"Thank you to @LincolnU for inviting me to speak at yesterday’s commencement, and a big congratulations to all of the new graduates!
Lincoln created a way for my grandfather, James Thomas, and in that, a way for me. I’m grateful.
Keep up with our administration by following us on: https://www.facebook.com/govwesmoore "... -snip- Lincoln University [Pennsylvania] is the United States' first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU).
****
This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video short of a portion of Maryland Governor Wes Moore's speech during Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)'s commencement (2025).
This post also includes a transcription of that excerpt from that video's captions.
The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and inspirational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Governor Wes Moore for his political, historical, and cultural legacy.
-snip-
The kente cloth stole that Governor Wes Moore is wearing is an example of the kente cloth colors and pattern that I refer to as the "pan African" kente cloth graduation stole. That particular style of kente cloth stole is worn by a number of African American university graduates during their commencement service.
****
TRANSCRIPT OF AN EXCERPT OF MARYLAND GOVERNOR WES MOORE'S SPEECH (at Lincoln University [Pennsylvania] Commencement, 2025 .
"And my grandfather’s journey actually helps to underscore some complicated feelings that I and many people do have about this country.
He taught me that you will find lessons not just about national pride or national spirit but you will find lessons in his history about what it actually means to be an American.
That first, he taught me that patriotism is not and cannot be a passive activity because the love of your country will be tested both in big ways and small. But patriotism is a responsibility of a lifetime.
Second, he taught me that patriotism is not a belief that your country is perfect, nor is it an understanding that your country has ever been perfect. Because loving your country does not mean lying about its history. That being an American has always come with struggle and sacrifice.
And third, he taught me that skepticism about your country is justified and you should always keep skepticism as your companion but it should just never as your captor.
Let the hard truths that you’ve learned about America be guides toward a better future and not grudges that will keep you in the past." -snip- Click https://youtube.com/shorts/SFeBTkhGn_w?si=6z8i9RD45aDX6JI4 for this YouTube video short's comments.
Creative Impressions in its 2013 Annual Behold the Star
Concert singing its featured song "Behold the Star."
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases two YouTube videos of the Christmas song "Behold That Star". Information about that song is presented in this post along with the lyrics for that song.
This post also showcases a YouTube video of Dr. Thomas W. Talley, the composer of "Behold That Star" and presents the full reprint of Dr. Talley's Wikipedia page.
The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Dr. Thomas W. Talley for his creativity and for his cultural contributions. Thanks to all those who are featured in these showcase videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
Description: Original melody, text and harmony composed by
Thomas W. Talley in an unknown year in the early 20th century. First published
in 1922 by YWCA New York in "Folk Songs of Many Peoples," Vol. II.
External websites:
Hymns & Carols of Christmas
Original text and translations
First published text (1922) English.png English text
Behold that star!
Behold that star up yonder!
Behold that star!
It is the star of Bethlehem.
There was no room found in the inn,
This is the star of Bethlehem,
For Him who was born free from sin.
This is the star of Bethlehem.
(Refrain)
The Wise Men came on from the East,
To worship Him, the Prince of Peace.
(Refrain)
A song broke forth upon the night,
From angel hosts all robed in white.
(Refrain)"....
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Morehouse/Spelman Choirs - Behold The Star
mikep793, Dec 13, 2010
Christmas Concert
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 - Thomas Talley
Everyday Black History, Jul 17, 2018
This video is about Thomas Talley. One of the first Black
Men to receive a Ph.D and very influential to many other Black American Men and
Women in the science field. He also collected Black Folk Music that open
peoples minds to Black American music and Verse.
REFERENCES.
"Thomas W. Talley Collection Papers, 1891–1951"
(PDF). Fisk University. Retrieved February 24, 2015."...
"Thomas Washington Talley (October 9, 1868 – July 11, 1952)
was a chemistry professor at Fisk University and a collector of African
American folk songs.
Early life and education
Thomas Washington Talley was born on October 9, 1868, in
Shelbyville, Tennessee. He was one of eight children born to former slaves,
Charles Washington and Lucinda Talley.[1]
Talley attended public school for six years, followed by
high school and college at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he
received an A.B. in 1890 and a master's degree in 1893. Starting in 1888 he
participated in the Fisk music program, singing with the New Fisk Jubilee
Singers and the Mozart Society, as well as the Fisk Union Church. He also
conducted the Fisk choir for a number of seasons.[2]
Talley received a Doctor of Science degree from Walden
University in 1899. After completing his doctorate, Talley went on to
participate in post graduate programs at Harvard University in 1914 and 1916.
He completed his dissertation at the University of Chicago years later in 1931,
at the age of 61.[1] The title of his dissertation is Theories relating to the
constitution of the boron hydrides.[3]
Interests
Chemistry
Talley held teaching positions at several black colleges:
Alcorn A&M College in Lorman, Mississippi, in 1891; at Florida A&M in
Tallahassee, Florida, in 1893; and Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama, in
1900.[2]
From 1903 to 1942, Talley taught chemistry and biology at
Fisk University.[1] He also chaired the chemistry department at Fisk for 25
years.[2] Talley-Brady Hall on Fisk's campus is named for Thomas Talley and St.
Elmo Brady, another Fisk alumnus and chemist who was a student of Talley's.[4]
Negro Folk Rhymes (Wise and Otherwise)
Talley began collecting rural black folk songs later in his
life. Talley's first collection, published in 1922, Negro Folk Rhymes (Wise and
Otherwise) contained 349 secular folksongs and spirituals. Already being
well-known as the first such collection assembled by an African-American
scholar,[2] the book was seen at the time as a "masterpiece of the
field".[5] It was not only the first compilation of African-American
secular folk songs, but also of folk songs of any kind from Tennessee.[2] An
edited edition of Negro Folk Rhymes was re-released in 1991. Additional
published works about music by Talley include The Origin of Negro Traditions
and A Systematic Chronology of Creation.[1]
The publication of Negro Folk Rhymes marked a turning point
in the study of African-American verse. Before its publication, little note had
been taken of black secular traditions. Talley's book, along with a later
collection by Howard Odum and Guy Johnson, called attention to these works.[6]
Personal life
Talley married Ellen Eunice Roberts on August 28, 1899. The
couple had two daughters." -snip- This page makes no mention of Dr. Thomas W. Talley composing the Christmas song "Behold That Star".
This pancocojams post showcases an Instagram video from award winning African American musician/singer, songwriter, producer John Legend who born and raised in Springfield, Ohio about the current crisis that city. That crisis was fueled by former United States President Donald Trump who repeated the debunked statement in the televised Presidential debate that Haitians in Springfield Ohio were eating their neighbors' pets.
