Looking For Some Good White People (Memories Of A Black Girl)

Written by Azizi Powell

I wrote these two comments as part of a discussion thread on an astrology forum in which some of the comments were about the non-indictment of Darren Wilson for shooting to death the unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown, Jr.

http://starlightnews.com/wordpress/2014/11/israels-angry-mood/#comments

Comment #1: Azizi, November 27, 2014 at 10:19 pm
...When I was in my teens (in the mid 1960s), I went through a time when I was desperately looking for some good White people. By “good White people” I meant White people who weren’t prejudiced against Black people and other People of Color. Of course, it shouldn’t have been that difficult to think of examples of good White people, since there were White people who helped with the Underground Railroad, and there were men such as Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman who were killed along with James Chaney because they were trying registering Black people in the South. President Obama just posthumously awarded these two White men and one Black men a medal of freedom.

But I only knew a few White people who I was sure weren’t prejudiced. I’ve known more since my teen years, but it still helps a lot to read comments on this blog from non-Black people who “get” how AWFUL the continuous murder of Black males and the lack of lawful redress and accountability is. And because this issue affects us all, it’s good to see White people joining in peaceful no justice no peace & Black lifes matter/All life matters marches throughout the USA and elsewhere.

Here’s a link to a post that I wrote about a part of Darren Wilson’s testimony to that Grand Jury:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-did-darren-wilson-mean-when-he.html What Did Darren Wilson Mean When He Said That Michael Brown Jr Was Like Hulk Hogan?
-snip-
Although the wrestler Huck Hogan is White, his ring name “Hulk”, comes from the comic book character “the Hulk”. And Wilson’s comment that he thought that Michael Brown Jr was “bulking up to run through the bullets” is very similar to Hulk Hogan’s term “hulking up”.

In my opinion, when Darren Wilson’s referring to Michael Brown Jr as “it” and a demon, and saying that Michael Brown Jr reminded him of Hulk Hogan, he raised centuries old stereotypes of Black males as devil, animals, buck, and brutes...

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Thanks again.

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Comment #2: Azizi, November 28, 2014 at 8:35 am
"Thank you Anne’s Aunt, Lorrie U, and shoalsister for responding to my comment, and sharing your personal stories.

My search for “some good White people” was so that I wouldn’t believe that all White people were bad (i.e. not only racist but also evil). I may have started that search after realizing that I wasn’t told the whole story about “how the West was won” and instead learned that scalping was started by some White folks and other White folks gave Indians blankets with smallpox or some other disease. My search for “good White people” really became critical when I was 14 years old in 1963 and 3 Black girls my age and a Black girl 11 years old were killed when racists bombed their church. [Read the story how the police didn’t pass on tips and at first the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover refused the case saying that winning it was remote:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/justice-story-birmingham-church-bombing-article-1.1441568
-snip-
It took 37 years to bring to justice those KKK members who planted that dynamite under that Baptist church

My three sisters and I attended a Baptist church every Sunday – so I could really relate to those girls who were killed.

I recall that in 1964 my pastor, a woman active in the church, and I were part of a weekend integration project in the Newark, New Jersey area. We lived in Atlantic City. The purpose of that project was to provide opportunities for Black people and White people to talk to each other and share everyday experiences – Black people staying with White families overnight, and (at least presumably, White people staying with Black families. Also, Black and White people attending sessions together and Black people attending a White church, and White people attending a Black church for their Sunday morning service.

During the drive to that weekend project I recall my pastor and the church woman sharing their memories about growing up in the South. I particularly remember both of them saying that they had played with White children until a certain age, and then those children refused to play with them anymore, and began treating them badly. (My experience was different than theirs. I didn’t have any White playmates, and didn’t go to school with any non-Black people until junior high school (around 12 years old).

I also remember my pastor’s and the church woman’s concern about whether it would be safe for us to sleep overnight at a White family’s house. And I recall them saying something like we would leave or we could leave if things got bad. The woman and I stayed in one home, and the pastor in another home. I recall sleeping in a pull out bed and eating some food that I wasn’t familiar with, and didn’t really like.

But I particularly remember being in a gym with a few White teenagers and casually talking about our experiences growing up (This was when the adults were in another room, presumably doing the same thing.) I also remember attending the church service at a White church. I admit that I liked the music in my church better, but I preferred the way the minister preached. I even remember that the sermon was built around the Edwin Markham poem:
“He drew a circle that shut me out —
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.”
-snip-
That poem was written in 1913, and I first heard it in 1964. I remember that date because the next year I enrolled in a college in a city that was right next door to Newark, New Jersey.) In retrospect, that experience with that integration project, may have been the reason why I chose that college and not another one that I had been accepted to...

But decades later part of the problem between people of different races, ethnicities etc is that we usually don’t share experiences, and don’t really talk to each other in anything but surface, proscribed manners.

In a small but still meaningful way, exchanges like these on this forum help to bridge those communication/experiences gaps.

-end of comment-

ADDENDUM
I don't want to give the impression that after my teen years I stopped looking for some good White people (people who aren't prejudiced against Black people and other People of Color.) I'm STILL looking, and I've certainly found some.

And some White people who grew up not knowing any Black people are probably searching for some good Black people. But I think that for them "good Black people" are likely to be those that don't act like the negative stereotypes that they have consciously and/or unconsciously been taught. In my opinion, the difference between that and my search (and probably other Black people's searches) is that we're not trying to refute stereotypes of White people. We're trying to find examples of White people who don't kill people and discriminate against people, and shun people and otherwise mistreat people just because of their race.

But personal racism is only a part of the disease that threatens to destroy the United States [and other nations]. Both the root cause and the manifestation of that disease is institutional (systemic) racism such as that found in Fergurson, Missouri and throughout much of the United States.

I'm not going to repost the comments from the bloggers that I named in my second comment. However, I definitely believe that those comments are worth reading.

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What Did Darren Wilson Mean When He Said That Michael Brown Jr Was Like Hulk Hogan?

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post includes an excerpt from an article about the Grand Jury testimony of Darren Wilson, the White Ferguson, Missouri police officer who shot and killed unarmed Black teenager Mchael Brown, Jr on August 9, 2014 as well as further comments about that excerpt.

From http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/11/the_demonization_of_michael_brown.html

How Darren Wilson Demonized Michael Brown

For Michael Brown, the stereotypes that Darren Wilson believed proved to be deadly. By: Sophia A. Nelson, Posted: Nov. 25 2014 6:00 PM
"Stereotypes are dangerous. And for Michael Brown, they proved to be deadly.

"Of all that we heard Monday night about the St. Louis County grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Brown, what kept me awake for hours after the announcement was made was Wilson’s testimony.

Testimony in which Wilson said that Brown “had the most intense, aggressive face. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon; that’s how angry he looked.”

It was rife with imagery that dates back hundreds of years as it relates to how white men often perceive black men. His use of vivid language, describing Brown like “Hulk Hogan” while describing himself, in comparison, like a small child holding on for dear life, is troubling. This is the power and danger of racial “stereotypes.” "

Read a December 6, 2014 Update below from a blog post about "Giantg Negroes".

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INFORMATION ABOUT HULK HOGAN
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_Hogan
"Terry Gene Bollea[6] (born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American professional wrestler, actor, television personality, entrepreneur, and musician currently signed with WWE.

Hogan enjoyed mainstream popularity in the 1980s and 1990s as the all-American character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), and as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, the villainous nWo leader, in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). A regular pay-per-view headliner in both organizations, Hogan closed the respective premier annual events of the WWF and WCW, WrestleMania and Starrcade, on multiple occasions. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He was signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2009 until 2013, where he was the on-screen General Manager.[7] IGN described Hogan as "the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the '80s".[8]

...Hogan frequently referred to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs" in his interviews and introduced his three "demandments": training, saying prayers, and eating vitamins. Eventually, a fourth demandment (believing in oneself) was added during his feud with Earthquake in 1990. Hogan's ring gear developed a characteristic yellow-and-red color scheme; his ring entrances involved him ritualistically ripping his shirt off his body, flexing, and listening for audience cheers in an exaggerated manner. The majority of Hogan's matches during this time involved him wrestling heels who had been booked as unstoppable monsters, using a format which became near-routine: Hogan would deliver steady offense, but eventually lose momentum, seemingly nearing defeat. Then after being hit with his opponents finishing move he would then experience a sudden second wind, fighting back while "feeding" off the energy of the audience, becoming impervious to attack—a process described as "Hulking up". His signature maneuvers—pointing at the opponent (which would later be accompanied by a loud "YOU!" from the audience), shaking his finger to scold him, three punches, an Irish Whip, the big boot and running leg drop—would follow and ensure him a victory. That finishing sequence would occasionally change depending on the storyline and opponent; for instance, with "Giant" wrestlers, the sequence might involve a body slam."
-snip-
Italics added by me to highlight those words.

Note that Hulk Hogan is a White American.

