#National Museum of African American Music

[backshotsandwafflehouse]

[redcarpetview]

NEW MUSIC: Tamar Braxton “You Bring the Love” Lifted From WE SOUND CRAZY PODCAST

Photo Credit: Kaylee Steffel

We Sound Crazy, the critically acclaimed podcast and radio show, premiered “You Bring the Love” featuring Grammy-nominated superstar Tamar Braxton on all major digital streaming platforms. Written and produced by We Sound Crazy co-hosts Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony, the holiday track is the first original song released under We Sound Crazy in partnership with Tamar Braxton Productions and MNRK.

With the debut of “You Bring the Love,” We Sound Crazy enters its latest era of expansion as the first and only podcast to create and distribute original music featuring some of the most talented artists of today. Listeners can expect additional tracks to accompany future episodes throughout the season.

Hosted by industry vets Claude Kelly, Chuck Harmony, Tamone Bacon and Phil Thornton, We Sound Crazy is a go-to destination for authentic and transparent conversation with a ‘who’s who’ in music, television and film. This week’s episode features rising R&B trio The Shindellas. Past guests include Usher, Mary J. Blige, Kim Burrell, Jennifer Hudson, SWV, Kirk Franklin, Tevin Campbell, Raphael Saadiq & Tony! Toni! Toné!, Tamar Braxton, Erica Campbell, Donald Lawrence, Durand Bernarr, Mignon Francois, and more. 

The SiriusXM broadcast of We Sound Crazy is made possible by strategic partnerships with the National Museum of African American Music, Visit Music City, Miles Ahead Broadcasting and distributor Mocha Podcasts Network. The show can be found on HUR Voices Channel 141 on SiriusXM and Atlanta’s Peachtree TV (WPCH), Monday’s at 7PM EST.

"You Bring the Love" is available on all major digital streaming platforms: HERE. Subscribe to We Sound Crazy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

Follow We Sound Crazy:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wesoundcrazy/

Facebook: http://facebook.com/wesoundcrazy

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wesoundcrazy

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wesoundcrazy

Official Website: https://www.wesoundcrazy.com

[paulpingminho]

[agmarietv]

Big Band legend Erskine Hawkins photographed for Bluebird Records (an RCA Victor sub-label) sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s.

Hawkins and his Orchestra are quite popular on WINE-DOWN SUNDAYS - listen to previous episodes here: https://buff.ly/3tmMM7P

[NMAAHC - Digital Collections]

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Ritchie Valens - La Bamba 1958

"La Bamba" is a Mexican folk song, originally from the state of Veracruz, also known as "La Bomba". The song is best known from a 1958 adaptation by rock and roll pioneer and forefather of the Chicano rock movement Ritchie Valens, which became a Top 40 hit on the US charts. Valens's version is ranked number 345 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "La Bamba" has been covered by numerous artists, notably by Los Lobos whose version was the title track of the 1987 film La Bamba, a bio-pic about Valens; their version reached number 1 on many charts in the same year. Their music video won the 1988 MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film.

"La Bamba" is a classic example of the son jarocho musical style, which originated in the Mexican state of Veracruz, and combines Spanish, indigenous, and African musical elements. "La Bamba" likely originated in the last years of the 17th century. The oldest known historical references come from the town of Alvarado, Mexico, where it apparently was performed with an atypically lively rhythm. The oldest recorded version known is that of Alvaro Hernández Ortiz, who recorded the song with the name of "El Jarocho". His recording was released by Victor Records in Mexico in 1938 or 1939, and was reissued on a 1997 compilation by Yazoo Records, The Secret Museum of Mankind Vol. 4.

Ritchie Valens learned the song in his youth. In 1958 he recorded a rock and roll flavored version of "La Bamba", originally released as the B-side of his number-two hit "Donna". His recording of the song was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame. On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as "The Day the Music Died", Valens died in a plane crash in Iowa, an accident that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as their pilot. Valens was 17 years old at the time of his death. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame, the California Hall of Fame, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2018, his version of "La Bamba" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

"La Bamba" received a total of 92,2% yes votes!

[newyorkthegoldenage]

One of the artists commissioned to create a new work for the 1939-40 World's Fair was the sculptor Augusta Savage. A leading member of the Harlem Renaissance, she was the only black woman to be so honored.