This post also includes an auto-generated transcript of this embedded YouTube video.
Addendum #1 to this post presents an excerpt of a Wikipedia page about Haitian Americans.
Addendum #2 to this post showcases a video about the reaction of Haitian Americans in Detroit, Michigan regarding the crisis being currently experienced by Haitian immigrants and by other residents of Springfield, Ohio.
A link to a Wikipedia page that list notable historical and contemporary Haitian Americans is also included in that Addendum.
The content of this post is presented for political and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to John Legend for his music and his advocacy. Thanks to the New York Post for publishing this video Thanks also to all those who are quoted in the Addendum to this post. -snip- Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Legendfor information about John Legend.
(This transcript is given without time stamps but includes added punctuations and my capitalization and spelling corrections. Additions and corrections are welcome.)
"Hello everyone. My name is John Legend and I was born as
John R Stevens from a
place called Springfield Ohio oh Springfield Ohio.
You may have heard of Springfield, Ohio this week.In fact, if you watched the debate we were
discussed by our presidential candidates, including a very special interesting man named Donald
J Trump.
Now Springfield has had a large influx of Haitian immigrants who have come to
our city.
Now our city had been shrinking for decades. We didn't have enough jobs.We uh didn't have enough opportunity.So people left and went
somewhere else. So when I was there, we
had upwards of 75,000 people and and in the last 5 years we were down to like 60,000 people.But of late, during the Biden administration, there have been more jobs that opened up, more manufacturing jobs, more plants,
factories that needed employees and were ready to hire people.So we had a lot of job opportunities and we didn't have enough people in our town of 60,000 people to fill those jobs. And during this same
time there had been upheaval
and turmoil in Haiti. And the federal
government granted visas and immigration status to uh certain number of Haitian immigrants so they could come to our country legally. And our demand in Springfield for additional labor met up with a supply of additional Haitian immigrants and
here we are. We had about 15,000 or so immigrants move to my town of 60,000.
Now you might say “Wow. That's a lot of people for a town
that only had 60,000 before. That's a 25% increase.” That is correct. So you might imagine
there are some challenges with, you know, integrating a new population-new language, new culture, new dietary uh preferences- all kinds of reasons why there
might be growing pains. um making sure they enough services to accommodate the new larger population that might
need bilingual service providers etc etc. so there are plenty of reasons why this might be a challenge
for my hometown.
Uh but but the bottom line is these people came to Springfield because there
were jobs for them and they were willing to work. And they wanted to live the American dream just like
your German ancestors, your Irish ancestors, your Italian ancestors, your Jewish ancestors, your
Jamaican ancestors, your Polish ancestors- all these ancestors who have moved to this country maybe not speaking the
language that everyone else spoke, maybe not eating the same foods, maybe having to adjust, maybe having to integrate,
but all coming because they
saw opportunity for themselves and their families in the American dream. And
they came here to do that.
Some facts about immigrants:
They usually do very well here.
They are hardworking.
They are ambitious.
They commit less crime than native born Americans.
And they will assimilate and integrate in time, but it takes time.
So I think all of us need to have the same kind of grace that we would want our
ancestors to have when they moved here. Our Haitian brothers and sisters will
move here too. And nobody's eating cats. Nobody's eating dogs.
We all just want to live and flourish and raise our families in a healthy and
safe environment.
How about we love one another? I grew up
in the Christian tradition. We said ”To love our
neighbor as we love ourselves and treat strangers as though they might be
Christ.”
So how about we adopt that ethos when we talk about immigrants moving to our
communities and don't spread hateful xenophobic racist lies about them.
John R Stevens from Springfield signing off."
**** ADDENDUM #1- EXCERPT FROM A WIKIPEDIA PAGE ABOUT HAITIAN AMERICANS From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Americans "Haitian Americans (French: Haïtiens-Américains; Haitian
Creole: ayisyen ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian
origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live
in Little Haiti to the South Florida area. In addition, they have settled in
major Northeast cities such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore
and Washington, D.C., and in Chicago and Detroit in the Midwest. Most are
immigrants or their descendants from the mid-late 20th-century migrations to
the United States. Haitian Americans represent the largest group within the
Haitian diaspora.
In 2021, the U.S. Census estimated that 1,138,855 people of
full or partial Haitian descent lived in the United States.[2] During the 1960s
and 1970s, many Haitians emigrated to the U.S. to escape the oppressive
conditions during the dictatorships of François "Papa Doc" and his
son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. Political unrest, economic
strains and natural disasters have provided additional reasons for people to
emigrate.
[...]
Immigration today
Political strife, marked with corruption and intimidation,
led to many Haitians leaving the island for the opportunity of a better life.
In addition, most of the migrants were from the poor masses; vast disparities
existed between the Haitian wealthy elite and the poor. Suffering from a lack
of education, many have had difficulty flourishing in the United States. Waves
of Haitians made it to the shores of Florida, seeking asylum. Most of the
foreign-born Haitians arrived during the mid- to late 20th century
Today, Florida has the largest number of people of Haitian
heritage. In 2000, Florida had 182,224 foreign-born Haitians, 43.5% of the
total foreign-born population from Haiti in the United States (this number did
not include U.S.-born citizens of Haitian heritage). New York had the
second-largest population of foreign-born Haitians, with 125,475, approximately
30% of the total. Haitian illegal immigrants continue to attempt to reach the
shores of Florida and are routinely swept up by the United States Coast Guard.
They are often repatriated. Civil rights groups have protested this treatment,
remarking on the contrast to the asylum granted between the late 1950s and
January 2017 to Cuban refugees. In January 2023, President Joe Biden announced
the extension of a humanitarian parole program to accept up to 30,000 migrants
a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Nearly 40,000 Haitians have
entered the U.S. under this program from January to April 2023.[5]
[...]
Adjustment and communities
The Haitians who emigrated to the United States brought many
of their cultural practices and ideologies, as do all immigrants. Many
foreign-born Haitians have set up their own businesses, initially to serve
their communities. Thus, many established barbershops, bodegas and restaurants
(predominately of Haitian cuisine). Around half of Haitians in the United
States are in the state of Florida. Haitian Americans have a visible cultural
presence in Little Haiti, Miami and several nearby communities, such as Golden
Glades and North Miami. The northern portions of the Miami metropolitan area
have the highest concentrations of Haitians in the country, including Broward
County and northern Miami-Dade County. Broward County has the largest number of
Haitians, with 117,251, followed by Miami Dade and Palm Beach counties.[6]
Outside of South Florida, there are Haitian communities growing in the rest of
the state, especially the Orlando area.
