This pancocojams post provides information about African American minister Lightfoot Solomon Michaux and his church ministry.
This post also showcases a film clip of Elder Michaux and his congregation singing the Gospel song "Happy Am I". A commenter in that discussion thread wrote that this church service was filmed in 1935.
Selected comments from the discussion thread for this YouTube video are also included in this pancocojams post.
The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Elder Michaux for his religious and cultural legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
**** INFORMATION ABOUT ELDER LIGHTFOOT SOLOMON MICHAUX "Lightfoot Solomon Michaux (November 7, 1885 – October 20,
1968) was an African-American evangelist. Michaux was an early pioneer in radio
and television evangelism, an innovative real estate developer, an astute
businessman, a newspaper publisher, and a restaurateur. He founded seven East
Coast Church of God congregations. He was also the founder of the National
Memorial to the Progress of the Colored Race in America, an 1100-acre farm on
the James River in James City County, Virginia.
Early life
Michaux was born in Newport News, Virginia, to John Michaux
and May Blanche. His father was a fish seller and grocer in downtown Newport
News. Michaux dropped out of public school in the fourth grade in order to help
with his father's business.
He eventually opened his own combination grocery store and
dance studio, where he met his future wife, Mary Eliza Pauline. They were
married in 1906. During World War I, Michaux obtained contracts to supply food
to the defense department. In 1917 he moved his business to Hopewell,
Virginia.[1][2]
Founding of the Church of God
Unable to find a church that suited him in Hopewell,
Michaux, his wife, and a friend collaborated in 1917 to found a congregation
called "Everybody's Mission". Michaux became ordained as a preacher
in 1918 in the Church of Christ (Holiness) at the urging of his wife and began
preaching in the church. He returned to Newport News at the end of World War I
in 1919 and joined his father's business. During that year Michuax launched a
gospel tent revival in Newport News with the goal of recruiting 150 congregants
to a new church. He achieved this goal quickly and he and his congregants
formed a Church of Christ (Holiness) congregation.
In 1921, Michaux' congregation split off to form an independent
Church of God congregation in the Holiness Tradition, but independent of and
separate from other Churches of God. Soon thereafter Michaux established a
second Church of God congregation in nearby Hampton, Virginia. He also created
the Gospel Spreading Tabernacle Association as a corporation to oversee the
financial affairs of the church and related interests.[3]
Michaux began moving up the East Coast, founding
congregations as he travelled, and by 1935 had established a network of seven
churches. By 1928 he had moved his church organization headquarters to
Washington, D.C. The church organization that Elder Michaux founded is still in
existence today and is known as the Gospel Spreading Church of God.
Broadcast Evangelism
In 1929 Michaux began broadcasting his religious message
from radio station WJSV in Alexandria, Virginia. The "Happiness Hour"
was a mixture of upbeat, syncopated gospel music performed by the Radio Choir,
energetic holiness gospel sermons delivered by Elder Michaux, and inspirational
themes related to the power of positive thinking. In 1932 WJSV was sold to the
CBS Radio Network and the weekly program was syndicated and broadcast by over
50 CBS affiliated radio stations.[2] The audience for the Saturday evening
broadcasts was estimated to be as much as 25 million, making Michaux the most
popular Black evangelical preacher to that time. The introductory theme song to
the show was an upbeat version of a gospel song, "Happy Am I", which
led to Elder Michaux becoming known as the "Happy Am I" preacher. His
flamboyant, fast-paced, entertaining, theatrical radio shows attracted large
audiences at home and internationally, and the live shows were attended by
important political and cultural figures.
Michaux was interested in all manner of media and
evangelism, including newspaper, television, and community outreach. He
published a newspaper called the "Happy News". He contracted with the
BBC for two broadcasts in 1936 and 1938, making him an early pioneer in international
radio ministry. In 1947 Michaux began broadcasting the Elder Michaux program on
television station WTTG which eventually was broadcast on the DuMont Television
Network from 1948 to 1949. Elder Michaux was among the earliest U.S. television
shows with an African American host."...
**** LYRICS: HAPPY AM I (Composer: Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux)
Sweetly I trust in my Redeemer as I go singing on my way So happy am I (yes so happy now), yes happy am I (very happy now) Ever I know that He is with me, keeping my soul from day to day So happy am I (happy now am I), yes happy am I (yes happy am I)
Chorus: Happy am I with my Redeemer Singing along the homeward way And telling the lost (tell-) of (-ing) His (all) great love (the lost of His great mercy) Happy am I to know He's with me (I'm always happy) Keeping me spotless day by day (yes day by day) I'm happy along (yes) the way (I'm happy) to heaven above (along the way, along the journey)
Sweetly I sing along the journey helping the lost to know His love So happy am I (yes so happy now), yes happy am I (very happy now) Hoping to meet Him in the morning in that sweet happy home above So happy am I (happy now am I), yes happy am I (yes happy am I)
Repeat Chorus
Looking for Him most any moment, ready when Jesus shall appear So happy am I (yes so happy now), yes happy am I (very happy now) Keeping my lamp all trimmed and burning, feeling His coming now is near So happy am I (happy now am I), yes happy am I (yes happy am I)
This post showcases two examples of Anglo American Malvina Reynolds' protest song "It Isn't Nice". Information about Malvina Reynolds is given in this post along with song lyrics and three examples of that song. Selected examples from YouTube comments threads for this song are also included in this post.