-snip-
HULKING UP AND DARREN WILSON'S USE OF THE TERM "BULKING UP"
The Hulk Hogan term "Hulking up" is quite similar to the term "bulking up" that Darren Wilson used in his Grand Jury testimony:
"As he is coming towards me, I tell, keep telling him to get on the ground. He doesn't. I shoot a series of shots. I don't know how many I shot. ... It looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I'm shooting at him." http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/26/infographic-darren-wilson-recounts-shooting-michael-brown/19538013/

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THE INCREDIBLE HULK
The name "Hulk Hogan and the terms "Hulking up" and "bulking up" probably have their origin in the comic book character "The Hulk" (also known as "The Incredible Hulk".
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_(comics)
"The Hulk (Bruce Banner) is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). Throughout his comic book appearances, the Hulk is portrayed as a large green humanoid that possesses near limitless superhuman strength and great invulnerability, attributes that grow more potent the angrier he becomes. Hulk is the alter ego of Bruce Banner, a socially withdrawn and emotionally reserved physicist who physically transforms into the Hulk under emotional stress and other specific circumstances at will or against it; these involuntary transformations lead to many complications in Banner's life. When transformed, the Hulk often acts as a disassociated personality separate from Banner. Over the decades of Hulk stories, the Hulk has been represented with several personalities based on Hulk and Banner's fractured psyche, ranging from mindless savage to brilliant warrior"...
-snip-
Notice that the fictitious charcter Hulk is very big and is the color green.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/26/3597380/in-the-eyes-of-their-killers-trayvon-martin-and-mike-brown-were-the-same-person/ also focuses on Darren Wilson's description of Michael Brown Jr. as Hulk Hogan:
"Throughout his testimony, Wilson repeatedly referenced Brown’s size, calling him “really big,” “obviously bigger than I was,” and saying he felt “like a five-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan,” though the two men were about the same height.

Later, describing the moment right after he first fired the first bullet, he said Brown “looked up at me and had the most intense aggressive face. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon.” In other places, he describes Brown in animalistic terms (“he made like a grunting, like aggravated sound”) and supernatural ones (“it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots”).

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THE STEREOTYPE OF BLACK MALES AS BUCK/BRUTE
Describing the Hulk in animalistic terms and as a mindless savage reminds me of the stereotype of Black males as "buck" and "brute":
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Buckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Buck
"According to popular stereotypes during the post-Reconstruction era, "Black Buck" was a black man (usually muscular or tall) who defies white will and is largely destructive to American society. He is usually hot-tempered, excessively violent, unintelligent, and sexually attracted to white women.[1] Most often, any attempt to restrain, reprimand, or re-educate the individual will fail, necessitating the individual's immediate execution (usually by lynching)."...
-snip-
From http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/brute/http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/brute/
"The brute caricature portrays black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal -- deserving punishment, maybe death. This brute is a fiend, a sociopath, an anti-social menace. Black brutes are depicted as hideous, terrifying predators who target helpless victims, especially white women. Charles H. Smith (1893), writing in the 1890s, claimed, "A bad negro is the most horrible creature upon the earth, the most brutal and merciless"(p. 181). Clifton R. Breckinridge (1900), a contemporary of Smith's, said of the black race, "when it produces a brute, he is the worst and most insatiate brute that exists in human form" (p. 174)...

During the Radical Reconstruction period (1867-1877), many white writers argued that without slavery -- which supposedly suppressed their animalistic tendencies -- blacks were reverting to criminal savagery. The belief that the newly-emancipated blacks were a "black peril" continued into the early 1900s. Writers like the novelist Thomas Nelson Page (1904) lamented that the slavery-era "good old darkies" had been replaced by the "new issue" (blacks born after slavery) whom he described as "lazy, thriftless, intemperate, insolent, dishonest, and without the most rudimentary elements of morality" (pp. 80, 163). Page, who helped popularize the images of cheerful and devoted Mammies and Sambos in his early books, became one of the first writers to introduce a literary black brute. In 1898 he published Red Rock, a Reconstruction novel, with the heinous figure of Moses, a loathsome and sinister black politician. Moses tried to rape a white woman: "He gave a snarl of rage and sprang at her like a wild beast" (pp. 356-358). He was later lynched for "a terrible crime."...

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DARREN WILSON'S DESCRIPTION OF MICHAEL BROWN, JR AS A DEMON AND THE DEPICTION OF THE DEVIL AS A BLACK MAN
Stereotyping Black males as brutes and savages goes far back to the early days of Christianity, and even earlier than that. I posted this inforrmation on the history of depicting the devil as a Black man in the discussion thread "Folklore: The Devil The Color Black" that I started in 2009 on the Mudcat folk music forum http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123578
:
"Here's a link to an article about Christianity & the depiction of the devil as the color black and as a Black person: http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/aah/sierichs_12_4.htm
"The Christian Origin of Racism: That Old Black Devil"
Part I by William Sierichs, Jr.

Here are some excerpts from that article:
"Christians had equated the color black with evil as early as the second century. In Satan—The Early Christian Tradition, historian Jeffrey Burton Russell said the second-century Epistle of Barnabas portrayed a war between God and Satan, with clear choices. One could follow a path to heaven, while a "road of darkness, under the power of 'the Black One,' leads to ruin. The equation of evil, darkness, and blackness, a source of later racial stereotypes, occurs here for the first time in Christian literature. The immediate sources of Barnabas' use of the terms 'black' and 'blackness' are Jewish, Ebonite, and Greek. Behind these is the Mazdaist idea of the darkness of Ahriman, and behind Ahriman is the worldwide, almost universal, use of blackness as a symbol of evil." Russell added that the Devil's dark color represented his lack of goodness and light, and did not have a racial connection—he might be black but have European features.

Some Christians from an early period, however, did depict Satan and his demons as African or in a context that linked black skin to Satan. An influential 4th-century biography said Satan repeatedly tempted the monk St. Anthony, who was living in the Egyptian desert, and once "he appeared to Anthony like a black boy, taking a visible shape in accordance with the colour of his mind. . . . ."

In a 7th-century biography of clergy in Merida, Spain, a man had a vision in which he saw "some hideous and terrifying Ethiopians, giants, most vile to behold in their darkness, so that from their restless gaze and jet-black faces he was given to understand as he saw them clearly that they were beyond doubt servants of hell." A similar linkage of the Devil to Africans also appeared in the "Passion of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity."
-snip-
It seems to me that the depiction of the Hulk was influenced by the much earlier depictions of the Black buck/Black brute and those depictions were influenced by the even earlier ideas about the devil as a Black man.

In that same Mudcat discusson thread I shared information about the German children's game of tag that is called "Whose afraid of the Black man?" Although Darren Wilson probable never heard of that game, it certainly seems to me that his words and actions that fateful night when he killed the unarmed 18 year old Black teenager Michael Brown, Jr-who was both tall and big- were very much influenced by the stereotypes of the Black male as brute, buck, Hulk, and the devil. That Darren Wilson also referred to Michael Brown, Jr as "it" and "demon" serve as further proof of my conclusions.

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UPDATE: December 6, 2014
From http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/2007/07/attack-of-giant-negroes.html Tuesday, July 10, 2007 "Attack of the GIANT NEGROES!!" as quoted in http://www.vox.com/2014/11/25/7283327/michael-brown-racist-stereotypes ..."In 2007, a fascinating post from blogger Undercover Black Man spread through what was then quaintly known as "the blogosphere." The post highlighted newspapers' — particularly the New York Times' — obsession with "giant negroes," superhuman in strength and impervious to normal law enforcement methods, who terrorized police and civilians. From the turn of the 20th century until the 1930s, terrifying tales of "giant negroes" popped up regularly.
Here's a sample of how this played out in the Times:
• The September 24, 1900, edition included a double whammy: back-to-back stories about criminally insane negroes of "gigantic build," headlined "Giant Negro Attacks Police" and "Big Negro Spreads Terror."
• In 1897, the paper exclaimed, "Giant negro disables 4 policemen in fight." He was eventually felled by a baton blow to the head."...

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What Is Acute Ebola Panic (AEP) And How It's Infecting The USA

Edited by Azizi Powell

WARNING! A number of people throughout the United States are exhibiting symptons of Acute Ebola Panic (AEP).

SYMPTONS OF ACUTE EBOLA PANIC
Here are the two main symptons of Acute Ebola Panic [AEP]
*Thinking that anyone from any African nation has Ebola

*Thinking that anyone who has visited any African nation has Ebola

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE HAVE ACUTE EBOLA PANIC
People With Acute Ebola Panic (AEP)
*Keep their children out of school if there are Black African children who attend that school

*Demand that school officials and other people who have traveled to Africa be quarantined for certain periods of time.

*Demand that school officials and other people who have traveled to United States cities that have Ebola patients be quarantined for certain periods of time.

*Demand that anyone from West Africa be banned from traveling to the USA

*Cancel trips to any nation in Africa no matter how far away it is from the three African nations [Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea] that have diagnosed cases of Ebola.

