, in the United States, backyard and small-scale hog production provided an inexpensive means of converting waste food, crop waste, and garbage into calories (in a relatively small space and a relatively short period). Many of those calories came in the form of fat and rendered lard.[11] Lard was used for almost all cooking and was a fundamental component in many common homestead foods (many that today are still regarded as holiday and comfort foods) like biscuits and pies.[12] The economic and caloric necessity of consuming lard and other saved fats may have led to the popularity of fried foods, not only in the US, but worldwide.[13][better source needed] In the 19th century cast iron became widely available for use in cooking. The combination of flour, lard, a chicken and a heavy pan placed over a relatively controllable flame became the beginning of today's fried chicken.[citation needed]

When it was introduced to the American South, fried chicken became a common staple. Later, as the slave trade led to Africans being brought to work on southern plantations, the slaves who became cooks incorporated seasonings and spices that were absent in traditional Scottish cuisine, enriching the flavor.[14] Since most slaves were unable to raise expensive meats, but generally allowed to keep chickens, frying chicken on special occasions continued in the African American communities of the South, especially in the periods of segregation that closed off most restaurants to the black population.[citation needed]

American-style fried chicken gradually passed into common use as a general Southern dish, especially after the abolition of slavery, and its popularity spread. Since fried chicken traveled well in hot weather before refrigeration was commonplace, and as the growth of industry reduced its cost, it gained further favor across the South. Fried chicken continues to be among this region's top choices for "Sunday dinner". Holidays such as Independence Day and other gatherings often feature this dish.[15] During the 20th century, chain restaurants focused on fried chicken began among the boom in the fast food industry. Brands such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeyes, and Bojangles expanded in the United States and across the world.”…

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EXCERPT #2
From 
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20201012-the-surprising-origin-of-fried-chicken

The surprising origin of fried chicken

By Adrian Miller

13th October 2020

Fried chicken is as emblematic of the US South as collard greens and sweet potato pie. But it may be more Scottish than Southern.

…"In the US, African Americans often refer to fried chicken as a “Gospel bird” because of its connection to Sunday church culture, and three of the five fastest-growing restaurant chains in recent years were chicken joints….

Until World War Two, fried chicken in the US was considered a food for special occasions. It later transitioned to something that people ate for breakfast or dinner a couple of times a week, and these days, it’s become so widely available that people eat it whenever the mood strikes. In fact, according to the US’ National Chicken Council, the average American ate 28lb of chicken in 1960. Now, Americans down 99lb of chicken each year – far more than beef (57lb) or pork (53lb)….

Despite the fact that many cultures around the world make distinct varieties of fried chicken, the US South's version is unquestionably the most iconic. But why? What gives people in the Southern US the gumption to claim fried chicken as their birthright, or their “state religion” as Damon Lee Fowler wrote in his 1998 book, Fried Chicken: The World’s Best Recipes from Memphis to Milan, from Buffalo to Bangkok. The simple answer is that fried chicken’s early history is something of a mystery and US Southerners were its loudest and best cheerleaders, helping to spread it across the US, and later, the world….

From the 17th to 19th Centuries, conventional wisdom designated the American South as fried chicken’s native habitat. Southerners made it a centrepiece of their regional cuisine and boasted that only African Americans, mostly enslaved, could make “authentic” fried chicken. Some culinary experts linked such expertise to West Africa where, for several centuries prior to European contact, local populations ate chicken and deep fried their food. However, West Africans didn't make fried chicken the same way many Southerners traditionally did. It was more like a fricassee, where chicken was lightly fried and then braised for a much longer time in a seasoned sauce – similar to Senegalese chicken yassa. Since West African culinary traditions remain a mystery to so many, some saw the building blocks for fried chicken and leapt to the wrong conclusion.

The US’ first widely accepted printed recipe for fried chicken appeared in 1824 in the first regional American cookbook, The Virginia House-Wife, authored by Mary Randolph, a white woman from a slaveholding family and a distant relative of Thomas Jefferson.

“Cut them up as for the fricassée, dredge them well with flour, sprinkle them with salt, put them into a good quantity of boiling lard and fry them a light brown,” she wrote. Of course, the dish’s history starts much earlier, but this recipe set the fried chicken standard for generations of Southern cooks.