This post also provides information about African American Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers who is mentioned in the song "It Isn't Nice" as well as information about the term "Mister Charlie" which is also mentioned in that song.
The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, etymological, inspirational, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Malvina Reynolds and Medgar Evers for their lifes' legacies. Thanks to all those who are featured in these YouTube examples, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT MALVINA REYNOLDS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malvina_Reynolds
"Malvina Reynolds (August 23, 1900 – March 17, 1978) was an American folk/blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her song-writing...
Malvina Milder was born in San Francisco to David and Abagail Milder, Jewish and socialist immigrants, who opposed involvement in World War I.
She married William ("Bud") Reynolds, a carpenter and labor organizer, in 1934. They had one child, Nancy Reynolds Schimmel (a songwriter and performer in her own right), in 1935. Malvina earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and later earned a doctorate there, finishing her dissertation in 1938.
Music career
Though she played violin in a dance band in her twenties, she began her songwriting career late in life. She was in her late 40s when she met Earl Robinson, Pete Seeger, and other folk singers and songwriters. She returned to school at UC Berkeley, where she studied music theory. She went on to write several popular songs, including "Little Boxes" (1962), recorded by Pete Seeger and others, "What Have They Done to the Rain" (1962), recorded by The Searchers, The Seekers, Marianne Faithfull, Melanie Safka and Joan Baez (about nuclear fallout), "It Isn't Nice" (a civil rights anthem), "Turn Around" (1959) (about children growing up, later sung by Harry Belafonte)”...
-snip-
For the record (no pun intended), Malvina Reynolds was a White American.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT MEDGAR EVERS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medgar_Evers
"Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi who worked to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi and gain social justice and voting rights. A World War II veteran and college graduate, he became active in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s. He became a field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Following the 1954 ruling of the United States Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated public schools were unconstitutional, Evers worked to gain admission for African Americans to the state-supported public University of Mississippi. He also worked on voting rights and registration, economic opportunity, access to public facilities, and other changes in the segregated society.
Evers was assassinated by Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens' Council, a group formed in 1954 to resist integration of schools and civil rights activity... His murder and the resulting trials inspired civil rights protests, as well as numerous works of art, music, and film. All-white juries failed to reach verdicts in n the first two trials of Beckwith. He was convicted in the new state trial in 1994, based on new evidence."...
****
WHAT "MISTER CHARLIE" AND "MISS ANN" MEAN IN VERNACULAR AMERICAN CULTURE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Charlie
Mister Charlie is a pejorative expression used within the African-American community to refer to an imperious white man. The expression suggests that whites are generic or interchangeable.[1] Occasionally, it refers to a black man who is arrogant and perceived as "acting white".
The expression is sometimes written as "Mr. Charlie," "Mister Charley," or other variations.[2]
The expression was in use during the 19th century, much like the female equivalent, Miss Ann. Miss Ann was an expression used among slaves to refer to the woman of the house, usually the wife of the slave owner, and any other white woman that the slaves had to serve. Mister Charlie was the slave owner, or any other white man exploiting, or being condescending towards, slaves.[3]
Cassell's Dictionary of Slang (2005) argues that in the 1920s, "Mister Charlie" meant "any white man," but in the 1970s evolved to mean "the man in power."[4]
In the 1960s the phrase was associated with the Civil Rights movement in the United States and became "nationally familiar."[5] It appeared in the title of James Baldwin's play Blues for Mister Charlie (1964) and in the third verse of Malvina Reynolds's protest song "It Isn't Nice" (1967):
We have tried negotiations / And the three-man picket line, / Mr. Charlie didn't see us / And he might as well be blind. / Now our new ways aren't nice / When we deal with men of ice, / But if that is Freedom's price, / We don't mind.[6]
The expression has fallen out of use by young African-Americans today.[7]"
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-clean-meaning-of-name-becky-in.html for a loosely related pancocojams post on the vernacular referent "Becky" which refers to White women in general or a sub-set of White women. That post mentions the earlier use of "Miss Ann".