Her piece, intended to celebrate African-Americans’ contributions to music, showed a kneeling black man holding a bar of music and 12 black chorus singers representing strings on a harp, the sounding board of which was no less than the hand of God. She called it Lift Every Voice and Sing, a nod to a poem by her friend James Weldon Johnson that was later set to music and adopted as the black "national anthem" by the NAACP.

The work stood 16 feet tall and was made of plaster that had been lacquered to look like black basalt. She was paid $360 for it (around $8,000 in today's dollars) and it was placed in the courtyard of the Contemporary Arts Building, near one of the Fair’s gates. Fair officials renamed it The Harp, which Savage reportedly hated. Small metal replicas were sold as souvenirs, and images of it were reproduced on postcards.

When the Fair ended, Savage had no money to remove and store her sculpture, or to cast the large piece in bronze, as she had with other, smaller works. So, like all the other "temporary" artwork created for the Fair, it was destroyed by a bulldozer.

In 2017, a NY Times op-ed piece by the filmmaker Aviva Kempner proposed that a full-size replica of the sculpture be created and placed in front of the National Museum of African-American History & Culture in Washington. So far, there has been no movement towards carrying that idea out.

Photos: top and center, NYPL. Bottom, illustration from the book Harlem: Negro Metropolis (E.P. Dutton 1940) via The Wolfsonian–FIU.

[blackexcellence]

#BlackHistory365 Art Round-Up ⬇️

Elsa Soares via @rodrigoincolors

"This is Elsa Soares. She's one of the biggest names in Brazilian music and considered a matriarch of Brazilian black artistry. BBC named her the voice of the millenium and she was one of the most important and loudest voice against racism, LGBTQIA+ and women rights, among other social causes. She's died yesterday at age 91. This is a very simple, but sincere tribute to her. May you rest in power!

Please, listen to her music and search more about this great woman."

2. Portrait of Sarah Forbes Bonetta by Hannah Uzor via @fyblackwomenart

Portrait of   Sarah Forbes Bonetta by  Hannah Uzor

Sarah Forbes Bonetta  was an Egbado princess of the Yoruba people in West Africa who was orphaned during a war with the nearby Kingdom of Dahomey and later became the slave of King Ghezo of Dahomey. In a remarkable twist of events, she was liberated from slavery by Captain Frederick E. Forbes of the British Royal Navy and became a goddaughter to Queen Victoria. She was married to Captain James Pinson Labulo Davies, a wealthy Lagos philanthropist.

3. Marian Anderson by @novva

I’ve always wanted to do a series on black classical singers for BHM, so here’s a sketch I squeezed in this week—a tribute to the great Marian Anderson!

Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993) was an African-American opera singer and contralto. In 1939, after the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Washington, D.C, then First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt arranged for Anderson to perform an open-air concert on the Lincoln Memorial steps on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939. She was able to deliver a critically acclaimed performance before an integrated crowd of more than 75,000 people, and a radio audience in the millions.

Read more about her accomplishments here, and donate to the National Marian Anderson Museum here.

Remember: tag your history & trailblazers art with #BlackExcellence365 for a chance to be featured!

And keep your eyes out for next month's theme... 👀

[xkittzkornerx]

it’s Martin Luther King Day! 🫶🏻 (history & learning resources)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., born Michael Luther King, Jr., was an American human rights activist, political philosopher, Baptist minister, and one of the most notable pioneers of the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1964) in the United States during the Jim Crow Era of law, which legalized segregation of Black folks from White ones, and bred many acts of hatred, ostracism, and frequent violence against Black Americans.

King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15th, 1929, to his mother, Alberta Williams King, and his father, Martin Luther King, Sr. (then Michael Luther King, Sr.). a young woman by the name Coretta Scott would be attending the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, the same time that King was studying at Boston University. they soon fell in love, married on June 18th, 1953, and in September 1954, settled down in Montgomery, Alabama.