*Are fearful of and mistreat Black Africans in myraid ways because they think that those people may have Ebola or may have been around someone who has had Ebola.
[Note that there are White people and Asian people and other non-Black people who live in African nations. But, since those people don’t "look like" what Americans think of as African, they are likely not to be targeted by people who have AEP.]

RECOMMENDED TREATMENT PEOPLE HAVE ACUTE EBOLA PANIC
*Stop listening to fearmongers and instead pay attention to what health experts are saying about Ebola.
"Stay educated. Instead of letting the attention Ebola is getting create fear and panic, arm yourself with the facts. The CDC offers great, easy to understand information, especially on their Questions and Answers to Ebola page http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/qa.html

Note: that quote is from http://700childrens.nationwidechildrens.org/5-ebola-facts-want-know/ "Ebola Facts We Want You To Know" Author: Dennis Cunningham, MD, October 15, 2014

*Stop using Ebola for political purposes.

*Stop being ignorant about basic world geography.
Get a map of Africa and study it for more than a minute.
Realize that Africa is a really BIG continent and not one country.

*Stop being racist and xenophobic.

*Support organizations that are treating Ebola such as Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/our-work/medical-issues/ebola

*Read articles such as the ones that have been previously cited and the ones listed below, thereby curing yourself from AEP before it spreads even farther and infects the entire world.

OTHER SUGGESTED READING
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/10/21/3582113/africa-geography-ebola/ "5 Schools Freaking Out About Ebola Because They Don’t Realize Africa Is A Really Big Continent"
by Joaquim Moreira Salles and Tara Culp-Ressler (October 21, 2014)

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/21/cant-ebola-become-latest-racist-national-security-issue/
"Ebola Fears Turn Into an Epidemic of Racism and Hysteria"
By Andrew Jerell Jones, October 21, 2014

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/i-am-liberian-not-virus-video-hashtag.html "I Am A Liberian, Not A Virus" Video, Hashtag, & Comments

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Note: Acute Ebola Panic (AEP) is a term that I coined today. Please spread this term around as a means of combating this ignorance.

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ADDENDUM: HOW MANY COUNTRIES ARE IN AFRICA?
From http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/countries-africa.html
"The Question:
How many countries are in Africa?

The Answer:
There are 47 countries on the African continent, including the disputed territory of Western Sahara. However, the islands off the coast are also usually listed as African, bringing the total to 53. The island nations are Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Madagascar, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and Mauritius. Each is an independent nation.

Some sources do not count all of the island countries as African, so the total number fluctuates. It is important to remember that even though they may have diverse populations and cultural traditions, all of the island nations listed above have substantial African populations and strong historical connections to Africa, so they are usually considered "African." "

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Various Bloggers' Opinions About White People Recording Soul Music

Edited by Azizi Powell

The other day I happened to hear Sam Smith's song "Stay With Me" when that song came up on Pandora. I looked that song up on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-5XG-DbAA] and admit that I was surprised to learn that the vocalist is a White Briton. That got me thinking about what makes a song and a singer "soulful". My short answer is that it's both the song (its structure, tune, and lyrics) and how the vocalist sings (delivers) that song.

I believe that music is universal and regardless of race, ethnicity, and/or nationality people can have the talent and skill to sing (and play) any gender of music and should be allowed to do so, as long as they are respectful of religious mores. However, I'm aware of and concerned about the impact of America's (and other Western nations') history of appropriation of Black art, and I'm concerned about the impact of institional racism on the marketing, support, and lack of support of Black recording artists vs White recording artists.

These points and others are addressed in the excerpts from three (non-pancocojams) blog posts about the subject of White people singing Soul music.

The content of this post is presented for sociological and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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SELECTED BLOG POSTS AND COMMENTS
These quotes are presented in chronological order based on their publishing dates online.

Blog Post/comments #1
From http://www.blogher.com/node/17417 "When white people make black music" - Contributing editor Carmen Van Kerckhove, March 29, 2007
"Yes, that headline is meant to be provocative. Who counts as "white"? Is there such a thing as "black" music? There are no easy answers to any of these questions, of course. But lately I've seen quite a bit of discussion on this topic, particularly when it comes to so-called "blue-eyed soul."...

What do you think? Are white soul singers given more exposure because they're seen as novelty acts? Are record executives pushing black soul singers to be more explicitly sexual? Is it an act of cultural appropriation for a white person to sing soul or R&B music?"
-snip-
Comments:
The Lavatory Lady Jun 13, 2007
"First off, I agree that music is universal. If we were never allowed to cross the lines based on color, would there have been a Marion Anderson, Leontyne Price or Jessye Norman (black opera singers). What about Charlie Pride (black country musician, no i'm not kidding)? Should we say that Bob James can no longer play jazz piano because he's white?"...

**
Dana Loesch
Mar 30, 2007
..."Obviously labels think it's easier to market a white girl who sings soul because the stereotype is that white women can't sing like that. Instant gimmick. Gimmicks sell."

**
musgrrl Jul 9, 2007
"I think this is something that black people have worried about for some time now. It's a shame that we have to worry about such things in this day and age. It's not fair to the artist who just wants to do what they naturally love to do, but at the same time, black people remember the days when race records existed and white versions of songs were recorded to sell more records. I think the executives could have race on the brain when they push white artists that have a soulful sound because they think they will sell more records to white people.

I hate that all of this exists. I wish we could just listen to an artist and appreciate their music without thinking about an underlying problem such as this."

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Blog Post/comments #2
From http://www.soultracks.com/critical-matters-blue
[quotes continues on page 2]
"Critical Matters: Why’d You Make My Brown Eyes Blue? Eh, Soul? " By L. Michael Gipson [no date given, earliest commenter date is November 19, 2012]
"L. Michael Gipson: Soul Music is no longer black and white or Black vs. White

From Elvis Presley and Pat Boone to Michael Bolton and Joss Stone, plenty of credible cases have been made to call white artists out on cultural appropriation and just bad mimicry all done for a major payday. Since the beginning of R&B there has been deservedly righteous anger about this bad business of exploiting black artists, their style and, of course, their music, and then—with the collusion of labels and radio—strategically cutting them out of the action. Generally, the mimicry artists are broadly met with grumblings and derision in the black community. Occasionally, an artist is allowed to breakthrough and crosses over as beloved to black audiences and black radio, such as Teena Marie, Dusty Springfield, Average White Band, Rare Earth, Boz Scaggs, Rick Astley, George Michael, Lisa Stansfield and, more recently, Adele.

During earlier eras, the racial animus made sense, since black artists were locked out and ripped off or were out marketed and out spent by labels supporting white artists promoting what had traditionally been considered black music. Sometimes those artists were even singing the exact same song to greater sales, from Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog” in the ‘50s to Billy Porter’s “Love Is On The Way” in the’ 90s, later sung to greater success by Elvis and Celine. But, that was then. With the diminishment of radio, the declining importance of a major label deal and so many more avenues available to black artists to get their music heard, is it time to end the knee jerk dismissal of non-black artists performing soul, R&B, and jazz? ...

Like a Republican believing only he knows the hardworking “real America,” this type of myopia is also a little insulting to the legacy of disciplined Black musicians who earned their spots as exceptional performers through practice and hard work. They didn’t win some “soul” lottery by genetic default; they worked at their craft and became a force in a niche market.

After all, music is still a skill as much as it is a talent, and is one that can be developed. Melisma, also known as riffs and runs, can be taught and studied (and in fact have been a hallmark of classical vocal training since opera began). So can volume, power, phrasing, modulations, tempo swings and “bending” notes—the elements of traditional soul singing. It seemed that audiences really bought into the notion that soul was something innately black, born exclusively of racial and gender pain, struggle, oppression, and slavery DNA, instead of the heartfelt, emotive singing that can be born from any human’s truth and lived experience. It’s time to bury this unscientific idea, since it only serves to minimize black artistic achievement to-date and limits the musical possibilities constantly being presented by white singers and musicians who, quite frankly, have been muddying these waters with great talent for quite some time...

Like hip hop and jazz, R&B/Soul is global. What began as nearly all American music -- as music born of the fields and the slums, undeniably out of the Black experience -- now is an expression of the global, human experience. It’s time we act like it and give all artists a listen based on their talent (or lack of talent), not their color. "
-snip-
I reformatted this excerpt by adding a paragraph spacing for what I think is greater reading clarity.
-snip-
Comments:
Animated Cartunes, Works at Animatedcartunes, November 20, 2012
"I've always been aware of and subscribe to the philosophy of music being one of the universal languages. If you are good in a genre I appreciate, I support you regardless of appearance. You can't however deny that more often than not "being white" affords these musicians opportunities not offered to their black counterparts of equal or greater talent... I can never diminish the talent of a skilled white practitioner or question their motives to create music of this genre but I am troubled by how people with influence and resources are so willing to champion the cause for them over their black counterparts. It is disheartening.