****
LYRICS - IT ISN'T NICE
(Malvina Reynolds)
John Clark9 months ago
It isn't nice to block the doorway,
It isn't nice to go to jail,
There are nicer ways to do it,
But the nice ways always fail.
It isn't nice, it isn't nice,
You told us once, you told us twice,
But if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
It isn't nice to carry banners
Or to sit in on the floor,
Or to shout our cry of Freedom
At the hotel and the store.
It isn't nice, it isn't nice,
You told us once, you told us twice,
But if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
We have tried negotiations
And the three-man picket line,
Mr. Charlie didn't see us
And he might as well be blind.
Now our new ways aren't nice
When we deal with men of ice,
But if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
How about those years of lynchings
And the shot in Evers' back?
Did you say it wasn't proper,
Did you stand upon the track?
You were quiet just like mice,
Now you say we aren't nice,
And if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
It isn't nice to block the doorway,
It isn't nice to go to jail,
There are nicer ways to do it
But the nice ways always fail.
It isn't nice, it isn't nice,
But thanks for your advice,
Cause if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
Example #1: Malvina Reynolds - It Isn't nice
Kevin Jordan Uploaded on Apr 19, 2009
-snip-
Selected comments from that sound file's discussion thread:
2009
stickynyki
"singing somber words without a somber tone....damn great 'stuff'.
thanks for posting this!!"
****
2011
Susanna J. Sturgis
"Just came looking for "It Isn't Nice" because it's so totally appropriate for a struggle that's going on where I live. Those in power are taking us to task for our "unwarranted accusations" and our "extremely strong opinions and words." Malvina, you had it right in the 1960s and you've got it right now."
**
BuddhaBebop
"It's so weird she's encouraging democracy and revolution for the benefit of all the people while all the time sounding like a grandmother."
**
121ramondo
"Ive never heard of this woman, got here because of the 02 advert. I love her aging emotional voice, makes me think of her as a gentle, ageing granny activist"
****
mindofalbion
"this is ace!
But if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind."
-snip-
Although this is an aside, I added this comment because of the "this is ace!" sentence. That's something my mother used to say. It means the same thing as "That's great", but I rarely have heard or seen anyone use that saying. It occurs to me that I have used and heard the related word "aced" as in "I aced that exam" (I got an A in that exam.) I guess the saying "This is ace" comes from playing cards.
****
2012
BigMapleFishThing
"This is important work that many grandmas do! Grandmothers (and mamas, and aunties and great-grandmas) all over the world organize for justice, peace and freedom."
**
Susanna J. Sturgis
"Sending this out to George Will, who says that gay men and lesbians aren't being "neighborly" or "nice" when we fight for equal rights."
**
Reply
Oom Yaaqub [2013]
"comparing something as stupid as gay marriage to the civil rights movement is disgusting. "
**
Reply
Thøger Emil Rivera-Thorsen [2014]
"+Oom Yaaqub No, it is really very appropriate. And you prove it is necessary."
-snip-
Here's a comment about the song "It isn't Nice" from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4eNH1DEI_E "It Isn't Nice by Malvina Reynolds, sung by Heather Lev"
Steve Suffet, 2007
"OMG! The ghost of Malvina Reynolds has taken possession of your soul. She wrote "It Isn't Nice" about the civil rights movement, but it speaks of the increasing militancy of many struggles. You have captured the essence folk music at its best: that exquisite balance between continuity and change, between the past and the present in an unbroken chain that reaches back decades. even centuries, and which will thus continue forward. And you have added a beautiful voice to the tradition. Bravo!"
****
Example #2: It Isn't Nice
Jacob Clary Uploaded on Nov 11, 2009
Barbara Dane and the Chambers Brothers - It Isn't Nice.
-snip-
Selected comments from this sound file's discussion thread:
2009
geezeruser
"beautiful voices, beautiful message"
**
nikkizthe1
"awesome harmony by some fabulous singers"
****
2010
Michael Schaeffer
"This is a great version, of a "peoples classic', Do people still remeber Medgar Evers? I do, and I hope you never forget either. I wonder if people still sing this song at rallies? I've bee told it isn't nice to sing at rallies anymore."
-snip-
My response to Michael Schaeffer question about singing at rallies is that it's very rare for people to sing at rallies. Instead, they listen to performers sing. I think that unfortunately reflects how singing is regarded in the USA now.
**
2016
Matthew Willner
"Sam Cooke like a motherfu&&er*"
-snip-
*That word is fully spelled out in that comment. I take it that that comment means that this version sounds like how Sam Cooke would have sung it.
**
Reply
Barbara Dane
"+Matthew Willner You got it! I took Malvina's words and made my own SC-inspired tune to take with me to sing at the Freedom Schools of Mississippi in 1964... The Brothers did a great job of harmonizing too!"