Coretta gave him four children: two sons, Martin Luther King III (Oct. 23rd, 1957 - present) and Dexter Scott King (Jan. 30th, 1961 - Jan. 22nd, 2024), and two daughters, Yolanda Denise King (Nov. 17th, 1955 - May 15th, 2007) and Bernice Albertine King (Mar. 28th, 1963 - present).

on Nov. 2nd, 1983, then-President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill into law. this made the third Monday in January a federal holiday in observance of King and his work. it would take fifteen years for the holiday to be approved by the federal government, and seventeen more for it to be recognized in every state. (that’s a total of thirty-two years spent by activists, fighting for it to be in all fifty states!)

from the Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture | a pin-back button promoting Martin Luther King Day 1982 (source)

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.… We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." — MLK, Jr.

from naacp.org:

“In 1963, King and the SCLC worked with NAACP and other civil rights groups to organize the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which attracted 250,000 people to rally for the civil and economic rights of Black Americans in the nation's capital. There, King delivered his majestic 17-minute "I Have a Dream" speech. Along with other civil rights activists, King participated in the Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965. The brutal attacks on activists by the police during the march were televised into the homes of Americans across the country. When the march concluded in Montgomery, King gave his "How Long, Not Long" speech, in which he predicted that equal rights for African Americans would be imminently granted. His legendary words are widely quoted today: "How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Less than six months later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act banning disenfranchisement of Black Americans.”

in the spring of 1968, Black sanitary workers went on strike in Memphis, Tennessee. these works were protesting their racist White employer’s behaviors: low pay, abusive working conditions, unsafe work environments, and union busting. King arrived in Memphis on April 3rd, to prepare for a march in support of the workers.

around 6pm CST, on April 4th, 1968, on the balcony of his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel, Dr. King was shot by a White supremacist. his advisor and close friend, Ralph Abernathy, ran to King’s side and cradled his head.

paramedics rushed him to St. Joseph’s Hospital where at 7:05pm CST, he was pronounced dead.

from kinginstitute.stanford.edu:

“President Lyndon B. Johnson called for a national day of mourning to be observed on 7 April. In the following days, public libraries, museums, schools, and businesses were closed, and the Academy Awards ceremony and numerous sporting events were postponed. On 8 April King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, and other family members joined thousands of participants in a march in Memphis honoring King and supporting the sanitation workers. King’s funeral service was held the following day in Atlanta at Ebenezer Baptist Church. It was attended by many of the nation’s political and civil rights leaders, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and Ralph Bunche. Morehouse College President Benjamin Mays delivered the eulogy, predicting that King “would probably say that, if death had to come, I am sure there was no greater cause to die for than fighting to get a just wage for garbage collectors” (Mays, 9 April 1968). Over 100,000 mourners followed two mules pulling King’s coffin through the streets of Atlanta. After another ceremony on the Morehouse campus, King’s body was initially interred at South-View Cemetery. Eventually, it was moved to a crypt next to the Ebenezer Church at the King Center, an institution founded by [Coretta Scott King].”

today, and tomorrow, and all days following, we remember, thank, and honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for a better tomorrow.

sources

Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture - The 15 Year Battle for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Stanford University Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute - King, Coretta Scott

Stanford University Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute - the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The King Center - About Mrs. Coretta Scott King

New England Conservatory - Celebrate Boston’s Greatest Love Story: A Look Back at Coretta Scott King ’51, ’71 Hon. DM and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Historic First Meeting

extras/learning material

The King Center - About Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

National Education Association (NEA) - Lesson plans, activity ideas & other resources for teaching MLK Day

PBS - Martin Luther King Jr. Day classroom resources

We Are Teachers - 30 Meaningful Martin Luther King Jr. Activities for All Ages

Civil Rights Teaching - Teaching King Beyond “I Have a Dream”

Louisiana State University Libraries - Martin Luther King, Jr. timeline

Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture - Gestures of Solidarity in African American Culture

UNICEF USA - 5 Ways to Stand Up Against Racism and Injustice

Richton Park Public Library District - 11 Speeches by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cross Cultural Solidarity - MLK: Speeches, Sermons, Essays, & Interviews

[cinamun]

I have chills, and I'll tell you why:

I ended up not using this picture because the music template was too small and I didn't want to do it over again

I ended up just removing the template and using the pic without edits. But the whole reason why I wanted to give you guys the song Jackson was listening to was because of the CC vinyl on the bottom right which is of course, the imcomparable Lady Day aka Billie Holiday.

I was googling something just now and found out its her birthday!! And then I kept reading...