For centuries, fried chicken’s pure Southern heritage remained unchallenged until food writer John F Mariani wrote the following in The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, first published in 1983: “Almost every country has its own version [of fried chicken], from Vietnam’s Ga Xao to Italy’s pollo fritto and Austria’s Weiner Backhendl.” But, he continued, “the Scottish, who enjoyed frying their chickens rather than boiling or baking them as the English did, may have brought the method with them when they settled the [American] South.

Though Randolph’s recipe helped popularise fried chicken for Southern white cooks, an even older recipe appearing in a 1747 British cookbook, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, may have pioneered it – only it’s not actually called “fried chicken”. Simply titled “to marinate chickens”, the technique is all too familiar to today’s Southern US cooks….

A likely scenario is that, at some point between the 17th and 19th centuries, enslaved African Americans began cooking fried chicken based on the recipes provided by Scottish slaveholders. In time, African American cooks embraced it as part of their own culinary tradition. With years of honed experience, as well as an adeptness at seasoning and frying, African American cooks caused fried chicken to lose its Scottish identity and it became as quintessentially “Southern” as black-eyed peas, cornbread, collard greens, macaroni and cheese and sweet potato pie.

Before the US Civil War (1861-1865), fried chicken was fully immersed in Southern social life for both African Americans and whites, but preparing it was a very labour-intensive process. Someone had to kill a chicken, then pluck, clean, cut, season, flour and cook it. This made it something only eaten on special occasions – typically from spring until autumn – and it was often served at Fourth of July celebrations and Sunday dinners after a church service. Typically, young chickens, around a year old, were preferred for frying. Older chickens were for stewing because the meat was considered less tender. Other than barbecue or a fish fry, few foods were as effective as fried chicken in bringing people together and building community.

Enslaved African Americans also valued chickens in the Southern plantation economy. Many slaveholders allowed enslaved people to raise chickens and sell or barter eggs. Chickens acquired divine significance in West Africa where the animals were used in a number of religious rituals, and enslaved Africans transplanted those spiritual practices to the Americas.

In the Southern US, American Americans made fried chicken their go-to dish for a communal meal after church, or when the church pastor went to a congregant’s home for dinner. As the honoured guest, the pastor was served first and got the best pieces of the bird (usually the breast), which were also called “preacher’s parts” until the 1950s. With fried chicken so imbued with religious connotation, it’s no surprise that its “Gospel Bird” or “Sunday Cluck” nicknames endure in African American culture.

During the 19th Century, the dish became a route to economic empowerment for many African Americans. In her groundbreaking work, Building Houses out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food & Power, University of Maryland associate professor Dr Psyche Williams-Forson reveals how the 900-person town of Gordonsville, Virginia, became known as the “Fried Chicken Capital of the World” in the second half of the 1800s.

Gordonsville was a major stop on two Civil War-era railroad lines, but back then, the trains didn’t have dining cars. “When weary train passengers arrived [in Gordonsville], these black women rushed to offer a combination of foods that included fried chicken,” writes Williams-Forson. Because fried chicken travelled well before refrigeration, white passengers would frequently buy the food from African American cooks through open train windows.

Entrepreneurial vendors proliferated in the South and in other parts of the country, and fried chicken singlehandedly helped many African Americans move out of the region and build their own homes – hence, the title of Williams-Forson’s book.

Predictably, however, it was a white entrepreneur who caused fried chicken to really take flight in the US. In the 1950s, “Colonel” Harland Sanders adopted traditional techniques perfected by African Americans in the US South and began franchising his Antebellum-themed Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant after figuring out how to mass produce fried chicken by greatly shortening its cooking time. As a legitimate fast food, Southern-style fried chicken began spreading its wings globally in the 1970s, and KFC’s influence was huge. Wherever the franchise landed, it often gave people in other countries their first taste of Southern-style fried chicken."...

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Friday, February 25, 2022

Africans' & African Americans' Replies To An Internet Troll (comments from a Nigerian AfroBeats music video discussion thread)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides a definition for "internet troll" and provides the entire sub-thread to date from a discussion thread for the official  2019 Nigerian Afro-Beats music video for Tiwa Savage's song "4-99". in that sub-thread a number of people responded to comments from a person who was eventually labeled an internet troll.