**
Randall Grass, General Manager at Shanachie Entertainment Corp., November 20, 2012
"good piece, L. Michael...a topic with many interesting angles...things have come a long way but still have a ways to go I think..a few random observations: a lot of people don't realize that Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog" was written by white guys--Lieber and Stoller. Otis Blackwell, a black man, wrote some of Elvis' biggest hits --for Elvis. Chuck Berry's first hit "Maybelline" is a re-write of a country tune, "Ida Red" by Bob Wills. Sam Cooke crossed over pop in 1957 AND owned his own masters. I think black rock artists today have an uphill battle for acceptance--more so than in the rock 'n' roll era..."rock" and "rock 'n' roll" are different things...

In the end as Duke Ellington said there are only two kinds of music, good and bad, and in the newly multicultural world you reference, the old racial categories have broken down substantially."

**
Chris Mann, Works at Juggling left brain and right brain, November 21, 2012
"Masterful stuff Mr G - I wish I'd written it. For years I've been annoyed by the patronising term "blue-eyed soul" but I guess even that term acknowledged something soulful in the music.

I have a particular love for soul and jazz radio and the idea that soul, jazz and radio itself are on the decline saddens me. But your article comes round to the idea that none of these things are really disappearing - just changing."...

**
Anthony Stevens , Founder/CEO at VibeTribe World, March 17, 2013
"Soul music IS Black and will ALWAYS be Black. If you can't hear the difference between a soulful Black singer and a white performer who is trying to sound Black, then that's on you. The white male power structure is ALWAYS busy trying to marginalize ANYTHING we're doing and THEN try to take it over ultimately. First, they said our music was "Devil" music. Then they started TRYING to emulate it. This behavior from the white boy is NOTHING new. He's been trying for YEARS to sound like us but simply CANNOT! So now, he's conspired to stop US from singing with Soul so that he can compete with us in OUR music style and ULTIMATELY leave US unable to get work doing OUR music"...

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Blog Post #3
From http://www.vibe.com/article/opinion-sam-smith-and-myth-blue-eyed-soul "Opinion: Sam Smith And The Myth Of Blue-Eyed Soul" - Michael Arceneaux, Posted September 15, 2014
..."Anyone who buys into the idea that white artists who fall under the umbrella of “blue-eyed soul” are being more true to the art form than many contemporary Black acts, and thus are attaining more success, are being willfully obtuse.

Jazmine Sullivan recently released a beautiful, soul-wrenching record in “Forever Don’t Last.”* I can confidently say that there’s no chance in hell that pop radio will play it. They would if Adele released it, though. A similar case could be made about any Sam Smith single and [insert R&B artist who can actually sing’s name here].

There are so many acts doing quality, soulful music, but the benefits they reap for it waver – mostly on race. You can sing along to Adele and Sam Smith and enjoy them, but now more than ever, we're reminded that some listeners aren’t willing to do the same about their Black counterparts."
-snip-
*The only addition that I made to that comment is the asterisk, so that I could post a link to a video of the Jazmine Sullivan record that the blogger mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHLw2hARwd8

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ADDENDUM
Here's a link to Sam Smith - Stay With Me (Live) ft. Mary J. Blige [at the Apollo Theater, Harlem (New York, New York) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqqOZbMWesI

I like that performance, but don't know whether I like it better than Sam Smith singing it alone. I also found that video's YouTube viewer comment thread interesting reading in a sociological sense, not only because of the comments about Sam Smith's race and sexual orientation, but also because of the number of commenters' opinions about Mary J. Blige's singing. Those comments range from "She messed up that song" to "She took that song to a whole 'nuther level, even though you could tell that she held back from singing as powerfully as she usually does." (I'm paraphrasing of a number of comments).

Unfortunately, since this is YouTube comment threads, a number of comments were racist, homophobic, and/or contained profanity.

****
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My Comments About A "Black People Talking White" Video

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a video of a young African American woman holding forth about Black people labeling other Black people who "speak correctly" as "speaking White" and "acting White". This post also includes my transcripton of this video, my critique of her conclusions, and my critique of the woman's manner of speaking.

Hat tip to Scientistocrat, the diarist of a dailykos dairy where I first learned about this video:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/26/1332727/-African-American-Woman-Beautifully-Debunks-the-Concept-of-Speaking-White

I'm unsure of the name of the woman who speaks in the video (who I refer to as the videographer. However, another dailykos commenter referred to her by the last name "Dillard".

I appreciate the opportunity focus on this subject and thank the videographer for raising that topic via her video.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO
Black Lady Describes How Speaking Properly Shouldn't Be Viewed As "Talking White"



retrieved from http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6af_1411736298 Life Leak on September 27, 2014

****
TRANSCRIPTION

“Alright, Here me out. I just have to say-I saw this on a post on facebook. Um, and I wanted to talk about it on video.

There’s no such thing as “talking White”. Or, you know, you’re talking- speaking White. Um, it’s actually called “speaking fluently”-speaking your language correctly. Um, I don’t know why we’ve gotten to a place where as a culture, um as a race, if you sound as though you have more than a fifth grade education it’s a bad thing. You know, um, there’s nothing wrong with that. In other cultures, if you speak your language correctly and fluently, it’s actually admired. “Wow! This person’s e- This woman’s educated.” “This man is educated.” “Where did you go to school”. Um, this person took the time and had the drive to get it right, to speak correctly. Um, I find it, our culture is one of the few that frowns upon…personal evolvement. So I just ask that you think about that. I know that it’s something that we don’t like to talk about. But, um, having proper diction doesn’t belong to the Caucasian race. I, that really gets under my skin. Having proper diction is what you’re supposed to do. And I have to say if you only speak one language- I can understand if you’re a bilingual, that’s different. Um, but if you only speak one language, even like your native tongue, and you don’t speak it correctly that’s not cool. If you don’t know how to enunciate your words, that’s not cool. It shouldn’t be frowned upon.

So let’s stop saying that, you know, this person talks White, acts White. Think about what you’re saying. Because, you know, in the same conversation, you say that the White man is bringing us down, but you don’t realize that you’re actually elevating this race, by saying that they are the only ones that are allowed to speak as though they are educated. And that’s not right.

Think about it."
-snip
*Transcription by Azizi Powell. New paragraphs were added as I
heard them given. Additions and corrections are welcome.
-snip-
MY CRITIQUE ABOUT THE WOMAN'S CONCLUSIONS
Before critiquing the woman's manner of speaking, I feel that it's important to note the sub-title for that video that appeared on that Live Leak website. That sub-title is "She be speakn da truf.”

I assume that the woman who made that video didn't add that sub-title and may not have approved of it if she had been asked to do so. I believe that that sub-title treats with derision African American English and those who speak that form of English, whether we speak it some of the time or all of the time, and whether we purposely speak or write forms of African American Vernacular English some of the time or all of the time.

I should note that I'm assuming from the woman's diction that she is African American although "Black people" is never defined by her or by that website in which the video is embedded. I'll add more about the videographer's diction and her attire in subsequent comments.

I should also note that I know nothing about the Live Leak website. Perhaps derision is what they do. It certainly seems to me that many of the comments posted to that discussion [I didn't read all of them] were racist and sexist -such as those that focused on the woman's low cut t-shirt. Perhaps those are the kinds of commenters who frequent that site. But I wonder if that Blackfaced minstrelized-like sub-title helped give permission to that website's commenters to "show their true colors". Also, it seems to me that the judgmental, "I'm better than they are" tone and words of that Black woman who spoke in that video also gave permission to the racists- if not the sexists- to "do their things".

To be clear, "She be speakn da truf” is an example of one form of African American Vernacular English. Some people who use that form of African American English do so much if not all of the time. However, many African Americans who might say (or write) "She be speakn da truf" do so consciously and purposely, code switching from what the videographer refers to as "correct English" - that I refer to as "Standard American English". In other words, we know how to and do speak and write standard American English, but we sometimes use that form or other forms of African American Vernacular English [AAVE] for various reasons, but particularly when we are "chillin" (relaxing) in informal settings.

In other pancocojams posts I've presented my theory that on certain YouTube comment threads some African Americans will purposely use "downhome", "old school" (meaning "well regarded old fashioned) religious words such as "Lawd have mercy!" and newer coined Black talk such as "Sang it sister!" and "He be killin it" as ways of signaling to others that they are Black, and as a way of celebrating that blackness. I call this conscious, purposeful use of what is considered to be "incorreect English" and "Blackisms" to be "Putting on the Black". Here's a link to one pancocojams post on this subject: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/puttin-on-black-online-black-talk-code.html.

Click links found in that post and/or that "putting on the Black" tag and the African American English tag below for links to those pancocojams posts.

Much of my problems with this video is the woman's tone and her generalizations. I got the sense that this woman thought more highly of her ability to speak correct English than she actually does. More on that later. But I also think that this woman unfairly categorizes people who speak AAVE much or all of the time as unintelligent (although she didn't use that word-She said "uneducated"). I certainly believe that it is highly beneficial for people in nations where English is the official language (and elsewhere) to know how to "correctly" speak what mainstream societies call "Standard English". But I believe that that people may still be intelligent if they live in English speaking nations and they don't ever speak the way that upper class White people decided was and is correct.