-snip-
Since it is capitalized, I assume that "The Brothers" in Barbara Dane's last sentence refers to The Chambers Brothers and isn't a general referent for Black men (as in the brothers at the Freedom Schools of Mississippi in 1064).
Here's some information about Freedom Schools of Mississippi in 1964:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Schools
"Freedom Schools were temporary, alternative free schools for African Americans mostly in the South. They were originally part of a nationwide effort during the Civil Rights Movement to organize African Americans to achieve social, political and economic equality in the United States. The most prominent example of Freedom Schools was in Mississippi during the summer of 1964.
Origins
Despite the Supreme Court's ruling of 1954 in the Brown v. Board of Education case striking down segregated school systems, in the mid-1960s Mississippi still maintained separate and unequal white and "colored" school systems. On average, the state spent $81.66 to educate a white student compared to only $21.77 for a black child.[1] Mississippi was one of only two states in the union that did not have a mandatory education law and many children in rural areas were sent to work in the fields and received little education at all. Even the curriculum was different for white and black. As a typical example, the white school board of Bolivar County mandated that "Neither foreign languages nor civics shall be taught in Negro schools. Nor shall American history from 1860 to 1875 be taught."[2]
In late 1963, Charles Cobb,[3] a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) activist, proposed the organization sponsor a network of Freedom Schools. The concept of Freedom Schools had been utilized by educators and activists prior to the summer of 1964 in Boston, New York, and Prince Edward County, Virginia, where public schools were closed in reaction to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision or, in the case of Boston, as acts of protest against discriminatory school conditions.[4]"...
This post showcases a video of the 1960s protest song "It's Not Nice" in part as commentary regarding the Black Lives Matter protest that occurred on August 8, 2015 at a public rally where Senator Bernie Sanders was slated to speak. Bernie Sanders is a Democratic candidate for United States President.
This post also includes excerpts from a Washington Post article and a daily kos dairy about that August 8, 2015 Black Lives Matter protest. In addition, this post includes a video of that protest is included in this post as are my comments about that protest and about Senator Sanders' presidential campaign.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and sociological purposes.
Thanks to Malvina Reynolds for composing this song. Thanks also to all those activists who engage in non-violent protests that are one part of making the world a better place for all. And thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
SHOWCASE MUSIC EXAMPLE
"The Last Internationale -- It Isn't Nice" -- BJ Shea 09/17/14
BJandMIGSPublished on Sep 17, 2014
On this week's STP-CAST, The Last Internationale joined us to chat and play a few acoustic songs. Here they are covering "It Isn't Nice" by Malvina Reynolds.
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malvina_Reynolds
"Malvina Reynolds (August 23, 1900 – March 17, 1978) was an American folk/blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her song-writing, particularly the songs "Little Boxes" and "Morningtown Ride." "
-snip-
Note: Malvina Reynolds was Jewish.
****
LYRICS: IT ISN'T NICE
(Malvina Reynolds)
It isn't nice to block the doorway,
It isn't nice to go to jail,
There are nicer ways to do it,
But the nice ways always fail.
It isn't nice, it isn't nice,
You told us once, you told us twice,
But if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
It isn't nice to carry banners
Or to sit in on the floor,
Or to shout our cry of Freedom
At the hotel and the store.
It isn't nice, it isn't nice,
You told us once, you told us twice,
But if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
We have tried negotiations
And the three-man picket line,1
Mr. Charlie2 didn't see us
And he might as well be blind.
Now our new ways aren't nice
When we deal with men of ice,
But if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
How about those years of lynchings
And the shot in Evers' back?
Did you say it wasn't proper,
Did you stand upon the track?
You were quiet just like mice,
Now you say we aren't nice,
And if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
It isn't nice to block the doorway,
It isn't nice to go to jail,
There are nicer ways to do it
But the nice ways always fail.
It isn't nice, it isn't nice,
But thanks for your advice,
Cause if that is Freedom's price,
We don't mind.
[from that website]
"Notes: words and music by Malvina Reynolds; copyright 1964 Schroder Music Company, renewed 1993. This original version of the song was banned from the radio in Japan--in Japanese, but not in English!"
The first didn’t happen. An appearance by the senator from Vermont at an event celebrating the anniversary of Social Security and Medicare was scuttled after protesters from a local Black Lives Matter chapter took over the stage.
Hours later, Sanders, who has been drawing bigger crowds than any other presidential contender, drew his largest yet: about 15,000 at the college basketball arena where the Washington Huskies play...
The first event — which was held at a city park and live-streamed by a Seattle television station — went less swimmingly.
Sanders was the final speaker on a long program held at a city park. Shortly after he took stage, a small group of protesters from a Seattle chapter of Black Lives Matter took the microphone and demanded that the crowd hold Sanders “accountable” for not doing enough, in their view, to address police brutality and other issues on the group’s agenda.