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
This sub-thread is from Nigerian Afro-Beats singer Tiwa Savage's official video of her song "44-99". 

After a number of comments, one person in that sub-thread was referred to as a troll. The comments from that person no longer appear in that sub-thread (as of Feb. 25, 2022 when I retrieved these comments). However, the content of some of those comments can be deduced from other commenter's replies.

It's likely that the publisher of that video deleted those comments instead of those comments being self-deleted by that "troll". From replies to one or to multiple comments from that troll, it appears that that commenter identified himself as male who was Ghanaian, and/or an African American. Eventually, some commenters wondered if that person was actually neither Ghanaian nor African American, but instead was a White American or a White European.

I'm interested in documenting how commenters in that sub-thread reacted to a person who was eventually labeled a troll. I'm also interested in documenting what those commenters thought about AfroBeats music and Nigeria's role in contemporary African music. I also am interested in commenters' allusions or direct statements about the cultural rivalry between the West African nations of Ghana and Nigeria, and/or attitudes & opinions about African Americans and Africans; Africa, America, and Europe; and White people.

****
DEFINITION FOR "INTERNET TROLL"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
"In internet slang, a troll is a person who posts inflammatory, insincere, digressive,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), a newsgroup, forum, chat room, online video game, or blog), with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses,[2] or manipulating others' perception. This is typically for the troll's amusement, or to achieve a specific result such as disrupting a rival's online activities or manipulating a political process. Even so, Internet trolling can also be defined as purposefully causing confusion or harm to other users online, for no reason at all.[3]"...

****
COMMENTS FROM A SUB-THREAD IN A 2019 AFRO-BEATS MUSIC VIDEO

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOoNEi8BlgM Tiwa Savage - "49-99" (Official Video), published by Tiwa Savage,  Sep 5, 2019

This is the complete sub-thread as of Feb. 25, 2022 at 8:49 AM ET.  

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

WARNING: Some of these comments and other information included in this section include offensive words in the Yoruba language of Nigeria, and other socially inappropriate and sexually explicit language/references.

2020

1. Kester E
"It is an undeniable fact now that Nigeria is currently the music headquarters of the world. They make Afro Beat so pleasing to the ear and the videos are so colorful."
-snip-
There are 1.87K likes and 66 replies to this comment as of Feb. 25, 2022 at 8:49 AM ET

**
Reply
2. Ire
"That's is the real tea sis"

**
Reply
3. Ayo Bello
"Louder"

**
Reply
4. Kadir Acar
"Perfect said!!!!!"

**
Reply
5. Nicole Carter
"👑"

**
Reply
6. 
Naomi everchanging
"Yeass oh"

**
Reply
7. Major old franklin
"We are leading in Afro beat,in Africa,proud to be a naija"

**
Reply
8. N A
"Nigeria has been leading for a long time😂"

**
Reply
9. 
Kwesi Borsah
"I'm Ghanaian, but even I agree with that. 9ja is killin dem sha."

**
Reply
10. therealone Clear
"Yess ghana too😊"

**
Reply
11. Major old franklin
"When you talk about Afro Beat,naija is still leading.if you  love how Afro beat is growing in west Africa,hit the Like buttons"

**
Reply
12. Bryan Irving Livingstone II
"They be magic right there"

**
Reply
13. Bidemi Akinade
"@Erich Weiler  Your opinion bro. Many don't feel the same."

**
Reply
14. Prem's Writing
"@Erich Weiler  you can say we are not on other levels but to say we will never be you're just making a declaration you don't have the authority to make"

**
Reply
15. TMD-W
"The whole world??😂😂😂😂 r u high?"

**
Reply
16. James Nwanazia
"@Erich Weiler  + Spoken like a rotten belly Ghanaian that you are. You are a very sneaky person with all those back-handed compliments you threw the Nigerians way but your angles gave you away to the savvy minds here on this thread. Ghanaians like you will never stop making themselves look like jack-asses over matters concerning Nigeria/Nigerians. I know your diatribe here about Nigerians and their music made you feel better about yourself. Jesus like the Ghanaians in Ghana fare any better than Nigerians with their own internal corrupt politics and politicians/ their deadly Sakawa fraud squads laced with VOODOO. You trying to pass up Ghana like first world countries as one of those found in the West. You are really hatefully guy. I can tell from your comments here."