{Confession: That last sentence is an edited version because what I wrote before was difficult for me to understand and probably wasn't what anyone would say was "correct English".)

At the end of her comments the woman said "So let’s stop saying that, you know, this person talks White, acts White."
-snip-
I agree with that sentence, in part, because Black people shouldn't use "acting White" or "talking White" as a put down.

However, I dislike that comment because it generalizes White people.

[This was also an editing change because I typed too fast and thought that I had written something that wasn't there and what was there completely changed the meaning of what I wanted to say. My apologies to previous readers.]

All White people don't speak so-called correct English. And some Black people who have been told that we speak or write like White people -and I've been told that a number of times off the Internet and on the Internet- may also proficiently - or more than proficiently speak and/or write other languages. (Unfortunately, I can only speak and write English- Standard English and some forms of African American English.)

However, languages don't have any color-not even African American Vernacular English. People who aren't Black are able to speak AAVE quite well, at least potentially given knowlege of and experience with speakers of that language. Also, all White people don't talk the same and don't act the same. So what does "talking and acting White really mean?

After saying "So let’s stop saying that, you know, this person talks White, acts White" the videographer continued with these statements:
"Think about what you’re saying. Because, you know, in the same conversation, you say that the White man is bringing us down"...,
-snip-
I think that part of this woman's problem (or part of my problem with her) is her generalizations - Note my comments above about when she says "White people".

Another example of her generalizations is her conclusion that every Black person who might believe that there is such a thing as "talking White" and "acting White" also believes that "the White man" is bringing us down." That phrase "the White man" sounds so 1960s to me. In the year 2014, you would think that she would say "institutional racism" (or "structural racism") is bringing us down.

Continuing her comments, that woman said "but you don’t realize that you’re actually elevating this race, by saying that they are the only ones that are allowed to speak as though they are educated. And that’s not right."
-snip-
Putting aside the fact that White people speak other languages besides English, I think that apart from formal settings people sould be "allowed" to use other forms of standard English rather than that form that have been deemed to be "correct English" by "the powers that have been and largely still are". And even in formal settings, other forms of English including some forms of fAAVE are becoming more acceptable, not to mention that African American vernacular continues to be appropriated by non-Black people and is merged into Standard American English.

Returning to an earlier portion of that woman's video comments, she said "... but if you only speak one language, even like your native tongue, and you don’t speak it correctly that’s not cool. If you don’t know how to enunciate your words, that’s not cool. It shouldn’t be frowned upon."

"That's not cool" is an example of African American vernacular that has been appropriated by Standard American English. And like most Black slang that has been merged with Standard American English, it's no longer "cool" to say "cool". Other words long ago have taken "cool's" place to mean "up to date with the latest Black urban culture (such as "sick" or "def"- although African American young people -who are the prime drivers of Ameerican Slang- may have already put those words aside and moved on to other words. But given that woman's rather high handed, judgmental tone and her position that only correct English is the bomb ("the bomb" being another old way of saying that "correct English is the best thing rhat was ever created), isn't her use of any Black slang word more than a little incongruent?

And, did anyone else notice that although she surely didn't mean to say this, because of her sentence structures, the woman's next two sentences actually mean "It shouldn't be frowned upon if you don't know how to enuciate your words."

****
MY CRITIQUE OF THE WAY THE WOMAN'S MANNER OF SPEEAKING
I got the sense that the woman in the video thinks more highly of her way of using what she (and many others) consider to be "correct English" than she should. Perhaps I should rephrase that to say that I don't think that that woman is as skilled a public speaker as she may think she is. I've already written that I have problems with her tone. I think she comes across as a snob, and that's definitely not the same as saying that someone talks or acts White. I've also already noted that some Black people (and some White people) have said that I talk (and write) White, although I've not gotten that I act White, at least I've not directly heard this. As to my critiquing of this woman's (I wish I knew her name!) video and her manner of enuciation, I base it on my years of being "one of the only one" or "the only one" (Black person) in high school classes, college classes, and later post-graduation from school, the only one on non-profit state and international child adoption boards and committees, and on county public health boards. (I was also the "only one" on an international online folk music blog). Those experiences gave me plenty of opportunities to learn much about what purports to the "correct usage of Standard American English".

That said, here are my problems with the ways that that videographer talked (given in no particular order) :
* She often used subsitutes for pauses ("you know", "um", "ah").

* She often pauses mid-thought [mid sentence] and added some other comment. That is sometimes shown in the transcript as words between two hyphens.

* She pronounced the word "a" as "ah". This is a very common way of pronouncing that word among African Americans and I believe many other Americans. However, since she is holding forth on the topic of speaking "correct English", you would think she would pronounce that word, and other words the way that people who hold that view think is correct.

* She didn't always pronounce the "t" at the end of words (such as the word "that").

* She didn't aways pronounce the "g" ending in words

* In the sentence “Having proper diction is what you’re supposed to do”, it seemed to m that the word “supposed” was pronouced “sposed”.

* In her sentence, "I have to say if you only speak one language- I can understand if you’re a bilingual, that’s different", "a bilingual" is not correct English.
-snip-
I'll end there, although I could say more.

I'm curious what you think of this video and my comments. If anyone knows more about the videographer, please share that information. If she is interested in responding to my comment, I'm also interested in that exchange.

Also, I've included a comment below a quote from Levar Jones, the
unarmed man who was shot by a South Carolina highway patrolman when that (now former) patrolman stopped Jones for failing to wear his seat belt while driving.

Aside from the serious sociological and cultural aspects of that story, I believe that quote is a good example of a combination of Standard American English and African American Vernacular English.

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"Knock Jim Crow" - The REAL Origin Of The Dance Song "Jump Jim Crow"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides information about the African American game song "Knock Jim Crow" and the minstrel song & dance "Jump Jim Crow" that was adapted from it.

The content of this post is provided for folkloric, historical, and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers and performers of "Knock Jim Crow" and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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COMMENTS, LYRICS, AND DANCE INSTRUCTIONS FOR "KNOCK JIM CROW"
From Step It Dowm: Games, Plays, Songs & Stories from the Afro-American Heritage by Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes (The University of Georgia Press, 1972), pp. 55-57
Bessie Jones: “When I was a little girl, I thought Jim Crow might have been a bird, because it was “going down to the new ground”, and they always shoot them birds out of the corn. “New ground” is ground where the trees have been cut off, but it’s never been planted in. So that was what I understood at the time, that was my idea. But we don’t know what the old folks meant, we sure don’t.”

John Davis: “ I don’t believe that the old folks knew what they were talking about their ownselves. Anyway they didn’t tell nobody”...

“Jim Crow” developed from a dance imitating the motions of birds and hunters, and quite possibly magical in nature, into a commercial caricature. No wonder the term, when used in a political context, has a bitter taste today. The Islanders, however, clearly regard this as a pleasurable dance, probably about birds, and “knock Jim Crow” with enthusiasm and alacrity.

FORM: Indefinite; group of children standing in a line of ring. There may be a lead singer or the children may all sing together.

Lead and Group Voice
Where you going, buzzard?
Where you going, crow?
I’m going down to the new ground
To knock Jim Crow
Up to my kneecap
Down to my toe,

And every time I jump up
I knock Jim Crow.
(Speed increases)
I knock.
I knock Jim Crow.
I knock.
I knock Jim Crow.
I knock, knock,
I knoc Jim Crown.
(repeat ad lib).

Action
Step on the right foot, raise left leg with knee straight (like a high goose step)
and clap hands together around it; repeat raising alternate legs until
On to, raise right knee (bent) and slap it with right hand.
On cap raise left knee (bent), and slap it with left hands.
On to point down to ground with right index finger.
On beat after “toe” point down to ground with left index finger.
Resume raising alternate legs and clapping around them as in first step.

Dancers increase speed, continuing to lift legs and clap while turning round in place until exhaustion sets in.

Be sure that the steps are on the downbeat, so that the claps can come on the offbeat.
where you go-ing buz-zard, where you go-ing crow?
step clap step clap step clap step clap
-snip-
My comment:
I believe that the word "knock" as used in the song "Knock Jim Crow" (and as it is used in another African American children's plantation game "Gon' Knock John Booker") means "to dance" (and probably "to dance very well"; I believe that this use of "knock" is very much like the phrase "He knocked it out of the park (or out of the box") to refer to somebody doing something-other than playing baseball very well.

This slang use of "knock" in those old Southern USA plantation songs reminds me of the Hip-Hop (Rap) dance songs that began with the phrase "Crank dat" ("Crank that"). The first song in that category is entitled "Crank That (Soulja Boy") by the rapper known as Soulja Boy (2007). "Crank That" (also given as "crank dat") means "to do that particular dance very well". The word "crank" used that way suggests starting up a movement similar to how the old record players had to be cranked to begin playing music.)