Other significant Haitian-American communities are found in
several neighborhoods of New York City, such as Flatbush (Nostrand), Crown
Heights, Flatlands, East Flatbush, Canarsie and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn,
Queens Village, Springfield Gardens, Laurelton and Rosedale in Queens, as well
as Long Island and Rockland. However, Central Brooklyn, especially the Flatbush
section, has the largest Haitian concentration in the NYC area and the 2nd
largest in the country outside South Florida. In 2018, a section of Flatbush,
Brooklyn, that stretches from East 16th Street to Parkside Avenue, to Brooklyn
Avenue, and along Church Avenue between East 16th Street and Albany Avenue,[7]
was designated Little Haiti.[8][9] Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte was the
'driving force'[7] behind the successful designation of the Little Haiti
Cultural and Business District. Following the designation of Little Haiti,
thirty blocks of Rogers Avenue between Farragut Road and Eastern Parkway were
co-named Jean-Jacques Dessalines Boulevard.[10] The street co-naming was a
tribute to Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a former slave who led Haiti to victory,
making it the first Latin American country to declare independence from
colonial rule and the first black republic.
The Mattapan section of Boston is considered the main center
of Haitians in the city, though there are many other parts of the Boston area
with significant numbers of Haitians. Growing Haitian communities have also
formed in many other cities in the Northeast, like Providence, Philadelphia,
and North Jersey (Newark/Jersey City). In such centers, everyday conversations
on the street may take place in Haitian Creole. Smaller and fast-growing
Haitian populations are also growing in the metropolitan areas of DC, Atlanta,
Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte, and Los Angeles. Second-generation Haitian
Americans have begun to gain higher-paying occupations, such as doctors and
lawyers, and achieve higher levels of education. Several Haitian Americans have
become professional athletes, mostly in the National Football League.
Significant Haitian populations are located in the U.S.
territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[11] In Puerto Rico,
Haitians receive refugee asylum, similar to the Wet feet, dry feet policy for
Cubans going to Florida.[12][13]"...
**** ADDENDUM #2 - VIDEO ABOUT HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS IN DETROIT, ILLINOIS
Metro Detroit Haitian community blasts Trump over false claims
ClickOnDetroit Local4 WDIV, Sept. 20, 2024
Members of the Metro Detroit Haitian community condemned false claims, perpetuated by Donald Trump and Republican nominee JD Vance, that Haitian immigrants engage in pet-eating. These baseless accusations have put lives in danger and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Haitian American leaders like Lise-Pauline Barnett and Rilck Noel expressed their hurt and called for an end to the attacks, emphasizing the hardworking nature of Haitian immigrants striving for the American Dream. Despite these claims being debunked, Trump campaign representatives continue to shift the narrative towards broader immigration issues.
-snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Haitian_Americansfor a list of notable Haitian Americans. "To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Haitian American, or have references showing they are Haitian American and are notable." -snip- This list includes historical Haitian Americans and contemporary Haitian Americans.
Most if not all of these people in that list also self-identify as African Americans (or with regards to the historical people on that list), were identified as Black or the equivalent referent that was used during that time for Black people in the United States. **** Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Reese Waters, August 20, 2024 -snip- Read the transcript excerpt below for the portion of this video that includes the Howard University "HU" - "You know" chant and a little bit more of that speech (from 0:55 to 1:49).
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents an article excerpt about the Howard University call & response chant "HU"-"You know".
This post also showcases two videos that include that Howard University chant-one from Representative Jasmine Crocker and one from two Howard University alumni- an unidentified Black woman and actor Chadwick Bosman.
Additional examples of this Howard University call & response chant are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, historical, and political purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. Special thanks to Chadwick Boseman (RIP) and Representative Jasmine Crocket.
-snip-
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on specific Historically Black Colleges And Universities. Click that tag below or google "specific Historically Black Colleges And Universities pancocojams" for additional posts in this series.
"A Howard University Bison can go to any city, globally, and
instantly feel at home by simply knowing the response to the legendary chant,
“HHHH-U!” When a fellow Bison, a perfect stranger, responds, “YOUUU KNOW!” it
can feel like The Yard has come to the place where the chant was echoed and
Founder’s Library and Douglas Hall are right where they need to be – even if
the two Bison are just standing in an airport or on the street, far from
Howard’s campus.
“It builds an instant connection, even if you’ve never met
the person,” says Howard’s vice president of communications, Frank Tramble, who
recently bellowed the response to an alum who was presenting at a conference in
Park City, Utah, in front of a room of 200 puzzled people.
[...]
[from a video embedded in this article: The video's title is "Taraji P. Henson delivers the "HU! You
Know!" call at commencement in 2022".
[1:53:24 in that video:]
[actress Tariji P.Henson speaks]
“Y’all ready to go viral?
"H U!"
[Attendees- "You Know"] -Pancocojams Editor: This is the end of that quote from that embedded video. The article continues...
The powerful call-and-response has the potential to build an
instant bond between two Bison. Moreover, it makes one wonder, how did this
chant gain so much notoriety?
Paul Cotton (PhD ’99) was deemed Howard’s historian by the
community and explains how the chant came about. The late-great public
announcer, Shellie Bowers, started the phrase at a Howard University football
game. In fact, when the crowd first heard the chant, many were displeased by
the change.
“Shellie first did, ‘First in ten, Go BI-SON,’ and that was
his first widely accepted chant,” Cotton explains. “And I remember when he
first started doing ‘HU! You Know!’ many alum were annoyed.”
Even though the chant wasn’t quickly adopted by the Howard
community when it was first introduced, it is now a vocal relic that is
cherished by Bison alum near and far, even among those who picked up on it long
after graduating from Howard.
Cotton recalls, “I was actually at a gas station the other
day and a 1966 law graduate saw my Howard tags and said the chant. We talked
for about 15 minutes after that.”
The exact date of the chant’s birth can’t be pinpointed,
though it’s speculated to have started around in the mid-1990’s. On an alumni
Facebook group, someone recalled the chant also included “HU Bison! You Know!”
before it was shortened to “HU! You Know!”
Others remembered a similar call-and-response of “HU!
Bison!”…
**** BACKGROUND TO THE TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT ABOUT THE "HU" -"YOU KNOW" CHANT FROM THE EMBEDDED REESE WATERS' VIDEO Representative Jasmine Crocket (Democrat-Texas)'s speech on day one of the 2024 Democratic National Convention included the beginning portion of Howard University's "HU"-"You know" call and response chant. Rep. Crockett said "HU" after stating that Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate attended a HBCU (Historically Black College And University).
Vice President and Democratic Candidate for President Kamala Harris is a graduate of Howard University which is a historically Black university Howard University located in Washington, D.C.