She was a tormented soul for most of her life and, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture,

"Holiday was open about her bisexuality despite not being socially acceptable at the time. After years of substance abuse, Holiday's body had grown weary and she died from heart failure on July 17, 1959, at age 44."

Heartbreaking....

Here's the song:

And here she is with her dog Mister. Truly an icon.

[samueldelany]

For Ytasha Womack, the Afrofuture Is Now

The writer and filmmaker discusses the blend of theoretical cosmology and Black culture in Chicago’s newest planetarium show.

Ytasha Womack, a screenwriter on “Niyah and the Multiverse,” currently playing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, is the author of numerous works including “Black Panther: A Cultural Exploration."

By Katrina Miller, New York Times, March 16, 2024.

On Feb. 17, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago unveiled a new sky show called “Niyah and the Multiverse,” a blend of theoretical cosmology, Black culture and imagination. And as with many things Afrofuturistic, Ytasha Womack’s fingerprints are all over it.

Ms. Womack, who writes both about the genre and from within it, has curated Afrofuturism events across the country — including Carnegie Hall’s citywide festival — and her work is currently featured in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Afrofuturism is perhaps most popularly on display in the “Black Panther” films, which immerse viewers in an alternate reality of diverse, technologically advanced African tribes untouched by the forces of colonialism. (In 2023, Ms. Womack published “Black Panther: A Cultural Exploration,” Marvel’s reference book examining the films’ influences.)

But examples of the genre include the science fiction writer Octavia Butler, the Star Trek character Nyota Uhura and the cyborgian songs of Janelle Monáe. Some even envision the immortality of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cells were taken without consent for what became revolutionary breakthroughs in medicine, as an Afrofuturist parable.

Ms. Womack was one of the scriptwriters for “Niyah and the Multiverse.” She spoke with The New York Times about what Afrofuturism means to her, the process of weaving the genre’s themes with core concepts in physics and how the show aims to inspire. This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How do you define Afrofuturism?

Afrofuturism is a way of thinking about the future, with alternate realities based on perspectives of the African diaspora. It integrates imagination, liberation, technology and mysticism.

Imagination is important because it is liberating. People have used imagination to transform their circumstances, to move from one reality to another. They’ve used it as a way to escape. When you are in challenging environments, you’re not socialized to imagine. And so to claim your imagination — to embrace it — can be a way of elevating your consciousness.

What makes Afrofuturism different from other futuristic takes is that it has a nonlinear perspective of time. So the future, past and present can very much be one. And that’s a concept expressed in quantum physics, when you think about these other kinds of realities.

Those alternate realities could be philosophical cosmologies, or they could be scientifically explained worlds. How we explain them runs the gamut, depending on what your basis for knowledge is.

Which Afrofuturist works have influenced you?

I think about Parliament-Funkadelic, a popular music collective of the 1970s. As a kid, their album covers were in my basement. A lot of artists during that era — Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Earth, Wind & Fire, Labelle — had these very epic, Afrofuturistic album covers, but Parliament-Funkadelic sticks out. There’s one depicting Star Child, the alter ego of George Clinton, the lead musical artist, emerging from a spaceship. That sort of space-tastic imagery was abounding for me as a kid.

“The Wiz,” a reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz,” was on all the time in my house growing up. It had this fabulosity to it — a heightened dream world that reflected 1970s New York. You had the Twin Towers in Emerald City, the empty lots Dorothy walked through with all the trash, the Wicked Witch running a fashion sweatshop, representing the garment district. The film took an urban landscape and made it fabulous, tying in this theme of Dorothy coming into her own through her journey.

Those are images that had a very strong impact on me. As I matured, I got into house music and dance, and began to see relationships between rhythm, movement, space and time. It’s not always something I can give language to, but it’s certainly become a basis for how I talk about metaphysics, in a physical kind of way.

What inspired your team to create “Niyah and the Multiverse”?

We wanted to tell a story about a young girl named Niyah, who wants to be a scientist and who is figuring out who she is — not just on Earth, but also in the universe.

Niyah looks for insight from her grandparents, who explain some of the symbolism of the African artwork in her home. She thinks about concepts she has learned from her science teacher. And she even meets her future self, who is a theoretical astrophysicist. Together, the two explore some of the more popular multiverse theories that scientists are looking at today.