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17. James Nwanazia
"@Erich Weiler  + American with a lopsided opinion/selected amnesia .........You said that Nigerians are world-famous for scamming but selectively forgot to mention the horrible Ghanaian Sakawa internet fraud laced with Voodoo recognized all the world. You don't fool me or any critical thinking person here with your arguments/rebuttals. Yes, some Nigerians are really bad so also are Ghanaians. I respect people who are intellectually honest. Credible you are not. You clearly have an agenda and I have no respect for you. You can be a potty mouth as much as you want here towards me, I give no hen's butt. When ignorant people lose arguments they tend to go the route you just went by name-calling. I bleed for Black and brown people of the motherland for hateful people like you because you are the problem and not the solution for unified Africa. Just have a once-over at your obtuse/asinine comments here and you will be convinced of how retarded you sound."

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18. James Nwanazia
"@Erich Weiler  + First of all it is not 401 or 409. It is 419. That right there gave you away. You are the one who has no inclination what you are talking about. Newsflash.......there are confidence men everywhere even in the great shining city on the hill dobbed America where the word confidence and confidence men and women were coined and abound. I lived in your country for a long time. Greensboro in North Carolina( TAR HEELS STATE°) to be exact so take your hoodwinking somewhere else and use it on somebody else. I am not buying your snake-oil. Mr snake oil salesman. This my thing, how can you judge someone when your house is also filthy. Shall  I go on with the Ponzi scheme and colossal frauds going on in your country cuz I can go there if you set me off? Talking about being jet-set........Dude, you have no clue about me. So just stop it."
-snip-
"419" is a telephone code for the state of Ohio in the United States.

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19. Aries 0412
"Where  ypu think it comes from...i think we as black americans forgetting where we get all our sh&t* from
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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20. Deborah Arugu
"Erich Weiler One thing is certain by your comment, you embody the stupidity meant for millions."

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21. James Nwanazia
"
@Deborah Arugu  + Pay the idiot no mind with his bellicosity. Ghanaians fronting as Americans will always show their true colour. They will say anything asinine to make themselves sound intelligible and relevant. What a bunch of losers."

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22. ross meroe
"@N A  For real. It's like the dude just got into Afrobeats.😎"

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23. ross meroe
"@Erich Weiler  You are a lying Ghanaian full of hate. Why nor go tackle the mass poverty in Ghana instead of seeking to tarnish Nigeria online? You have gold, cocoa, oil and gas etc, with a tiny population of 25 milion. You should be like Dubai, yet you have a lower GDP per capita than Nigeria with its 200 million people. Shameless."

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24. Niger Delta Mirror TV
"James Nwanazia  Don't mind that fool...The US is No. 1 on the list of countries with the highest number of cybercrime, Nigeria is not even on the top 10 but they all shout about Nigeria out of envy...jealousy will kill all these people. ..oloriburuku people!"
-snip-
Here's the definition for the Yoruba (Nigerian language) word "oloburuku":
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oloriburuku
"oloriburuku

Direct translation to bastard head meaning someone stupid or crazy with mad thoughts don't use it around Nigerian parent unless u want to die

Omo oloriburuku omo aje ole

by Swaggadon July 31, 2017
-snip-
"Omo" means "child" in Yoruba and (according to Google translate from Yoruba to English) "omo aje ole" means "the thief". 

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25. Harris Re-nee
"@Erich Weiler  Only the OPPRESSOR would compare an AFRICAN country to two WHITE countries. Smh😔 Get lost!👋🏿

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26. Harris Re-nee
"@Erich Weiler  WHOSE charts are you referencing?! That of the COLONIZERS?! You're so deluded by white privilege that you don't even realize that you're exposing yourself! You people are beyond ANNOYING!😣"

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27. Harris Re-nee
"
I'm a Black American dancer, and I agree💯. All of my latest choreography pieces have been to Nigerian music, unintentionally!😯😳 They KILLIN the game right now musically.💃🏾👏🏿🇳🇬🎛🎚🎶"

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28. Prem's Writing
"@Erich Weiler  I think you're struggling with comprehension both of your own words and of others'. I said you can have all your opinions about anything really but when you use the word NEVER you're making a declaration...in vain that is because your don't have that say."