Most autogenerated video transcripts of Rep. Crocket's speech that I've read leave out that "HU" abbreviation, probably because it's not recognizable to the transcriber as having any meaning. Some video transcripts of that speech replace "HU" with "Applause" and others move on to her next words. Also, very little response is heard from the convention attendees for Rep Crocket's "HU" vocalization, probably because most of the convention attendees aren't familiar with that Howard University call and response chant.
**** TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT OF THE TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT ABOUT THE "HU" -"YOU KNOW" CHANT FROM THE EMBEDDED REESE WATERS' VIDEO from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VWZSm6kTk0&t=339s [This video is embedded above.]
0:55-1:49
[Reese Waters speaks]
… you never miss a Jasmine Crockett speech, especially not
at the DNC Convention.
[Jasmine Crockett speaks]
On November 5th. our nation will hire a President, a
Commander In Chief,
and leader of the free world.
So let's compare their resumes, shall we?
One candidate worked at McDonald's while she was in college at
an HBCU.
HU!
[Reese Waters speaks]
You know!
Am I allowed to say that as as a non Howard grad?
[Jasmine Crockett]
The other was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and
helped his daddy in the
family business- housing discrimination, that is.”…
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Chadwick Boseman Surprises Black Panther Fans While They
Thank Him
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Feb 28, 2018
Black Panther fans filmed a video message sharing what the
movie means to them - what they didn't know was that Chadwick Boseman was right
behind the curtain, waiting to surprise them.
**** TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT OF THE HOWARD UNIVERSITY "HU" - "YOU KNOW" CHANT IN THAT "TONIGHT SHOW" VIDEO
3:15-4:06
[A young Black woman speaks to a large photograph of The Black Panther unaware that actor Chadwick Boseman is listening to her while he is hiding behind the curtain with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.]
"HU!
You know. I am a Howard University student, and that is your
alma mater.
I am so, so, so very proud to say that a Bison is T'Challa. the
Black Panther.
Seriously, when you made your big scene when you came out, I
shed a tear.
It was a big deal for me and my friends and definitely
Howard University.
So I just want to say thank you so much for showing us that
there are avenues for us.
[Chadwick Boseman and Jimmy Fallon come from behind the curtain to surprise
the young woman. Chadwick Boseman speaks]
This video gives a brief description of the life and
achievements of William Edward Burghardt Du Bois.
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This is the first post in an ongoing pancocojams series about "The Talented Tenth" and "Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity/The Boule". Click that tag below to find other posts in this series.
This post showcases two YouTube videos of W/E.B. DuBois and presents information about DuBois.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and educational purposes.
Thanks to W.E.B. DuBois for his legacy. Thanks to all those who are associated with these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - W.E.B. Du Bois: The New Negro at The 1900 Paris Exposition
Black History in Two Minutes or so, Dec 18, 2020
At the turn of the twentieth century, W. E. B. Du Bois
curated an exhibit at the Paris Exposition in France entitled “The Exhibit of
American Negroes.” The exhibition used photographs to disrupt the negative
imagery that was used to depict black Americans at the time.
With over 45 million visiting the exhibit, Du Bois was able
to put the dignified black person front and center on an international scene.
This illuminating experience propelled the “New Negro” movement in the United
States, highlighting a sharp contrast from the Jim Crow agenda being pushed
elsewhere. Du Bois would continue his excellence as an author, historian and
activist, paving the way for other pro-black entities to exist.
In this episode of Black History In Two Minutes or So hosted
by Henry Louis Gates Jr., with additional commentary from Rhae Lynn Barnes of
Princeton University, Chad Williams of Brandeis University, and Farah Griffin
of Columbia University, we celebrate an American hero who successfully elevated
and illuminated the black experience for the world to see.
Black History in Two Minutes (or so) is a 2x Webby Award
winning series....
**** EXCERPTS ABOUT W.E.B. DUBOIS Excerpt #1 From https://www.diversityexplained.com/read/blackhistorymonthdubois "BLACK HISTORY MONTH: W.E.B. DU BOIS’ “TALENTED TENTH” &
THE HISTORY OF BLACK EDUCATION" by Porter Braswell, 2022
..."William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (pronounced “Due Boyss”)
was a leading Black intellectual of the Progressive era (and beyond). He was
the first Black man to receive a PhD from Harvard, helped co-found the NAACP,
and over his 60-year career published some of the most important literature on
race relations in America.
I grew up knowing about Du Bois not only because of my
father, but also because his ideas still informed Black identity. As a radical
opponent of assimilationist ideology, and an early proponent of Black autonomy,
Du Bois represented the defiant, self-sufficient streak of Black American
identity. His tireless campaigning against lynching and economic
disenfranchisement made him an early champion of civil rights. But it was his
brilliant, incisive mind that kept his ideas alive, well beyond the periods of
their original relevance.
These ideas were controversial in his day, and some remain
so. But he’s no longer the household name he once was. You may recognize him
vaguely from a Black history unit in high school, but who remembers his actual
ideas? And do we need to?
[…]
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868 – 1963) was born in Massachusetts and
attended Fisk University, a historically Black institution in Nashville, TN. He
received his PhD from Harvard University in 1895. Trained in history and
sociology, he set to work investigating and publicizing – through empirical
data and observation, as well as blistering rhetoric – the condition of Black
Americans at the time.
Du Bois grew up in the wake of the Civil War. His childhood
saw the passing of the fragile, radical period of Reconstruction, which made
many new resources available to Black people – especially in education. He also
witnessed the confusion and retaliation that followed. The notorious Black
Codes that passed in every southern state soon disenfranchised Black citizens
in every facet of society. And many of the reforms that had opened politics,
education, civic engagement and wealth creation to Black communities failed to
make good on their promises.
In this chaotic atmosphere, Black leaders took different
approaches to solving the “Negro Problem,” as Booker T. Washington’s landmark
1903 anthology framed it. Washington himself was an incredibly industrious
reformer, educator, and entrepreneur. He founded the Tuskegee Institute after
an Alabama state grant approved the founding of a trade school for Black men.
But he was forced to network, raise money, and invest an astounding level of
personal labor to turn it into a functioning institution.
Washington was in fact Du Bois’ great adversary in the
educational debate of the era. He believed that, in the wake of slavery and
Reconstruction, Black people needed to focus on learning practical skills and
acquiring financial security before fighting for equality. This meant accepting
discrimination and working through it in order to win the respect of the white
population, who still touted pseudoscientific myths about the intellectual
inferiority of the Black race (not to mention other races).
Du Bois, on the other hand, believed that deference to white
expectations would hamstring the progress of the race, which he acknowledged
was in a completely unfair position of destitution – economic and intellectual
– after 250 years of slavery. But Du Bois refused to accept that white people
were the best arbiters and directors of Black progress. While Du Bois saw the
value of technical and industrial training, as well as the necessity of
economic security, he defended empirical insight, the social sciences, and
human reason as the best answers to the “race problem.”