Which theories are those?

Niyah learns about the many-worlds theory, which is this idea that all of your choices evolve into different universes. The choices you make create new paths, essentially creating multiple existences of yourself.

She learns about bubble theory, which says that after our Big Bang, more universes sort of bubbled off, each with their own laws of physics. Niyah also explores the idea of shadow matter, in which particles get reassembled as similar entities in mirror universes.

So there’s this parallel between Niyah learning about the multiverse and also exploring her own identity through her ancestral heritage.

Right. Because both of these are paths of meaning, different ways of understanding who we are. Afrofuturists tend to think in a way that is accepting of a lot of different realities anyway, so it was a pretty seamless experience to weave the physics and other aspects of the genre together. There’s already this intergenerational, or interdimensional, element to the conversation and the art that comes out of it.

The show is presented in the planetarium dome, which has a 360-degree screen, so it’s very immersive. Stepping into the space and watching the show feels like an interdimensional experience of its own.

The first audience to see it had a very emotional response. Some people were crying. There were Black women in the audience saying they always wanted to see this kind of imagery, that they had wanted to be scientists at one point in time. Others were deeply touched by the vibrancy of the show, of how it was able to bring these multiverse theories to life.

It’s impressive that these physics concepts, which can be difficult for people to understand or relate to, are made so accessible with examples that are not only imaginative but very rooted in Black culture.

Right. And it wasn’t difficult for us to do that, because as Afrofuturists, we operate in that space. It’s just about mirroring a way of being that we have always been immersed in.

I think “Niyah and the Multiverse” expresses that we all have different relationships to space and time. We are all looking to understand who we are, where we come from and where we can go in this broader space-time trajectory.

And maybe for some, the show normalizes the idea that there are kids who are Black who dream and are curious about the world. That curiosity can take them in the direction of becoming an artist, or becoming a scientist.

What challenges did you face in tackling the multiverse?

In trying to write some elements of the story, we had to push our own imagination to come up with what a universe might look like if you’re not using the laws of physics that exist in this one. Like, what does it mean to have your particles reassembled into something else? Sometimes we’d come up with ideas for different worlds, and our science consultants would say that already exists.

For me, this shows the beauty of bridging art and science. Artists can give visuals and narratives to ideas that scientists come up with. Or it could happen the other way around: Artists imagine something, and scientists think about what might be needed to support a universe that looks that way.

Image

[lboogie1906]

On October 25, 1997, an estimated 750,000 African American women gathered together to march on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia to focus on their trials, circumstances, and successes. The day-long march and program of prayer, music, and inspirational speeches, which began at the Liberty Bell and ended on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, sought to bring together African American women to address the pressing issues of interest to them and African American families. The issues included the economic deterioration of African American communities, the importance of nurturing young children in a positive environment, finding a collective voice in politics and the civil rights movement, and strengthening African American families. The march was designed to inspire African American women across the nation to work for their improvement as well as that of their communities.

The march organized by Phile Chionesu and Asia Coney was a huge success despite short notice and few preparations. The organizers bypassed traditional leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson and organizations such as the NAACP and the Nation of Islam. Using a network of women’s organizations and relying on fliers, leaflets, Black-run media, the Internet, and “word-of-mouth” to spread the word, the organizers brought women from across the country to Philadelphia via plane, train, bus, and other means of transportation. An estimated 125,000 women arrived from Chicago and New York.

Although the march was portrayed as a gathering of African American women, other groups were represented as well. Their common goal was the rebuilding of African American communities. They hoped the march would counteract negative images of African American women in popular culture and the media.

The Million Woman March did not rely on big names or the celebrities of the civil rights movement to fuel attendance. Several influential African American women attended and spoke including Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Congresswoman Maxine Waters. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[pettyshippen]

Hey I’m Toasted Watching Libertys Kids. Here are my comments

Boston Tea Party

First I’m so happy that every episode is available on YouTube! That makes things so much easier.

The theme song has NO RIGHT to hit this hard. Why isn’t this our national anthem? 🥹

For real though, the premise of this show overall has potential for an Outlander quality show for us big kids.

The opening montage? Cinema.