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Google Books: Carrion Dreams 2.0: The Hagetaka-tan Version
By Benjamin Joel Wilkinson; pp. 374-375
...”[Thomas] Rice developed his [Jump Jim Crow] routine from an already extant song and dance tradition among southern blacks known as “Knock Jim Crow” which consisted in part of imitating the movement of birds. Whether the birds that were imitated were the genuine Jim crow-vultures- or the common American Crows, or both, it is impossible to say for certain.

The trademark movements of a vulture might seem like an odd inspiration for a popular dance routine, but we’ve already seen the Amerindians across the hemisphere employed just such inspiration for their ritual dances. Additionally, there was at least one other traditional [Black American] slave dance that was also popularized by a white minstrel, dubbed the “Buzzard Lope” which had much the same imitative origin as “Jump Jim Crow”. A dictionary published in 1890 defined Buzzard Lope as “the latest social institution in America….a dance taught to a Georgian negro by the turkey buzzard. Unlike Jump Jim Crow, this dance survived in one form or another into the 20th century; in Ben Burman’s 1938 book Blow For A Landing is found a description of the “buzzard dance” in which the dance would “wheel in long, doleful circles. His arms became gaunt, flapping wings; his head swung jerkily from his cadaverous neck, peering, searching.” Similar, if not identical dances were found by anthropologists studying the customs of African Americans living along the Georgia coast; and as late as 1958 there’s a description of an old man demonstrating “a kind of buck- and- wing dance dubbed the “Buzzard Flop”. Despite its vulturine origins, “Jump Jim Crow” proved to be a smash hit for Rice, who soon began to bill himself as “Jim Crow” Rice, and by the mid 1830s “Jim Crow” had entered the common parlance of white Americans, initially as a derogatory attachment. For example, editorial comment in a newspaper might call a disliked politician’s behavior a “Jim Crow” performance.

Along those same lines, abolitionist newspapers of the 1840s applied that term to railroad cars that separated their passengers by the color of their skin, in hopes of generating the appropriate amount of outrage about such bigoted arrangements. The name stuck so well that, during the post Civil War era, Jim Crow was used as a catchphrase description for the system of institutional segregation that was practiced in the American South until the 1960s. All and all vultures seem to have had a remarkable amount of influence upon African American dance culture, for good or ill.”...
-snip-
"Black American" in brackets is my addition to this passage to clarify which enslaved people the writer is referring to (since historically there were other enslaved people besides Black people and Black Americans.]

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INFORMATION ABOUT "JUMP JIM CROW"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_Jim_Crow
"Jump Jim Crow" is a song and dance from 1828 that was done in blackface by white comedian Thomas Dartmouth (T.D.) "Daddy" Rice. The number was supposedly inspired by the song and dance of a crippled African slave named Jim Cuff or Jim Crow, who is variously claimed to have resided in St. Louis, Cincinnati, or Pittsburgh.[1][2] The song became a great 19th century hit and Rice performed all over the country as "Daddy Jim Crow".
"Jump Jim Crow" was a key initial step in a tradition of popular music in the United States that was based on the imitation of Blacks. The first song sheet edition appeared in the early 1830s, published by E. Riley. A couple of decades would see the mockery genre explode in popularity with the rise of the minstrel show. It was also the initial step in the extant tradition in popular music of incorporating African styles and subject matter.
The tune became very well known not only in the United States but internationally; in 1841 the US ambassador to Central America, John Lloyd Stephens, wrote that upon his arrival in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, the local brass band played "Jump Jim Crow" under the mistaken impression that it was the US national anthem.”...
=snip-
[excerpt from that song's original lyrics]

"kneel to de buzzard, an, I bow to the crow;
An eb'ry time I weel about I jump jis so.

Other verses, quoted in non-dialect standard English,
Come, listen, all you girls and boys, I'm just from Tuckahoe;
I'm going to sing a little song, My name's Jim Crow.
Chorus: Wheel about, and turn about, and do just so;
Every time I wheel about, I jump Jim Crow."
-snip-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALTam2L9NhE for "A recreation of the Jump Jim Crow refrain the way it was performed by Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice (1808-60). This clip is so short I repeated it three times so you can get a good look. This is the only clip I've ever found that shows a performer singing and dancing the actual tune. This clip is from a Vitaphone." (Video published by ikachina Published on Jan 26, 2013).

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RELATED LINKS
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-crow-part-i-what-john-crow-means.html for Part I of a pancocojam post on the Caribbean term "John Crow".

A pancocojam post on the African American children's game "Gon' Knock John Booker" (To The Low Ground) will be published ASAP.

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How Police Are Portrayed In Animated Pre-School Videos

Edited by Azizi Powell

Animated videos of pre-school songs about helpful traffic policemen are quite different from the ways far too many real life police officers act.

I started to title this post "Whatever Happened To Officer Friendly?". But I found out that there was already a post with that title: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronda-lee/what-ever-happened-to-officer-friendly-ferguson_b_5692375.html What Ever Happened to 'Officer Friendly' Ferguson? by Ronda Lee.
08/19/2014 11:44 pm EDT Updated: 08/19/2014 11:59 pm EDT

Here's an excerpt from that post:
"...My personal encounters with the police have not been pleasant, especially when "driving while black." It usually takes me using the "attorney card" before I am free to go. I recall visits in grammar school from "Officer Friendly." He would give us tips on how to be safe when walking to and from school. Officer Friendly told us that in an emergency, we should seek out a police officer, because their job was to serve and protect. What ever happened to Officer Friendly?”...

Emmett Till, Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, Michael Brown, Ezell Ford.... When will it stop?! As a black woman I am fearful of giving birth to a son.... As an attorney, I know that justice is not blind; it is biased. For the same crime, a black person is 30-percent more likely* to end up in prison than a white person. Even when it comes to discipline in schools, black students are given harsher punishment than white students.** It does not matter if people of color are well-dressed or wearing hoodies. There is a societal acceptance of the belief that underneath the suit or hoodie, we are prone to bad behavior."...

*http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/30/770501/study-black-defendants-are-at-least-30-more-likely-to-be-imprisoned-than-white-defendants-for-the-same-crime/

**http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/
-snip-
Here's information about "Officer Friendly":
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Officer_Friendly
"Officer Friendly is a model program to acquaint children and young adults with law enforcement officials as a part of a community relations campaign. The program was especially popular in the United States from the 1960s to the 1980s, but it continues in some police departments.[1]. Officer Friendly is generally not a specific character, and is in the public domain...

Methods
The Officer Friendly programs most famously involved police officers visiting pre-school and kindergarten classrooms. In many parts of the United States, Officer Friendly coloring books are distributed to children.

Officer Friendly in the media
There have been many parodies of the nearly ubiquitous program. In many cases, the term "Officer Friendly" is used sarcastically to refer to an abusive police officer."...
-snip-
The pre-school videos that I watched portray the "Officer Friendly" type of police officers.

Example #1: I'm a Policeman Dressed in Blue (song)



Prizm4Music, Uploaded on Nov 20, 2011

From the Disney storybook The Little Fat Policeman, this is "I'm a Policeman", sung by Larry Groce. For those who remember, enjoy!
-snip-
Lyrics: [transcribed from the sound file]
I'm a Policeman dressed in blue
Here are some things I like to do
Direct the traffic in your town
Help to keep you safe and sound

It's my job and I like it fine
No one has a better job than mine

I'm a Policeman dressed in blue
I want to be a friend to you
You can see me everyday
I will wave my hand and say

It's my job and I like it fine
No one has a better job than mine
-snip-
"The Little Fat Policeman" was written by Edith Thacher Hurd & Margaret Wise Brown and illustrateed by Alice & Martin Provensen This book was first published in 1950 and was later published in 1976 as a Disney Golden Book & record. The cover drawing of the book that is shown with this sound file is of a little rolly polly White traffic policeman who is pointing sternly at a chicken (who may have crossed the street when the light was red instead of green.) As is the case with the other examples of pre-chool songs in this category, none of the police officers are wearing guns. This may be because at least some of these videos were produced outside of the United States, and police officers don't wear or carry guns in those nations.

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Example #2: I'm a Policeman | Classic Nursery Rhymes | Kid Songs



JINGUKID, Published on Dec 10, 2012
Jingukid | Facebook
-snip-
This is another version of the "I'm a Policeman Dressed in Blue" song. This video was produced in India. That fact may accound for the cultural dissonance [for me, a citizen of the United States] of the high pitched female sounding voice purported to come from a policeman. Until I learned where this video was produced [by googling the Jungukid name] I wondered in it was supposed to be a a sarcastic spoof on police officers.

Given the recent news reports about a policeman shooting and killing the Black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, and the subsequent scenes from that city of militarized police officers, as well as other recent and past reports of Black men elsewhere in the United States being shot and choked, and beaten by police officers, I also thought that it was ironic that a Black boy was the only other person who was shown in this animated video. In one scene of that video, that Black boy helpfully gives the policeman a bottle of water (presumably because the policeman is hot from standing outside in the sun directing traffic.)