The “Talented Tenth” and the role of education in the
Black community
When he wrote “The Talented Tenth” in 1903 for The Negro
Problem, Du Bois was wrestling with all these seemingly intractable issues.
“The Talented Tenth” reflects one side of a stormy debate
about the role of education in Black Americans’ lives. From Du Bois’
perspective, Black people had been denied the fundamental humanity and
civilization that education affords. And the late 19th century focus on what we
call “vocational training” was (perhaps inadvertently) preventing us from
accessing education that helped us become better human beings, as opposed to
money-making cogs
[…]
Du Bois insisted on the value of the “Talented Tenth” for
Black advancement by proving it out in hard numbers. But he also defended the
humanistic value of education in ideal terms. The humanity that had been denied
to Black people for so long was available to them now, if only the Talented
Tenth would help them access it. Black and white America had to acknowledge
this Talented Tenth existed and that they deserved access to higher education
and leadership.
The controversial legacy of Du Bois and the “Talented
Tenth”
Given that he was writing at a time when only 1 out of 3
Black children attended any form of school – and even then often for only a
couple of months – it seems to me Du Bois conceived a critical defense for the
transformative power of education and Black people’s right to it.
At the time, many uneducated Black citizens weren’t allowed
to participate politically. At the time, there were less than 3,000 living
Black college graduates. At the time, the proportion of Black students in
secondary school hadn’t changed in 20 years.
Du Bois was crusading against a crisis of education and
dehumanization. And when you read the “Talented Tenth” essay today, his
arguments feel both idealistically uplifting and extremely tactical. His
fundamental point – that we cannot reap the rewards of a good education without
good educators – echoes our own debates about student success today."...
[...]
That said, I’m not sure I agree with Du Bois that it is the
responsibility of talented Black individuals to sacrifice their own lives in
the interest of remedying education, income, and employment disparities. These
issues are not only Black people’s problems. They are everyone’s problems, and
they are tied directly to the legacy of anti-Black discrimination in this
country.
Obviously, the argument for a college-educated “Talented
Tenth” no longer makes arithmetic sense when 30% of us have achieved the
distinction. But perhaps more importantly, we have grown far beyond the need to
prove ourselves. If all citizens are responsible for civic engagement, economic
vitality, and sustainable growth in the United States – as well as the pursuit
of our own happiness – then we are all responsible for addressing the racial
disparities in our educational system. Even Du Bois himself eventually saw this
and revised his Talented Tenth concept in favor of solidarity and cooperation
across racial groups.
120 years ago, Du Bois closed his essay by repeating its
opening line: “The Negro race, like all other races, is going to be saved by
its exceptional men.” I say instead: we don’t need “saving.” What we need are
equitable practices that allow as many Black people as possible to reach our
exceptional, undeniable potential.
And it can’t possibly fall to us alone to make that happen."
An Alternative View of Du Bois’s Talented Tenth By Stephanie Shaw
February 19, 2018 2
*This post is part of our online forum on W.E.B. Du Bois @
150.
Published by AAIHS*
*AAIHS= African American Intellectual History Society
"W. E. B. Du Bois published one of his most well-known and
widely debated ideas in his 1903 essay titled “The Talented Tenth.”1 In it, he
argued for the higher education of a tenth of the Black population from among
whom would come the leaders of the race. Many scholars have concluded that it
was an elitist theory that privileged the Black elite at the expense of all
others. This discussion, however, offers a different perspective based on Du
Bois’s training in philosophy and contends not only that his Talented Tenth was
a parallel to Plato’s Philosopher Rulers (in The Republic, especially parts
III, IV, VII, VIII), but that it was a radical proposal about how to reorder a
society that restricted Black people’s opportunities, denied them civil rights,
and even took their lives seemingly on a whim.
In Plato’s ideal republic, there was, indeed, a hierarchical
society at the top of which were the Rulers who made the laws, organized the
economy, and did things that we think of as in the purview of “the government.”
After the Rulers and their Auxiliaries (who executed and enforced the rules),
was the third group of people—workers. They included carpenters, bakers,
shoemakers, and a variety of people of meager means, but workers also consisted
of teachers, physicians, business owners, and other professionals. Some of
these workers were people of substantial means, but the Rulers were obligated
to prevent the development of extremes of wealth and poverty among individuals.
They also had to make it possible for all people to live life. Their most
important job was to create a good—just—society, making the Rulers a more
ennobled class of people than we have regularly assumed them to be.
Even the process of their becoming leaders, mitigated the
possibility of the Rulers becoming an exclusive clique. Wealth, family, and
connections could not guarantee one a place among Plato’s Rulers, and neither
poverty nor the lack of social connections or a lofty family pedigree could bar
one from the group. The Rulers came to their position based on their education,
experience, disposition, and character, and anyone could ultimately become one
because everyone started out in the same educational system, pursuing the same
course, advancing according to their ability. After finishing the formal
schooling process and completing a mandatory two-year military stint, the
graduates worked for the next fifteen or so years, during which time some of
them would gain the experience, vision, patience, courage, wisdom—the
character—to be among those from whom the Philosopher Rulers would come. It was
a true merit system.
People could, however, be excluded from the leadership
positions. A person’s desire to become a ruler could effectively eliminate him
from the potential candidates. People who wanted to be rulers probably lusted
after power and would not likely make good leaders. One who aspired to being
rich would not be chosen. And those who were chosen could not accept pay for
the work; money could spoil their vision, make them self-interested, and render
them too vulnerable to special interests to be involved in politics. The
primary concern of those who would be Rulers had to be the good of the group,
the Republic. The potential and actual members of this group simply had to be
talented, selfless, manifest certain abilities and dispositions, and be
committed to goodness or justice.
Du Bois’s and Plato’s proposals further challenge the charge
of elitism. First, both insisted on having publicly funded schools and colleges
available to all and adequate training in all areas of work, including those
that did not require a university education. Both men were adamant about the
danger of installing people in positions for which they were not trained.
Still, both proposals saw higher education as especially important. The ability
to think for oneself was important to both philosophers, and both understood
that the goal of education was not the work that it trained people to perform,
but the life that work created. As Du Bois put it in 1903, “we may build bread
winning, skill of hand and quickness of brain, with never a fear lest the child
and man mistake the means of living for the object of life.” And it was the
college-trained teachers who would keep those means directed toward the proper
ends. For Du Bois, the job of these teachers was “to leaven the lump, to
inspire the masses, to raise the Talented Tenth to leadership.”