Walter Cronkite as Ben Franklin is A+ casting because his name ends in kite.

I love how Sarah’s so calm even though she’s trapped in a stormy ship. Maybe it’s because she’s hyper focused when she’s writing. I was on a cruise once and panicked when the ship got to swayey for me.

I love how Sarah adores her father. Leaving London for a new land unsupervised as a teenage girl sounds wild.

Moses is done with James already

Moses doesn’t end up having kids because he basically already had kids and said that’s enough for me.

“It’s addressed to Moses! You look like James!”😆 He’s so cute.

THAT TRANSITION

Omg it’s the beer guy. Beer overthrew tea.

It’s pretty hardcore that they have a picture of the redcoats murdering them hanging on the tavern wall.

Imagine walking out to the deck of a ship to see strange and unfamiliar land. Also where is the captain??? Why is she the only person on the ship when they break in to it?

The sons of liberty look like they’re going to coachella.

“Mom? How did you and dad meet?” “I hit him with a pillow stuffed with books and insulted his grammar.”

When she cute but conservative af

“You’re Sarah Phillips!?”

“Dr. Franklin sent YOU?”

Why didn’t Moses go below deck first?

Bro straight up tore her locket off on purpose. He always wanted to do that to a woman.

Moses calling them big ugly hogs 😂😂

If James and Henri stink that bad, poor Sarah must have been suffocating under that blanket.

Omg Sarah we don’t just ask people if they’re slaves.

Ok real talk though, how many of you have been to an African American history museum with a slave ship hallway? Because that was horrific.

Phylis Wheatley should have written the Declaration, not Jefferson.

Sarah dropping the mic more than Hamilton tbh

Sarahs doing pretty well for a rich girl sleeping in a barn for the first time

Bro that is not sanity, throw that fish away

Look at all the wigs!

OMG you guys the tea party is totes Bens fault. Ben looks so done with them.

The Intolerable Acts

Dear mom, this is not the airbnb that I wanted

“English Henri!” “I’m counting the English!”

WIGS! WIGS!?

Ben literally said suck my dick at Parliament.

James not noticing the redcoats in the barn for five minutes

The redcoats act like Karens.

Sarah don’t have time for your shit James

That captain is such a piece of shit. Henris backstory is lowkey fucked up.

I’d like to have more of a backstory on James’ parents.

*heavenly music*

He just put Sarah on the spot like that and she outwitted him beautifully.

When a man gives you his outerwear, he’s at your service forever.

Dear mom I’m finally in the right airbnb

Bro just straight up gave up his ring so she could have a locket omg 🥺

[reasoningdaily]

Online Exhibits

National Museum of African American History and Culture: Afrofuturism: A History of Black FuturesAfrofuturism: A History of Black Futures explores the past, present, and future of this dynamic concept in an exhibition that features the various people, unique themes and radical artistry that have given voice to it. Featuring hundreds of objects and images with several multimedia displays, this exhibition explores the history of Afrofuturist expression and culture through literature, music, art, film, fashion, activism and more.

U.S. National Archives: Black Arts Movement (1965-1975) The Black Arts Movement was a Black nationalism movement that focused on music, literature, drama, and the visual arts made up of Black artists and intellectuals. This was the cultural section of the Black Power movement, in that its participants shared many of the ideologies of Black self-determination, political beliefs, and African American culture. The Black Arts Movement started in 1965 when poet Amiri Baraka [LeRoi Jones] established the Black Arts Repertory Theater in Harlem, New York, as a place for artistic expression. Artists associated with this movement include Audre Lorde, Ntozake Shange, James Baldwin, Gil Scott-Heron, and Thelonious Monk. Records at the National Archives related to the Black Arts Movement primarily focus on individual artists and their interaction with various Federal agencies.

Google Arts & Culture: African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond presents works dating from the early 1920s through the 2000s by Black artists who participated in the multivalent dialogues about art, identity, and the rights of the individual that engaged American society throughout the twentieth century.

National Gallery of Art: Black Art & Artists in Our Collection Explore works from Black artists across centuries, mediums, and geographies, ranging from 19th century still life painter Robert Seldon Duncanson to modern and contemporary pieces by Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Alma Thomas, Sam Gilliam, Kara Walker, Hank Willis Thomas, and more.