After sharing a few local grievances with the crowd, including school disparities and gentrification in Seattle, the protesters asked for a period of silence to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown being shot and killed during a confrontation with a police officer in Ferguson, Mo.
Event organizers allowed the period of silence, as some in the large crowd booed and shouted for the protesters to leave the stage. Afterward, Marissa Janae Johnson, who identified herself as a leader of the Black Lives Matter chapter in Seattle, asked the crowd to “join us now in holding Bernie Sanders accountable for his actions.” She motioned for Sanders to join her at the microphone.
After several minutes of frantic conversations, Sanders left the stage and greeted people in the large crowd who had turned out to see him. Many chanted his name."..."
****
Excerpt from http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/09/1410098/-Noisome-Negroes-Interrupting-Stuff "Noisome Negroes Interrupting Stuff"
Sat Aug 08, 2015 at 06:02 PM PDT. by gchaucer2
"I don't care if it is a Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Jesus Christ big old rally. When someone or computer keyboard someones call for a revolution -- shite happens...
Then folks get upset and say -- shut up and get the hell out of our big old rally and go back to Baltimore, Cleveland, somewhere, somewhere but definitely France.
In other places -- Bernie Sanders and his supporters don't get all -- OMG!!!! Black People doing annoying stuff at a big old performance rally thing.
Thank heavens for Bernie who has been around longer than many of his supporters have been alive."
-snip-
Regarding the title of this dairy: "Negro" is a referent for Black Americans that was retired in the 1960s. I believe the referent "Negroes" was purposely used in this dairy to suggest that people who are distainful of the Black Lives Matter movement want Black people to be submissive and resigned to their "place" in American society as "Negroes" were (prior to the 1960s Civil Rights protests and prior to the Black Power movements in the late 1960s and 1970s.)
Some commenters to that dairy wrote that the word "noisome" means "vile and smelly" and not "noisy" like they think the diarist meant.
****
VIDEO OF SEATTLE PROTEST
Bernie Sanders Interrupted at Seattle Rally by Black Lives Matter Protesters
Democracy Watch Published on Aug 8, 2015
Moments after Senator Bernie Sanders started speaking at a Seattle rally, Black Lives Matter protestors interrupted the presidential hopeful. Members of the audience shouted for the protestors to leave the stage but the protestors screamed at Sanders and demanded the crowd hold the senator "accountable for his actions". After the event, Senator Sanders told reporters the incident was "unfortunate" especially since he, "wanted to talk about the issue of black lives." In July, Senator Sanders spoke at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference about policing issues in the black community.
Credit to KIRO TV Channel 7 Eyewitness News for the video footage.
****
EDITORIAL COMMENTS
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement began after the killer of Trayvon Martin was aquitted. "Black Lives Matter" means "Black Lives Matter Too". Those who respond that "All lives matter" are missing the point that unarmed Black men, women, and children are being killed by police (and those wanna be police like Trayvon Martin's killer) often without any consequences.
As to the Black Lives Movements disruption of Senator Sanders' speech in Seattle, Washington, I agree with some of the bloggers in that daily kos dairy whose link is given above that Senator Bernie Sanders is being targeted by BLM activists because he and/or his supporters have described his candidacy a revolution. Like a number of progressives, Senator Sanders has largely focused on income inequality. While income inequality intersects with systemic racism, it doesn't fully address the issue of systemic racism.
Senator Sanders is a White man who represents a state that has only 1% Black population and few other People of Color. Furthermore, the optics of his huge politic rallies to date show what appears to be all White or almost all White attendees. Those optics may largely be because of the very small percentage of Black people and other People of Color who live in the cities and states where Sanders has campaigned to date. However, I think it's quite problematic if it is true, as I've read, that Senator Sanders has no Black people in his inner circle of advisors. What is going to happen when he does campaign in cities and states where there are considerable numbers of Black people and other People of Color? Will his huge crowds look the same as they look now? If so, Bernie Sanders won't become the Democratic nominee for President.
I've read that since that Netroot Nations protest, both Senator Sanders and Governor Martin O'Malley have spoken out more often about police brutality. However, these protestors are demanding more attention to their issues from those Democratic candidates who expect Black support (since most African Americans usually vote Democratic). I agree with that demand.
I also agree with some of those who posted to that linked daily kos article that one of the reasons why Senator Sanders was targeted at at the Netroots Nation and that Seattle event was that he is the only Democratic candidate that is holding large public events, and he doesn't have the security that the actual Democratic and Republican nominees for president will have. I also agree with those bloggers who have written in this diary and elsewhere that Senator Sanders needs to add People of Color not just to his staff but to his inner circle of advisors.