In 1948, Du Bois reflected on and amended his original ideas
about the Talented Tenth in a speech before the Boulé (Sigma Pi Phi), arguably
the most elite Black organization in the country at the time. He was more, not
less, insistent on the importance of The Talented Tenth. He wrote, “Willingness
to work and make personal sacrifice for solving these problems [lynching,
disfranchisement, segregation] was of course, the first prerequisite and sine
qua non.” He added, “I did not stress this [in 1903], I assumed it.” He
encouraged the expansion of the fraternity that he was addressing, but insisted
that wealth should not be the only criteria for membership:
This new membership must not simply be successful in the
American sense of being rich; they must not all be physicians and lawyers. The
[people] . . . admitted must be those who . . . do not think that private
profit is the measure of public welfare.
He sought “honest” and “self-sacrificing” men, describing it
as “a question of character” and about which he admitted, “I failed to
emphasize in my first proposal of a Talented Tenth.” Further challenging the
charge of elitism, Du Bois made it clear that he was not counting on the Boulé
members to fulfill the mandates of his Talented Tenth. .He announced: “What the
guiding idea of Sigma Pi Phi was, I have never been able to learn. I believe it was rooted in a certain
exclusiveness and snobbery for which we all have a yearning even if
unconfessed.” He accused them of manifesting an “unconscious and dangerous
dichotomy” of possessing an “identity with the poor” while “act[ing] and
sympathiz[ing] with the rich.”…
He ended the commentary with a profoundly pessimistic
declaration that simultaneously reflected badly on the character of the Boulé
members: “Naturally, I do not dream that a word of mine will transform, to any
essential degree, the form and trends of this fraternity, but I am certain the
idea called for expression and that the seed must be dropped whether in this or
other soil today or tomorrow.” In short, if the Boulé members saw themselves as
de facto members of Du Bois’s Talented Tenth, they were clearly mistaken.
If we view it in a particular way, Du Bois’s Talented Tenth
proposal was actually quite radical. Consider, for example, that according to
1986 U. S. Census data it was not until 1984(!) that at least ten percent of
Black Americans over the age of 25 had completed at least four years of college
(p. 134). What if ten per cent of Black Americans had been college trained
three generations earlier (when Du Bois first proposed The Talented Tenth) and
trained for and committed to the creation of a good—just—society? Would it have
taken two whole generations more for the eruption of the modern civil rights
movement or the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts? Would they
have even been necessary?
Even though it is a question that we cannot answer,
considering the segregation, disfranchisement, underfunding of Black public
schools, and the specter of lynching that most Black people lived every day at
the turn of the twentieth century, it is a question worth considering. In that
context, it is difficult to imagine a more radical proposition than one that
encouraged and sought to prepare people for a lifetime of learning and service
to others and a commitment to the creation of a good, just, society." -snip- 'This essay is adapted from Stephanie Shaw, W. E. B. Du Bois
and The Souls of Black Folk (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
2013). ↩
Stephanie Shaw is Professor of History at the Ohio State
University. Her major fields of study include American Women’s, Labor, and
Social history. Shaw is the author of What a Woman ought to Be and to Do: Black
Professional Women Workers during the Jim Crow Era (University of Chicago
Press, 1995) and W. E. B. Du Bois and The Souls of Black Folk (University of
North Carolina Press, 2013). She is currently completing a book on slave
families and communities in the nineteenth century South."
Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy
“Trombone Shorty” Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long
as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today
this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Along with esteemed illustrator Bryan Collier, Andrews has
created a lively picture book autobiography about how he followed his dream of
becoming a musician, despite the odds, until he reached international stardom.
Trombone Shorty is a celebration of the rich cultural history of New Orleans
and the power of music.
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents two videos about the children's book "Trombone Shorty" by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and illustrated by Bryan Collier.
This post also showcases a video of a performance by Trombone Shorty and other musicians. Information about Trombone Shorty is also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, educational, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Trombone Shorty for his cultural legacy. Thanks to illustrator Bryan Collier all those who are featured in the Jazz performance video. Thanks also to all those who are associated with these featured videos. thanks to all who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
**** INFORMATION ABOUT "TROMBONE SHORTY" From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombone_Shorty "Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage
name Trombone Shorty, is an American musician from New Orleans, Louisiana. He
has worked with some of the biggest names in rock, pop, jazz, funk, and hip
hop. Andrews is the younger brother of trumpeter and bandleader James Andrews
III and the grandson of singer and songwriter Jessie Hill.[1] Andrews began
playing trombone at age four, and since 2009 has toured with his own band,
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.
Life and career
Trombone Shorty at age five, with the Carlsberg Brass Band,
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1991
Andrews was born to James Andrews Jr. and Lois Andrews in
New Orleans and grew up in the culturally vibrant Tremé neighborhood, steeped
in New Orleans jazz, R&B and music-related traditions such as second line
parades.[2] Andrews' family have deep roots in the music scene of New Orleans -
his grandfather was musician Jessie Hill, his great-uncle Walter
"Papoose" Nelson played with Fats Domino,[1][3] and Andrews' mother
Lois Nelson Andrews was a regular grand marshal of jazz funerals and second-line
parades in New Orleans, where she routinely encouraged young musicians and was
known as the "Mother of Music" and "Queen of the
Tremé".[1][4] Andrews' father James Andrews Jr., a member of the Bayou
Steppers Social Aid & Pleasure Club, would frequently invite musician
friends to visit their home.[2] Other musical family members include his
brother James Andrews III and cousins Glen David Andrews and the late Travis
"Trumpet Black" Hill.[5][6]
At the age of four, Andrews started playing a trombone given
to him by his brother James "because the family already had a trumpet
player".[7] Bo Diddley heard the four-year-old Andrews playing and invited
him on stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.[8] He
participated in brass band parades as a child, becoming a band leader by the
age of six. In his teens, he was a member of the Stooges Brass Band.[9]
Andrews' parents opened a nightclub in Tremé called Trombone Shorty's, where he
would play on occasion as a child, as well as a jam space for musicians called
"The Space".[1][2] Andrews attended the New Orleans Center for
Creative Arts (NOCCA) along with fellow musician Jon Batiste.[10] Since his
youth, Andrews has been mentored by Cyril Neville, whom he calls "a second
father".[11][12] Andrews graduated in 2004 from Warren Easton High
School.[13]
In 2005, Andrews was a featured member of Lenny Kravitz's
horn section in a world tour that shared billing with acts including Aerosmith.
Andrews was part of the New Orleans Social Club, a group formed after Hurricane
Katrina to record a benefit album. He was featured guest on "Hey Troy,
Your Mama's Calling You," a tribute to "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's
Calling You" a Latin jazz song by the Jimmy Castor Bunch in 1966.