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29. O
"@Erich Weiler  And you are a FOOL."

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30. Melanin Africa
"Kester E True. Nigerians are on top"

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31. Melanin Africa
"Erich Weiler NIGERIANS ARE TOP. Simple"

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32. Melanin Africa
"Erich Weiler well I don’t remember talking about football and it ain’t got nothing to do with football. 🙄"

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33. Melanin Africa
"Erich Weiler but why are you bringing football to this? I never specify. You are saying you find it odd I don’t know that. I ain’t even a fan of football. Stay in your lane and don’t comment on my name no more😑😑😑"

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34. Melanin Africa
"Erich Weiler  no one even asked you.    Abeg move yourself"

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35. Melanin Africa
"Erich Weiler I said stay in your lane and don’t comment on my name simple. I never said I own YouTube. Your getting blocked nusisance😁"

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36. Prem's Writing
"@Erich Weiler  oh ok. You're just trolling. Gotcha"

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37. Olubusola Legunsen
"
@Erich Weiler  typical overbloated proud and unrepentant oink oink. America and europe is not our would.

We are not together with you in your world.

Our world is black nation.

So we rock in our world.

Your world is skewed to favour you and no one can compete fairly there.

So please just dont comment on what you do t understand.

European standard is good for you but bad for us.

We were better off before yall came.to mess us up

So pls shut up

Lets rock our world.

You are welcome to enjoy our music but you have no place to judge or comment.

Especially as you are lacking in talent"

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38. Olubusola Legunsen
"@Erich Weiler  your ignorance grows by the minute.

First of all, Americans are are Europeans. The name america is new and it contains english irish spanish italians russian german etc people. All europe

Second, britain did more slavery and colonization than the french. Britain has a lions share in west and central africa.

Your ignorance is alarming and all you know is what your demonic racist colonialist slaving fathers told you.

I feel really sorry for you.

You should do us all a favour and dig a hole and stay quiet in it.

Your comments are full of that same pompous white supremacy sh&t* that is very much still around.

We americans dont colonize. So how did you get the land🤷🏾️.

You killed and took it didnt you. The people that originally inhabited the land  are but a minority now isn't it.

Just stick to hip hop and european music.

Leave us alone.

Must you bring your demonic selves into everything.

One day.

Yah will bring justice.

For now keep spewing your verbal diarrhoea."
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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39. Olubusola Legunsen
"@Erich Weiler  you are no hero. We will never accept you.

This is not hate.

Its reality.

Just stop trying to know what you dont know.

Enjoy the music but dont give opinion.

We dont interfere in your european made up lies called history.

We let you have it.

Let us have ours which is unique to us.

Yall pretty much stole everything else.

So you should be satisfied with that.

Leave afrobeat for us in africa.

Please"

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40. Priceeless Love
" @therealone Clear  Ghana is trying but naija is leading, followed by  south Africa,  Ghana 3rd in line."

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41. OKA
"@Erich Weiler  - lol. Your statement is baffling and grossly incorrect!!

You do know that out of the 16 countries in West Africa, only Ghana and Nigeria are widely recognised as the pioneers of AFROBEATS? It originated somewhere in Ghana in the 1920s, but it was the great Fela Kuti who revolutionalised  and popularized it in  Nigeria from the 1960s onwards, and majority of the AFROBEATS and Artists like (Wizkid, Davido, Burna boy, Lagbaja, Jese Jags etc) all model thier songs and tune off of Fela Kutis' and the resultant effect of that NOW is that Nigeria is "internationally" known as the AFROBEATS country.

(Reggae=Jamaica & Afrobeats=Nigeria)

..............Thats Facts !!.........."

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42. James Nwanazia
"
oka + Another sneaky Ghanaian is in the comment thread.......With that tired narrative gleaned From Ghanaian written Wikipedia that Afrobeats was founded in Ghana. Some Ghanaians are quite a miserable bunch. I don’t get this Nigerians.....Maybe you can answer this query for me my good people of Nigeria. Why do Ghanaians always want to ride your coattails and at the time derogate/depreciate/tarnish your image. I can’t seem to wrap my mind around that. I am supposing that Ghanaians want to be you so bad. Please can somebody tell me something.....anything about this disposition of Ghanaians towards Nigerians. I extremely abhor them."