Smithsonian American Art Museum: African American Art SAAM is home to one of the most significant collections of works by African American artists in the world. These artworks span three centuries of creative expression in various media, including painting, sculpture, textiles, and photography, and represent numerous artistic styles, from realism to neoclassicism, abstract expressionism, modernism, and folk art. From a rare group of photographs by early African American studios to an important group of works by self-taught artist Bill Traylor to William H. Johnson’s vibrant portrayals of faith and family, to Mickalene Thomas’s contemporary exploration of Black female identity, the museum’s holdings reflect its long-standing commitment to Black artists and the acquisition, preservation, and display of their work.

NYPL: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division The Art and Artifacts Division collects, documents, preserves, and interprets art and artifacts by and about peoples of African heritage throughout the world. Fine and applied art and material culture objects from the seventeenth century to the present are collected, with emphasis on the visual arts of the twentieth century in the United States and Africa.

Google Arts & Culture: Beat by Beat This interactive online exhibit was created as a celebration of 50 years of hip hop in collaboration with The Kennedy Center, The Bronx County Historical Society, The Museum at FIT, The National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Hip Hop Education Center, and HipHop2020 Archive.

Streaming Videos from the MCPHS Libraries

The Amazing Nina Simone She was left out of Civil Rights history, erased by jazz critics, and forgotten by most Americans because no one knew how to categorize her greatness. But throughout the 1960s, Nina Simone was both loved and feared for her outspoken vision of Black Freedom. Her musical proclamations like "Mississippi Goddam", and her iconic style created an alternative voice that continues to empower with its unrelenting appeal for justice. Now, a new documentary reveals the real Nina Simone through over 50 intimate interviews with those who best knew the artistry and intentions of one America's true musical geniuses. With new insights into her journey from Classical Music and the segregated American South, Nina's legacy is chartered all the way to the South of France where she finally found freedom.

JazzJazz has been called the purest expression of American democracy; a music built on individualism and compromise, independence and cooperation. Ken Burns follows the growth and development of jazz music from the gritty streets of New Orleans to Chicago's south side, the speakeasies of Kansas city and to Times Square.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in this definitive documentary but also delves into Basquiat as an iconoclast. His dense, bebop-influenced neoexpressionist work emerged while minimalist, conceptual art was the fad; as a successful Black artist, he was constantly confronted by racism and misconceptions. Much can be gleaned from insider interviews and archival footage, but it is Basquiat's own words and work that powerfully convey the mystique and allure of both the artist and the man.

Videos to Check Out from Your Local Library

Summer of Soul (...or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary, part music film, part historical record, created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was largely forgotten, until now. This documentary shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past, and present. The feature includes concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension, and more.

Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People The first documentary to explore the role of photography in shaping the identity, aspirations and social emergence of African Americans from slavery to the present, Through a Lens Darkly probes the recesses of American history by discovering images that have been suppressed, forgotten and lost. Bringing to light the hidden and unknown photos shot by both professional and vernacular African American photographers, the film opens a window into lives, experiences and perspectives of Black families that is absent from the traditional historical canon. These images show a much more complex and nuanced view of American culture and society and its founding ideals. Inspired by Deborah Willis's book Reflections in Black and featuring the works of Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, Anthony Barboza, Hank Willis Thomas, Coco Fusco, Clarissa Sligh and many others, Through a Lens Darkly introduces the viewer to a diverse yet focused community of storytellers who transform singular experiences into a communal journey of discovery – and a call to action.

Black Art: In the Absence of Light At the heart of this feature documentary is the groundbreaking "Two Centuries of Black American Art" exhibition curated by the late African American artist and scholar David Driskell in 1976. Held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, this pioneering exhibit featured more than 200 works of art by 63 artists and cemented the essential contributions of Black artists in America in the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibit would eventually travel to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Brooklyn Museum. The film shines a light on the exhibition's extraordinary impact on generations of African American artists who have staked a claim on their rightful place within the 21st-century art world.