Furthermore, if not the Black Lives Matter movement, I think Senator Sanders should attend and publically support social justice movements such as North Carolina's Moral Monday movement(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_Mondays). Senator Sanders publically joining a Moral Monday rally would give that movement needed publicity and would help convince Black people and others that Senator Sanders really "gets" that there are more issues that effect Black people besides income inequality and climate change.
While I don't fully agree with all Black Lives Matter strategies such as blocking highway traffic, I applaud the fact that that movement is drawing attention to the existence of and effects of systemic racism in this nation.
-snip-
UPDATE:
I just read two news items that pertain to my comments:
1. Senator Bernie Sanders just hired Simone Sanders (an African American female who is Chairman of the National Coalition For Juvenile Justice, as his new National Press Secretary. Simone Sanders (no relation to Bernie Sanders) just gave a ten minute speech on how close Senator Sanders' positions are to those of Black Lives Matter. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/09/1410137/-Bernie-Sanders-rally-in-Seattle-news-item
2. Black Lives Matter Washington sent this tweet on August 8, 2015:
"To the people of Seattle and Senator Sanders, we would like to issue a public statement of apology. We still want and need your support." http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/09/1410158/-Bernie-Sanders-official-statement-on-BLM-in-Seattle
-snip-
The implication is that those activists who shut down Bernie Sanders' speech in Seattle either don't belong to the Black Lives Matter Washington group, or are members of that organization but took those actions without the approval of those who are leading BLM Washington. But it's my understanding that, similar to Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matters organizations throughout the United States are loosely structured with no official leaders. So people who consider themselves proponents of Black Lives Matters' issues can believe that they are acting on behalf of that movement.
Here's Senator Sanders' statement about that protest:
“I am disappointed that two people disrupted a rally attended by thousands at which I was invited to speak about fighting to protect Social Security and Medicare. I was especially disappointed because on criminal justice reform and the need to fight racism there is no other candidate for president who will fight harder than me.” [link found above]
-snip-
It will be interesting to see what plans Senator Sanders says going forward about criminal justice reform and the need to fight racism.
This post showcases two videos of the song "Glory" from the 2014 American movie "Selma". That song was awarded a Best song Oscar at the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony.
A link to the complete song lyrics for "Glory" and an excerpt of those lyrics are included in this post. In addition, this post includes a video of John Legends and Common's press conference at the conclusion of the Academy Awards (Oscar) event and a link to a news report about Common's acceptance speech at the Academy Awards event.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Common and John Legend for their musical legacy and for their vision and activism. Thanks also to the producers of these videos and their publishers on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
LYRICS: GLORY [Excerpt]
(Common, John Legend)
One day, when the glory comes
It will be ours, it will be ours
Oh, one day, when the war is one
We will be sure, we will be here sure
Oh, glory, glory
Oh, glory, glory
Hands to the Heavens, no man, no weapon
Formed against, yes glory is destined
Every day women and men become legends
Sins that go against our skin become blessings
The movement is a rhythm to us...
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Common, John Legend - Glory
CommonVEVO, Published on Jan 12, 2015
From the motion picture "Selma”
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_(film)
"Selma is a 2014 historical drama film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb and DuVernay.[5] It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel,[6][7] Hosea Williams, and Martin Luther King, Jr. of SCLC and John Lewis of SNCC."...
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_to_Montgomery_marches
"The three Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 were part of the Selma Voting Rights Movement and led to the passage that year of the Voting Rights Act, a landmark federal achievement of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. Activists publicized the three protest marches to walk the 54-mile highway from Selma to the Alabama state capital of Montgomery as showing the desire of black American citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote, in defiance of segregationist repression,"...
****
Example #2: John Legend and Common Performing 'Glory from Selma' 2015 Oscars | 87th Academy Awards
kobebryantdwight, Published on Feb 22, 2015
John Legend and Common 2015 Oscars Awards Full Performance
****
Example #3: John Legend and Common Talk "Glory" From Selma in the Oscars Press Room
POPSUGAR Entertainment, Published on Feb 22, 2015
John Legend and Common Talk "Glory" From Selma in the Oscars Press Room
-snip-
Here's my transcription of the final question & response:
Reporter- "Congratulations and Glory Hallelujah! Okay, you got a standing ovation tonight when you performed. People were in tears in the audience. I don’t know if you saw that. Music is the universal language, how do you want this song to start a dialogue universally about what we need to do in terms of diversity and equal rights?"
John Legend: "Well, I think that we already talked about it today and we wrote this song in response to Selma. And I think that film is so poignant and urgent and current even though the events depicted were fifty years ago.