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43. Prem's Writing
"@Erich Weiler  dude you're so lame. You're saying rubbish cause you think it makes you controversial. Shut up"

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44. Olubusola Legunsen
"@Erich Weiler  silence they say is the best answer for a fool.

Younare race baiting as you would because of your divisive nature.

The african american knows who he is.

And if he doesnt then thats his loss.

You on the other hand hopefully are not an african american because if you were, you would not say the tings you say,

And if by any chance you have any trace of negro in you, then you a most miserable man.

Eitherway, i have nothing but pity for you."

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45. Prem's Writing
"@Erich Weiler  shut. Up. You're not edgy, interesting, or controversial. You're lame, dude."

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46. Olubusola Legunsen
"@Erich Weiler  You do need to examine yourself. Whatever physchological, identity or chemical imbalance going on with you, please keep it to yourself.

If you are an african american, you would know your origins and it would just be an issue of which tribe or people group you belong to at the source.

Frankly you cant be an african american because you dont talk or sound like one.

An african american would be akin to most peoples from sub saharan weste,central and east africa. An african american would have no issue with this.

You on the other hand must be something else. Otherwise you wont say the things you say.

Like i said, we know our peoples both at home and in diaspora.

You are not one of us.

And by any chance you are akin to us, then you are most miserable man and a lost soul.

I am of my kind and i am proud of my ghanian liberian senagalese togolese ivorian jamaican haitian african american family etc.

These are the names forced on us but we know who we really are.

WE ARE A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD AND A HOLY NATION.

You may not like it and may wish to see us as whatever you like.

Enjoy your heaven.

It wont last forever.

Do seek spiritual help.

YOU NEED IT"

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47. Todoroki
"
Preach"

****
2020

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48. Debra Lewis
"@Harris Re-nee  not among average people thiugh"

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49. Debra Lewis
"@Olubusola Legunsen  true"

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50. Cherifousmane Tembely
"49 99 my love you ❤"
-snip-
This is the title of the song/video that is being discussed in this YouTube discussion thread.
The title comes from a song by Afrobeat singer, musician, composer, activist Fela Kuti. In that song Fela allegorically said that in Nigeria 44 people sit in the bus while 99 people have to stand in the bus. 

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51. 
vital aliu
"@James Nwanazia  well said"

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52. Reply
vital aliu
"@James Nwanazia  Knock out !! You too much"

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53. vital aliu
"@James Nwanazia  nThat was a sweet combination of left and right hook

Bless up brother"

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54. vital aliu
"@Erich Weiler  get away from your mother's basement oloriburuku dirty low life

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55. vital aliu
"@Erich Weiler  on top ya mama Toto"
 
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56. vital aliu
"Erich Weiler  Nigeria phobia will ensure your quick demise !! Oloriburuku Omo ale"

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57. vital aliu
"@Erich Weiler  Chei Ghana don fall for gutter march am march am"

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58. vital aliu
"@Erich Weiler  Get lost n0nsense"

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59. vital aliu
" @Erich Weiler  Go get a job imbecile"

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60. vital aliu
" @Erich Weiler  Confused semi literate degenerate peasant imbecile"

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61. ToksTV
"WATCH TIWA'S BEST PERFORMANCE EVER... WITH ZLATAN AT FELA'S SHRINE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB_ePlmCOFQ 

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62. Ambo
"STRAIGHT FACTS!!! One of the main music hubs of the world today"

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2021

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63. prince peprah
"True talk

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64. prince peprah
"
@Major old franklin  dear am so proud to be a ninja girl ooh"
-snip-
"Ninja" is probably a typo for "Naija" which is a colloquial referent for Nigeria.

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65. Toastyae
"yess"

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66. Hakeem Ojulari
"Absolutely correct. SA is bowing down"
-snip-
"SA"= South Africa

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67. Austin Richards
"
They’ve been rich royal lineage ❤️🥵🥵"

****
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