Andrews is interviewed on screen and appears in performance
footage in the 2005 documentary film Make It Funky!, which presents a history
of New Orleans music and its influence on rhythm and blues, rock and roll, funk
and jazz.[14] In the film, he performed with Kermit Ruffins and Irvin Mayfield
on "Skokiaan", and was a guest performer with the Dirty Dozen Brass
Band on "My Feet Can't Fail Me Now" as well as a guest performer with
Big Sam's Funky Nation on "Bah Duey Duey".[15]
Andrews performed on "Where Y'At" as part of the
Sixth Ward All-Star Brass Band Revue featuring Charles Neville of The Neville
Brothers."...
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Trombone Shorty Book
Note-able Kids, May 23, 2019
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 - Trombone Shorty - Where Y'At (Live)
Trombone Shorty, Aug 20, 2010
Music video by Trombone Shorty performing Where Y'At. (C)
2010 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc -snip- Here's information about the New Orleans' saying "Where Y'At" From https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/multicultural/colorful-words/ "Common New Orleans Words & Phrases" [no publisher or publishing date cited; retrieved January 15, 2024] "WHERE Y'AT?
This standard New Orleans greeting means simply
"How are you?" or "What's going on?" So don't tell the
asker where you are. Just say you're doing alright"... -snip- Where Y'at?" = "Where you at?"
The Ed Sullivan Show, Mar 27, 2021
#EdSullivanShow #50s #EdSullivan
Pearl Bailey with Bill Bailey "(Won't You
Come Home) Bill Bailey" on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 13, 1955
[...]
The Ed Sullivan Show was a television variety program that aired on CBS from 1948-1971. For 23 years it air P ed every Sunday night and played host to the world's greatest talents. The Ed Sullivan Show is well known for bringing rock n' roll music to the forefront of American culture through acts like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. The entertainers each week ranged from comedians like Joan Rivers and Rodney Dangerfield, to Broadway stars Julie Andrews and Richard Burton, to pop singers such as Bobby Darin and Petula Clark. It also frequently featured stars of Motown such as The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5. The Ed Sullivan Show was one of the only places on American television where such a wide variety of popular culture was showcased and its legacy lives on to this day.
****
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases the American 1902 Dixieland Jazz song "Won't You Come Home" (Bill Bailey) or similar titles.
This post presents information about that song along with information about singer Pearl Bailey, dancer Bill Bailey, and television series host Ed Sullivan.
The lyrics for the chorus of this song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to Hughie Cannon, the composer of the song "Won't You Come Home (Bill Bailey)". Thanks also to Ed Sullivan, Pearl Bailey, and Bill Bailey for their cultural legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/article-excerpt-about-ed-sullivan.html for the 2022 pancocojams post entitled "Article Excerpt About Ed Sullivan Breaking Color Barriers By Featuring Black Entertainers On His TV Series (with a clip of James Brown Performing on that show)"
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "WON'T YOU COME HOME" (BILL BAILEY) Excerpt #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(Won%27t_You_Come_Home)_Bill_Bailey"(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey", originally
titled "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please.... Come Home?" is a popular
song published in 1902. It is commonly referred to as simply "Bill
Bailey".
Its words and music were written by Hughie Cannon, an
American songwriter and pianist, and published by Howley, Haviland and Dresser.
It is still a standard with Dixieland and traditional jazz bands. The simple
32-bar chord sequence of its chorus also underpins many other tunes played
mainly by jazz bands, such as "Over the Waves", "Washington and
Lee Swing", "Bourbon Street Parade", "My Little Girl",
and the final themes of "Tiger Rag" and "The Beer Barrel
Polka".
Origin
Cannon wrote the song in 1902 when he was working as a bar
pianist at Conrad Deidrich’s Saloon in Jackson, Michigan. Willard
"Bill" Bailey, also a jazz musician, was a regular customer and
friend, and one night told Cannon about his marriage to Sarah (née Siegrist).
Cannon "was inspired to rattle off a ditty about Bailey’s irregular hours.
Bailey thought the song was a scream (i.e. very good), and he brought home a
dashed-off copy of the song to show Sarah. Sarah couldn’t see the humor...[but]
accepted without comment the picture it drew of her as a wife." Cannon
sold all rights to the song to a New York publisher, and he died from cirrhosis
at age 35. Willard and Sarah Bailey later divorced; He moved to Los Angeles
with their daughter Frances, he died in 1954, and Sarah died in 1976, age about
102. (See New York Times archives 1976, unknown date)
Popular recordings
In 1902, the first recording, sung and played by Arthur
Collins on piano [1]
In 1953, the song featured in the film Meet Me at the Fair,
directed by Douglas Sirk, where it was sung by Jo Ann Greer who dubbed the singing
voice of actress Carole Mathews.
In 1960, Bobby Darin recorded the song, where it went to #19
on the Hot 100,[2] and #34 on the UK charts.
"Who was the Bill Bailey whose reluctance to return home has been made famous in song?[3]"
"Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home", written
by Hughie Cannon in 1902, is the lyric narrative of a familiar story. Bailey
was said to have been a performer in the American music hall who liked to drink
excessively and pursue the debauchment of women other than his wife.
Eventually, his wife kicked him out. So that is the reason why Bill Bailey will
not come home - he still thinks his wife is finished with him. Hughie Cannon
(1877 - 1912), was a performer and also a composer who played piano for many
vaudeville acts. Next to "Bill Bailey", his other greatest hit was
"He Done Me Wrong", written in 1904 for the musical "Frankie and
Johnny". Other hits were "Just Because She Made Dem Goo-Goo
Eyes" (1900) and "I Hates To Get Up Early In The Morning" (1901),
both in collaboration with John Queen. "...
-John Bennett, Glasgow, Scotland
****
PARTIAL LYRICS FOR THIS SONG
Chorus: Won't you come home Bill Bailey, won't you come home? She moans the whole day long. I'll do the cooking darling, I'll pay the rent; I knows I've done you wrong; Member that rainy eve that I drove you out, With nothing but a fine tooth comb? I know I'se to blame; well ain't that a shame? Bill Bailey won't you please come home? -snip- Click http://www.perfessorbill.com/lyrics/lybailey.htm for the complete lyrics for this song.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT BILL BAILEY (Dancer)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bailey_(dancer) "Willie Eugene Bailey (December 8, 1912 – December 12, 1978), known professionally as Bill Bailey, was an American tap dancer.[1] The older brother of actress and singer Pearl Bailey, Bill was considered to be one of the best rhythm dancers of his time and was the first person to be recorded doing the Moonwalk, although he referred to it as the "Backslide," in the film Cabin in the Sky (1943), starring Ethel Waters, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson and Lena Horne.