And so I think that all that is helping us to think about how we interact with each other, um how to live with the spirit of love and not a spirit of fear. And hopefully we’ll take these lessons and continue to learn from each other and recognize each other’s humanity and, um, try to strive toward a love that is public which Dr. Cornel West said “Loving in public is what justice is.” And so, we’re focus on justice because that’s what it means to love people that you don’t even know and, ah, fight for their rights and see the value in their lives. And hopefully we’re able to spread more of that love. Thank you."
"After receiving the Oscar for Best Song for "Glory" from Selma, John Legend gave an impassioned speech calling out the present-day state of affairs for African Americans. One line stood out: "We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more black men under correctional control today than there were under slavery in 1850."
It's become a widely cited statistic, after the publication of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow in 2011 — which helped made mass incarceration a hot topic of discussion. But is it true? Yes, the basic numbers check out — although the stat is a little misleading.
The key to this is the term "correctional control" — which doesn't just refer to prisons, but to jails (for people who haven't been convicted yet, or are serving short local sentences); parole (for people who've been released from prison but are still being supervised); and probation (supervision as an alternative to a prison sentence). In all, as of a 2009 report from the Pew Public Safety Performance Project, one in every 31 Americans is under one of these four types of "control.""
[Latest Update: December 15, 2018. I've changed the title for this post- The previous title was "Examples of Black Civil Rights Chants and Black Power Chants". I also added more content under the 1990s sub-section.]
This pancocojams post provides examples of Black (African American) civil rights chants and Black (African American) nationalist chants for the 1960s.
Some Black protest chants from the 1990s and 2000s are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.
Thanks to all those who have worked and those who are now working for equality and justice for all.
****
LIST OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CHANTS
I compiled this list for this Mudcat discussion thread that I started in September 2007: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=104999 "African American Protest Slogans & Songs".
Read that discussion thread for my explanations of most of these chants. That Mudcat thread also includes comments about African American civil rights/protest songs and chants, including my thoughts and others' thoughts about why group singing is no longer a part of African American protest marches any more.
These chants are presented by decades.
Mid 1960s
"Freedom Now!"
**
Caller- "What do we want?"
Group Response- "Freedom!"
Caller- "When do we want it?"
Group Response- "Now!"
** Late 1960s/ 1970s
"Black Power!
**
Caller-"Say it loud!"
Group Response- "I'm Black And I'm Proud"
**
Caller-"Ungawa"
Response- "Black Powa"
-snip-
"Ungawa" ("umgawa") is a word that was created for Tarzan movies as a way for Tarzan to communicate with animals and with Black "natives". The word could mean anything the screen writers wanted it to.*
In the late 1960s & early 1970s, afro-centric African Americans took hold of that word and included it in a rhyme that both celebrated Black power and dared White people to challenge them for that pride. A common verse in those rhymes was "Ungawa!"/"Black power!" or "Ungawa/"We got the power" (with "power" in both examples pronounced like "po-wah").
"*This is a correction of what I wrote in the Mudcat discussion thread whose link is given above.
**
"Free The Panthers!
**
Caller- "What time is it?"
Group response- ["It's] "Nation Time"
-snip-
This was a Black cultural nationalist chant. This chant and many of the other Black power chants that I've listed here from my memory were chanted at cultural programs and not protests. They were chanted by members of the Newark, New Jersey Black cultural nationalist group that was led by Amiri Baraka (Le Roi Jones). The "nation" refers to furthering African American Black community ties, institutions, and businesses, and not to creating a separate Black nation within the territory of the United States or elsewhere. However, some Black nationalist did have that goal.
1970s
"Power To The People!"
1980s
I'm not sure what Black power or Black civil rights slogans were chanted during the 1980s.
The saying "Don't believe The hype" comes to mind. That saying comes from a late 1980s? recording by the rap group Public Enemy. Maybe this counts as a protest chant. I'm not sure.
1990s
"No justice, No peace"
-snip-
The first use of this slogan that I've been able to identify was in late 1992/ early 1993 in demonstrations regarding the death of Malice Green.
From http://www.larrynevers.com/nojustice.htm
quoting an editorial written by Jimmy Smith on the LETP (Law Enforcement Trainer's Page) www.lawenforcement-trainer.com
"The demonstrations in Detroit [Michigan] after the [Malice] Green incident, and the chants of "No Justice No Peace," rang out on every T.V. network in the nation. Anytime any human being dies, it is indeed a sad event. When that death occurs under circumstances such as was the case here, then of course it should be investigated to the fullest extent. That investigation should not be influenced by or for political considerations. Impartiality must by present, to protect all involved. The officers, the victim and indeed, the community."
-snip-
Quoting from the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malice_Green
"Malice Green was a resident of Detroit, Michigan who died while in police custody after being arrested by Detroit police officers Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers on November 5, 1992 during a traffic stop. Both officers were later convicted for Green's death...The incident occurred only months after the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which protested the acquittal of police officers in the video-taped beating of Rodney King."