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Example #3: I'm a policeman



paula houlkerPublished on Nov 6, 2012
-snip-
Lyrics: [from the sound file]
I’m a policeman
I’m a policeman
Be a policeman
Just like me.

Look with your eyes [3x]
Just like me.

Listen with your ears [3x]
Just me like me

Sniff with your nose [3x]
Just me like me

Chorus
-snip-
Again, the focus of this video is the police officer directing traffic. But unlike the Jungokid's video, in this video the policeman's voice is deep and somewhat gruff.

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There are a number of other animated versions of the "I'm A Policeman Dressed In Blue" song on YouTube. There are also other videos of pre-school songs about police officers and videos of pre-school and kindergarden classrooms and individual children singing "I'm A Policeman Dressed In Blue". But I wonder how Black children who have witnessed incidents of police violence or directly experienced that violence would react to teachers requiring them to learn and sing those songs that describe police officers in terms that are so very different from their real experiences.

And it's not only Black people who have experienced police misconduct. The daily kos diary http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/28/1325341/-Living-While-Black-Police-attack-men-for-sitting-not-resisting-not-walking-pockets and comments to that diary indicates that people of any race who are mentally ill, autistic, or deaf have been victims of police brutality. Commenters to that video also suggested action steps that could be taken to address police misconduct- including suing the police department, increasing voter turnout to help change systemic problems, and petitioning the United States Justice Department to intervene in a specific case.

Reading about these cases that are highlighted in that diary is disturbing and disheartening, particularly if you grew up believing that police officers were "Officer Friendlies".
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/policeman-dont-beat-me-and-examples-of.html for a pancocojams post on children's rhymes that mention police officers. Unlke the children's songs that are feeatured in this post, those rhymes focus on the control and punishment role of police officers. And some of those rhymes allude to police misconduct, for instance the 1939 version of "Police don't beat me" that has as a second line "i have a wife and family".

And the beat still goes on [Sigh].

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This post is presented for cultural and sociological purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners. And thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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Vine Of Teenage Girls Stepping & Chanting "Justice For Mike Brown"

Edited by Azizi Powell

As I've been documenting the performance art of steppin' and foot stomping cheers and chanting for some time, I was interested to come across a vine of teenage girls performing that kind of movement arts during as a form of protest of Michael Brown shooting death in Ferguson, Missouri.

That vine is included in this article http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/antonio-french-ferguson-vines-arrest By Tasneem Raja, Aug. 15, 2014

That article focuses on St. Louis Alderman Antonio French's coverage of the protests in nearby Ferguson, Missouri. (An Alderman is an elected member of city council.)

According to ://webtrends.about.com/od/Twitter-Web/a/What-Is-Vine.htm, "Vine is a video-sharing app. But it’s not just any video-sharing app. It’s designed in a way for you to film short, separate instances so they can be linked together for a total of six seconds. Each short video plays in a continuous loop, and are viewable directly in Twitter’s timeline or embedded into a web page."
-snip-
I don't know how to embed seperate vine videos, but the vine of the girls steppin (doing foot stomps?) and chanting is found mid way through that article and has the caption "Children chat: "Justice for Mike Brown!".

Here's my transcription of that chant:
Soloist- [in a higher pitched voice] - Justice
Others in the Group - for Mike Brown
-snip-
The soloist chants in a higher pitched voice then the other girls. That chant may have begun with her or the group saying "What do we want?" I think I heard that but if so it was said rather rapidly and therefore wasn't that clear. However, the words that are transcribed above were quite clar.

I'm not good at describing stepping movements, But it appears to me that the girls do a coordinated forward step with their left foot and then they do a rocking step back with their right foot and these movements are done to the beat of the chant that they repeat.

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Click https://vine.co/#/AntonioFrench for additional vines of Ferguson, Missouri protests that were filmed by Antonio French. Unlike the vine of the girls chanting, these vines are all silent. Most of them show protestors marching. One of the vines shows a woman singing, although you can't hear which song she sings. I wonder if she sung a freedom song that was used in the civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s. Unfortunately, some conditions for Black people seem to have gotten worse since then. Or maybe certain actions like police profiling and police use of excessive forcee have gotten moree publicity thanks to cell phones, the internet, and apps such as Vine.

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The content of this page is posted for folkloric, cultural, and sociological purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Antonio French and others for participating in and documenting the non-violent protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

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Public Enemy - Get Up Stand Up (example, lyrics, & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part VI of a six part series of posts on a sampling of African American and Caribbean songs whose titles include the words "Get Up" or "Get On Up".

This post showcases Public Enemy's 2012 rap "Get Up Stand Up". The lyrics of this rap are given with some explanatory comments.

Although it isn't mentioned in the song, theere's no doubt that the title and phrase "Gt Up Stand Up" is a nod to Bob Marley and Peeter Tosh 's 1971 Reggae Song with that title.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/various-sound-files-videos-of-get-up.html for Part I of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-esquires-get-on-up-example-lyrics.html for Part II of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/james-brown-get-up-sex-machine-get-up.html for Part III of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/jodeci-get-on-up-example-lyrics-comments.html for Part IV of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/eeleeephant-man-get-on-up-and-dance.html [Elephant Man- Get Up and Dance"] for Part V of this series.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, motivational, and aesthetic purpose.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Public Enemy for their musical leegacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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EDITORIAL COMMENT
The "Get Up" songs that are showcased in this series encourage people to get up and dance. while the "Get Up Stand Up" songs encourage people to address the wrongs that they experience in oppressive societies.

I find it interesting that James Brown's “Get Up Offa That Thing" includes lyrics that encourage people to "dance 'til you feel better" and "dance to try to relieve that pressure". And I content that Black dance songs and play songs-along with Black work songs and religious songs- helped Black people survive the horrors of slavery. And dance songs along with other non-religious songs and religious songs continue to help Black people survive the oppression we've faced post slavery up to and including today, even if it's only to take our minds off of that oppression for a little while.

Part III of this series includes more comments about this subject.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ALBUM WHICH INCLUDES THIS SONG
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_of_My_Heroes_Still_Don't_Appear_on_No_Stamp
"Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp is the eleventh studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on July 13, 2012, by Slam Jamz. It was sold exclusively at the iTunes Store before its release to other retailers.[2] It was released on CD on November 6. The album is the first of two albums that Public Enemy released in 2012, which Chuck D described as "fraternal twins",[3] along with The Evil Empire of Everything, which was released on October 1, 2012.[4] The album features guest vocals from Brother Ali, Bumpy Knuckles, Cormega, and DMC.

Upon its release, Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp received positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its production and found its political lyrics relevant to contemporary times...

Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four out of five stars and commended Public Enemy for "remain[ing] true to the sounds and sensibilities they laid out back in the late '80s", writing that "the music remains vital and vibrant, possibly because, despite some progress, things still haven't changed all that much and, in some respects, have gotten worse"....

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Public Enemy - Get Up Stand Up Featuring Brother Ali [OFFICIAL VIDEO]



publicenemy, Published on Mar 10, 2013

The official video from Public Enemy for the song 'Get Up Stand Up' Featuring Brother Ali.
Get Evil vs Heroes now http://j.mp/12GXIKa

Get Up Stand Up
Produced by: Gary G-Wiz
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LYRICS: PUBLIC ENEMY - GET UP STAND UP

This song don’t give a damn
If the rhymes don’t fit
Beat don’t bounce
If the dj quit
This song
Don’t give a damn
If you can’t sing to dance to it
Can’t romance to it
This song ain’t arrogant
If you don’t try it
Buy it
If your radio deny it
Don’t care bout what who got
What’s cool on tv
Or what spots hot i forgot
I ain’t mad at evolution
But i stand for revolution
Enough is enough
Somebody stand up
Get up, stand up,
Get up, stand up
This track aint asking you a damn thing
Not the brand name bottle with your champagne
Not where you land your private airplane
How many blood diamonds shining in that chain?
How much compromise is tied to that fame?
How many more times we gotta hear that lame
Line im inspiring them
to do what?
Roll better weed and get higher than them?
Feed the needy greedy ass fire in them?
Be the same damn dog but to finer women?
They gonna tell me that im preaching to the choir than im
Sure they right but im trying to light a fire in them
Cause i was raised by the enemy
And ever since then thats been my identity
So im trying to give back whats was given me
Truth told delivery is my tendency
Youth fold to the spirit of my energy
Bottom of my feet is something that youll never see
Thats cause im standing singing the anthem
Fist on my hand, and a list of demands and
When they hear this might piss in their pants and
Try to get the children to not listen to the man
But the mighty pe is what birthed ali
So what you gonna think come after me?
Chuck d
Get up, stand up
Occupy if you denied
Protest songs cause i see wrong
Most of my heroes still dont appear on no stamp
So i rant even when they say i can’t

I rise against
Rage against
Hope i dont end up being the same thing im fighting against
Hence
I wince never on the fence
Since they think the masses powerless
Ain’t on no power list
I ball my fist w my audience
Like this
Get up, stand up,
Get up, stand up
Got so much to shout about
What the 1% is gettin out
Recession depression desperation due
Never have so many been screwed by so few
Cheapest price is to pay attention
No need to dumb down to what i mention
No need to young down how i mention
In spanish portuguese english french and
No satisfaction
Listen to the world reaction
Americas still black and white
Like an old tv set
What we gonna do about it?
Laugh sit back forget & quit?
I get racial
Just talkin about the ratio
People are no longer patient
Now the brown they dont want around
Thats why sammy got that facial
My wife says its spacial
Politics that stick way beyond baseball
I think its self hateful
Anti immigration
Disgraceful
Get up, stand up.