[...]
Career
At eighteen years old, Bailey was discovered in New York by Lew Leslie and put in his production Blackbirds of 1930. After the production, he and Derby Wilson, another prominent taps act, formed a team that challenged each other at the Cotton Club and toured with Duke Ellington when his band traveled to Europe in 1933.[2]
Bailey was often compared to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who he considered a mentor and friend.[4] Once Bailey and Wilson went solo, Bailey continued to be booked as a Bill Robinson imitation act, often standing in for Robinson when he was away filming. Black press at the time regularly predicted that Bailey would follow Robinson into film stardom.[2]
For much of his career, the "backslide," later known as the "moonwalk," was his signature exit. Its first recording was during his routine during "Taking A Chance On Love," sung by star Ethel Waters in the 1942 musical film Cabin in the Sky. He also performed in the black musical short, Harlem Variety Revue, 1950-1954 (1955), in the films Going Native (1936), The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise (1952), The Rhythm and Blues Revue (1955), and Showtime at the Apollo (1955)."...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT PEARL BAILEY
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Bailey "Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an
American actress, singer and author.[1] After appearing in vaudeville, she made
her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946.[2] She received a Special Tony
Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968.
In 1986, she won a Daytime Emmy award for her performance as a fairy godmother
in the ABC Afterschool Special Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale. Her rendition
of "Takes Two to Tango" hit the top ten in 1952.[3]
In 1976, she became the first African-American to receive
the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.[4] She received the
Presidential Medal of Freedom on October 17, 1988.
Early Life
Bailey was born in Newport News, Virginia[1] to the Reverend
Joseph James and Ella Mae Ricks Bailey.[5] When she was very young, the family
moved to Washington, DC. After her parents' divorce, Bailey moved to
Philadelphia to live with her mother.[6]
Bailey made her stage-singing debut at the age of 15. Her
brother Bill Bailey[7] was beginning his own career as a tap dancer and
suggested that she enter an amateur contest at the Pearl Theatre in
Philadelphia. Bailey won and was offered $35 a week to perform there for two
weeks. However, the theater closed during her engagement and she was not
paid.[5] She later won a similar competition at Harlem's famous Apollo Theater
and decided to pursue a career in entertainment"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ED SULLIVAN
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Sullivan
"Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13,
1974) was an American television personality, impresario,[2] sports and
entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News
and the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate. He was the creator and host of
the television variety program The Toast of the Town, which in 1955 was renamed
The Ed Sullivan Show. Broadcast from 1948 to 1971, it set a record as the
longest-running variety show in U.S. broadcast history.[3] "It was, by
almost any measure, the last great American TV show", said television
critic David Hinckley. "It's one of our fondest, dearest pop culture
memories."[4]
Sullivan was a broadcasting pioneer during the early years
of American television. As critic David Bianculli wrote, "Before MTV,
Sullivan presented rock acts. Before Bravo, he presented jazz and classical
music and theater. Before the Comedy Channel, even before there was The Tonight
Show, Sullivan discovered, anointed and popularized young comedians. Before
there were 500 channels, before there was cable, Ed Sullivan was where the
choice was. From the start, he was indeed 'the Toast of the Town'."[5] In
1996, Sullivan was ranked number 50 on TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Stars of
All Time".[6]
Early life and career
Edward Vincent Sullivan was born on September 28, 1901 in
Harlem, New York City, the son of Elizabeth F. (née Smith) and Peter Arthur
Sullivan, a customs house employee. His twin brother Daniel was sickly and
lived only a few months.[7] Sullivan was raised in Port Chester, New York,
where the family lived in a small red brick home at 53 Washington Street.[8] He
was of Irish descent."...
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
2021
1. @tomcat3360 "Ed featured many Black performers, treated them as equals,
and was never afraid to shake hands or hold hands. Thanks, Ed."
** Reply 2. @MrRichiekaye "Who cares what color the skin. I don't.
It's the talent that counts."
** Reply 3. @tomcat3360 " @MrRichiekaye exactly—that’s what Ed thought, even though
he faced resistance and objection. Maybe you misunderstood my point."
** Reply 4. @wilburmcbride8096 "@tomcat3360 Ed Sullivan is British. They believe that the
only color that matters is green( money). Very different than the U.S culture."
** Reply 5. @MaliceInCandyland "@wilburmcbride8096 Ed Sullivan was from Harlem, NYC, where he
saw plenty of talented Black performers during the Harlem Renaissance. Also, he
was a very kind person unless you picked a fight with him (he was a New Yorker
so he didn't back down from a fight). You have him confused with someone else."
** Reply 6. @MaliceInCandyland "@MrRichiekaye People in Ed Sullivan's day cared about race,
a lot. Ed took a lot of risk promoting Black entertainers, so he deserves a lot
of credit. ❤"
** Reply 7. @MaliceInCandyland "@MrRichiekaye People of color back then had to fight like
100 times as hard as white people in order to be recognized, so instead of
ignoring their struggle, you can acknowledge it. Celebrities weren't recognized
just based on their talent; race was a huge factor. White people had a lot of
privilege. People like Ed Sullivan used their pivilege to help the
disenfranchized."
** Reply 8. @MrRichiekaye "@MaliceInCandyland No, it's not about the color of skin. It's about the talent, the skill, the
ability, the joy, the love, the passion, the intellect, the generosity of the
performer and (in this case) her performance. That is what must be honored."
** Reply 9. @tinotica, 2022 " @MrRichiekaye dude! Obviously the people back in the 50s
cared about the color of the skin since segregation didn’t end until the 60s.
It’s good that you don’t care about it but majority of Americans back then did"
** 10. @haroldrisch1725 "He moonwalked 3 years before Michael Jackson was born." -snip- "He" refers to Bill Bailey.
** Reply 11. @richardstewart8631, 2022 "Yes, he called it "the backside""
** Reply 12. @silvermediastudio, 2023 "Moonwalk goes back to the 1920s. Bill Bailey rocked it in the
1950s."
** 13. @AntMan201490 "Ed Sullivan open doors for African Americans on his from
Toast of The Town/The Ed Sullivan Show June 20,1948-June 6,1971😀👍🏿"
** 14. @kevinnorman2937, 2022 "They are REAL BROTHER AND SISTER!!" -snip- "They" here refers to Bill Bailey and Pearl Bailey.
** Reply 15. @sheenabailey6934, 2022 "Really my great great aunt and great great grandfather
something to see where I come from I wish I could’ve meet them"
** Reply 16. @Jeremy-th5pt, 2022 "That's so cool! They were great. He did the moonwalk before
MJ !"