****
[Added Decembe 15, 2018]
"Whose streets? Our streets!"*
-snip-
*hat tip to Me Me (December 15, 2018) for reminding me about this chant.
Here's an excerpt from an article about this chant:
From https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/19/us/whose-streets-our-streets-chant-trnd/index.html How the iconic 'Whose streets? Our streets!' chant has been co-opted"
By AJ Willingham, CNN; Updated 9:26 AM ET, Wed September 20, 2017
"As peaceful protests gave way to violence in St. Louis over the weekend, a group of police officers were heard repeating a familiar chant.
The phrase has been used by LGBTQ activists, immigration activists, and most pertinently, black activists at intense junctions of racial tension.
While its history stretches back decades, the chant has experienced a groundswell in the last few years as more and more people took to protesting police violence, racial inequality and other injustices.
"From the time I was photographing demonstrations in the early '90s, that was a chant that was pretty much ongoing," said Meg Handler, a photographer who also was a co-curator of the "Whose Streets?" exhibition. It was used in labor demonstrations and at rallies for reproductive rights and advocacy for AIDS victims, she said.
To say it is a "Black Lives Matter" chant isn't wrong. The group is definitely associated with the phrase and it's central to many of their messages.
It was heard in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, and was so crystallized during those protests that it inspired the title of a documentary about the community's reaction to Brown's death.
It appeared again that year in New York City after the killing of Eric Garner. It was heard in Washington on President Trump's Inauguration Day and the day after at women's marches around the world.
[...]
But lately the chant has made its way to groups on the other side of the sociopolitical spectrum. It was barked by white nationalists as they marched, tiki torches in hand and Nazi regalia on display, down the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, last month. A Vice documentary on the Charlottesville protests features ample footage of the chant.
"It's never, to my knowledge, been tied to a single social movement," said Carroll, the historian. "That's why it makes it possible to be appropriated by a counter movement."
It's unclear whether the St. Louis officers who chanted it were doing so to mock protesters or appropriating it for their own message.
CNN has reached out to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for comment but hasn't heard back.
Sunday night's unrest was prompted by the acquittal of a former St. Louis police officer who was charged with first-degree murder after shooting and killing Anthony Lamar Smith, a black man, in 2011."...
****
JENA SIX CHANTS (2007)
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six
"The Jena Six were six black teenagers convicted in the beating of Justin Barker, a white student at Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana, on December 4, 2006. Barker was injured in the assault by the members of the Jena Six, and received treatment for his injuries at an emergency room. While the case was pending, it was often cited by some media commentators as an example of racial injustice in the United States, due to a belief that the defendants had initially been charged with too-serious offenses and had been treated unfairly...
The Jena Six case sparked protests by those viewing the arrests and subsequent charges, initially attempted second-degree murder (though later reduced), as excessive and racially discriminatory. The protesters asserted that white Jena youths involved in other incidents were treated leniently. On September 20, 2007, between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters marched on Jena in what was described as the "largest civil rights demonstration in years".[2][3] Related protests were held in other US cities on the same day.[4] Subsequent reactions included songs alluding to the Jena Six, a considerable number of editorials and opinion columns, and Congressional hearings."
-snip-
These are the slogans that reporters indicated the Jena 6 marchers chanted or that I noticed on photographs and videos were written on signs carried by the marchers or were written on their tee shirts from the Jena Six marches {In Louisiana and elsewhere} on September 21, 2007:
"Free Jena 6" or "Free The Jena 6" [These were by far the most widely used slogans.]
**
"No Justice. No Peace" [This slogan was next in prominence to "Free Jena Six"]
**
"They stood for us now we stand for them.
Free Jena 6"
**
"non-violence or non-existence"
****
ADDITIONAL CHANTS
From African American Protest Slogans & Songs
From: Neil D
Date: 11 Oct 07 - 12:03 AM
...I spent some time at work today reading through the interesting thread that you started regarding African American slogan and songs. I thought about posting a chant we used to do at May 4th memorials at Kent State in the '70's: Two, Four, Six, Eight, Remember Kent and Jackson State. The May 4th coalition always made a point of including a contingent from Jackson State to memorialize the much less publicized, but just as tragic, killing of African American students at Jackson State when police fired indescriminantly into a dormitory. This event happened just a few weeks after the Kent State shootings, but never drew the attention of the media like the white students at Kent State. Thus, the chant...."
'Million Hoodie' march takes Union Square in protest of Trayvon Martin's fatal shooting
The demonstrators burst into a chant of “Justice for Trayvon!” as slain Florida teen's parents joined protest
BY Edgar Sandoval , Helen Kennedy / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ; Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 8:41 PM
-snip-
A link to one of three pancocojams posts about chants that were used in Trayvon Martin marches is given above.