Source:

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EXPLANATIONS OF SOME OF THE WORDS & PHRASES
Unless another source is cited, these are my explanations of these words & phrases from Public Enemy's "Get Up Stand Up". These explanations are numbered for referencing purposes only. Additions and correctons are welcome.

1. "blood diamonds" - This phrase in this song references the protests against the sale of blood diamonds.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_diamond
"Blood diamonds (also called a conflict diamonds, converted diamonds, hot diamonds, or war diamonds) is a term used for a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity".

2. "How many more times we gotta hear that lame
line" - A "lame line" is a weak line, a statement that has no substance.

3. "roll better weed" - "Weed" means marijuana. "To roll weed" means to make a marijuana cigarette.

4.Feed the needy greedy ass fire in them? - The word "ass" in this line doesn't have any literal meaning, but acts somewhat like an intensifier in that "needy greedy ass fire" conveys more emotions and also conveys more down-home nitty grittiness (soul) than just saying "needy greedy fire".

5. "Be the same damn dog but to finer women" - to continue being a man who treats women badly but doing it to more beautiful women

6. preaching to the choir - talking to people who alreeady agreee wti"th what you are saying (who are already on your side)

7. "im trying to light a fire in them" - "light a fire in them" - motivate, encourage them (even more)

8. "Cause i was raised by the enemy" - "The enemy" may mean the institutional system that creates and maintains unjust laws and inequality. To be raised by the enemy may mean that system's education system and mass media.

9. "Occupy if you denied" - This phrase refers to the "Occupy" protest movement, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_movement

10. "never on the fence" - never indecisive (about a cause)

11."I ball my fist w my audience" - "w" = with; This line means to make the (arm raised) clenched fist protest gesture

11. the "1%" - "directly refers to the concentration of income and wealth among the top earning 1% " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_are_the_99%25

12. "Now the brown they dont want around" - This line is adapted from Big Bill Broonzy's song "Black, Brown and White" (also known as "Get Back". The lyrics of that song apeak to the segregationist nature of the United States:
"They said: "If you was white,
You's alright,
If you was brown,
You could stick around,
But as you's black, hmm, hmm, brother,
Get back, get back, get back."

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0c1c0ZsTLA for a video and the lyrics of that song

13. "Thats why sammy got that facial" - a reference to Black baseball player Sammy Sousa who has allegedly used skin whitener to lighten his complexion.

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James Brown - Get Up (Sex Machine) & Get Up Offa That Thing (examples, lyrics & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a six part series of posts on a sampling of African American and Caribbean songs whose titles include the words "Get Up" or "Get On Up".

This post features a video of James Brown's performing his 1971 hit R&B/Funk record "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine". The majority of this post showcases James Brown's 1976 record "Get Up Offa That Thing". A trailer on the 2014 James Brown movie entitleed "Get On Up" is also included in the addendum to this post.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/various-sound-files-videos-of-get-up.html for Part I of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-esquires-get-on-up-example-lyrics.html for Part II of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/jodeci-get-on-up-example-lyrics-comments.html for Part IV of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/eeleeephant-man-get-on-up-and-dance.html [Elephant Man- Get Up and Dance"] for Part V of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/public-enemy-get-up-stand-up-example.html for Part VI off this series.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, motivational, and aesthetic purpose.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Jamees Brown for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The "Get Up" songs that are showcased in this series encourage people to get up and dance. while the "Get Up Stand Up" songs encourage people to address the wrongs that they experience in oppressive societies.

I find it interesting that James Brown's “Get Up Offa That Thing" includes lyrics that encourage people to "dance 'til you feel better" and "dance to try to relieve that pressure". And I content that Black dance songs and play songs-along with Black work songs and religious songs- helped Black people survive the horrors of slavery. And dance songs along with other non-religious songs and religious songs continue to help Black people survive the oppression we've faced post slavery up to and including today, even if it's only to take our minds off of that oppression for a little while.

Additional comments on this subject are found below.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #1: JAMES BROWN Sex Machine 1971



TheMaximumVolumeable Uploaded on Nov 28, 2011
-SNIP-
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown for information about James Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006).

Click http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jamesbrown/getupifeellikebeingasexmachine.html for the lyrics to "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine".

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #2: James Brown - Get Up Offa That Thing [soundfile]



Soulbrothanumbahone, Uploaded on May 2, 2011

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INFORMATON ABOUT JAMES BROWN'S RECORD "GET UP OFFA THAT THING"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Up_Offa_That_Thing
"Get Up Offa That Thing" is a song written and performed by James Brown. It was released in 1976 as a two-part single (the B-side, titled "Release the Pressure", is a continuation of the same song). It reached #4 on the R&B chart, briefly returning Brown to the Top Ten after a year's absence, and #45 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1][2] It would be Brown's biggest hit during his late-1970s career decline. The song's lyrics urge listeners to "Get up offa that thing / and dance 'til you feel better."...

According to Brown, the inspiration for "Get Up Offa That Thing" came to him during a club performance in Fort Lauderdale:

The audience was sitting down, trying to do a sophisticated thing, listening to funk. One of the tightest bands they'd ever heard in their lives, and they were sitting. I had worked hard and dehydrated myself and was feeling depressed. I looked out at all those people sitting there, and because I was depressed they looked depressed. I yelled, "Get up offa that thing and dance til you feel better!" I probably meant until I felt better.[3]"...

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LYRICS: GET UP OFFA THAT THING
(James Brown)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!!!

OH!

Say it now!

I'm back!

I'm back!

I'm back!

I'm back!

Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you, sing it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and shake it, say it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up off!
Ha!
Good God!
So good!

Ha!
Everybody ready?!

Follow me!

Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and shake it, sing it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up offa that thing, (Ha!)
and twist 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you, sing it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!

Huh!
Get funky!

So good, Uh!
I'm first to stop, ha!
I've told them now, ha!
Uh!
Ha!
Ohio player!
Can you hit it one time, from the top?!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance to try, you better!
Get up offa that thing,
and... Help me!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!

Huh!

I need it!

That's the wise old brother at the side start good!
C'mon Clive do it!

Do it!

Uh!
Ha!
Good God!
God Good!
Huh!
Feels good!
Feels good!
Do it to me!
Huh!
Good God!
I want you all in the jam!
Gonna get you all in the jam!
Play that bad funk!
Show 'em how funky you are!
Play it JB's!
Play it now!
Hey!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you, help me out!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release, say it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up and... call it!
I feel good!
[Fade out]

Source: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jamesbrown/getupoffathatthing.html
-snip-
“Get Up Offa That Thing" = means to Get off of your butt" or "Get out of your seat" [and dance].

Notice the lyrics
"Get up offa that thing,
and dance [and "shake"] 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!"
-snip-
No specific racial population is identified in these lyrics. However, giveven the shooting deaths of Black men that have occurred in the past two weeks in Ferguson, Missouri and in St. Louis, Miissouri and the lack of transparency and militarized response of the police to protests*, I can't help but believe that Black people and other People of Color in the United States live in more oppressive conditions than White people in that nation.

Furthermore, it occurs to me that one of the reasons why so little attention has been given to the dance songs and play songs that were composeed by Black people during United States slavery is that people used thee existencee of those songs to support their pro-slavery arguments that enslaved Black people were happy in that condition. However, I believe that were it not for their dance songs and their play songs-as well as their sorrow songs (religious songs) and the works songs, Black people would have had even more difficulty living through slavery. And although conditions for most Black Americans have certainly improved since the end of chattel slavery, statistics and the news ceertainly document that the United States has not ever been and is not now a post racial nation.

*http://america.aljazeera.com/blogs/scrutineer/2014/8/22/kajieme-powell-shootingvideo.html and http://america.aljazeera.com/blogs/scrutineer/2014/8/22/kajieme-powell-shootingvideo.html

***
ADDENDUM: Get On Up Official Trailer (2014) James Brown Biopic HD



JoBlo Movie TrailersPublished on Mar 13, 2014

A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
-snip-
Click http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/watch-a-dynamite-new-trailer-for-the-james-brown-biopic-get-on-up-20140719 for information and comments about this movie.

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