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Information About Unit 616

Araminta

Name: Araminta Beatriz De Santos

Age: 20

Gender: Female (Cisgender)

Birthday: 10/31

Nationality: Brazilian

Ethnicity: Afro-Brazilian

Species: Reaper

Occupation: College student; ceramic shop owner

Likes: Heavy metal, pottery, comic books, thriller movies, pão de queijo, her dog

Shaya

Name: Shaya Briana Jones

Age: 20

Gender: Female (Cisgender)

Birthday: 2/13

Nationality: American

Ethnicity: African-American

Species: Redeemer

Occupation: Student; children's author and librarian

Likes: Cute things, magical girls, fairytales, the color pink, baking

Roopa

Name: Roopa Iyer Age: 27 Gender: Female (Transgender) Birthday: 3/10 Nationality: Indian Ethnicity: Tamil Species: Reaper Occupation: Agent; dental assistant Likes: Fashion magazines, cucumbers, video games, cats, acoustic music

Barbara

Name: Barbara Anne Underwood Age: 23 Gender: Female (Cisgender) Birthday: 7/20 Nationality: American Ethnicity: White Species: Reaper Occupation: Horse groomer Likes: Boots, trucks, cheap beer, off road racing, old country music

April

Name: April Neveah Love Age: 22 Gender: Female (Cisgender) Birthday: 4/21 Nationality: American Ethnicity: African-American Species: Diviner Occupation: Missionary; accountant Likes: Sweaters, pretty headbands, reading, mathematics, ribbons, sewing

Ellie

Name: Elena Jeanette Rhett Age: 13 Gender: Female (Cis) Birthday: 6/6 Nationality: American Ethnicity: Mixed Species: Reaper Occupation: Student Likes: Softball, riding her bike, action movies, video games, bubblegum

Asher

Name: Asher Joshua Rosenberg Age: 27 Gender: Male (Trans) Birthday: 11/9 Nationality: American Ethnicity: Jewish Species: Reaper Occupation: Agent & recruiter; web designer Likes: House music, festivals, calligraphy, his pet hamster, lacrosse

Gavin

Name: Gavin Adair Age: 28 Gender: Male (Cis) Birthday: 1/20 Nationality: American Ethnicity: Indigenous (Cherokee) Species: Reaper Occupation: Agent; boxing trainer Likes: Combat sports, Candiace, his mom's handicrafts, hiking, boba tea

Yuki

Name: Yuki Sakamoto (nee Aoyama) Age: 30 Gender: Female (Cis) Birthday: 5/1 Nationality: Japanese, American Ethnicity: Japanese-American Species: Diviner Occupation: Analyst & profiler; HR representative Likes: Jazz music, plants, nature documentaries, pastries, cleaning

Liseth

Name: Liseth Catalina Martinez Ayala Age: 26 Gender: Demigirl Birthday: 8/8 Nationality: American Ethnicity: Mexican-American Species: Reaper/Diviner hybrid Occupation: Spy; singer-songwriter Likes: Astrology, cool shoes, fashion history & museums, barbecue foods, jewelry

Xian

Name: Xian Kuang (Kuang Xian) Age: 25 Gender: Nonbinary Nationality: Chinese, American Ethnicity: Chinese-American Species: Reaper Occupation: Freelance exorcist (former); agent; carpet cleaner Likes: Burning incense, photography, noir movies, cities at night, long coats

Tommy

Name: Tommaso Emiliano Episcopo Age: 23 Gender: Male (Cis) Nationality: American Ethnicity: Italian-American Species: Reaper Occupation: Auto repairman Likes: Italian coffee, his trusty comb, sports cars, leather jackets, cologne

Candiace

Name: Candiace Wendy Garnett Age: 29 Gender: Female (Cis) Nationality: Jamaican, American Ethnicity: Jamaican-American Species: Reaper Occupation: Magazine editor Likes: Classical music, nice clothes, painting, red wine, pearls, designer watches

Omar

Name: Omar Franklin Westmoreland Age: 22 Gender: Male (Cis) Nationality: American Ethnicity: African-American Species: Reaper Occupation: Auto repairman Likes: Car magazines, anime, arcade games, roller skating, street foods

Allen

Name: Allen Jorge Santiago Age: 25 Gender: Male Nationality: Cuban, American Ethnicity: Afro-Cuban Species: Redeemer Occupation: Line cook Likes: Flowers, perfume, gardening, beaches, lechon asado with lime and black beans, riding in his car

Savina

Name: Savina Andrea LeBeau Age: 30 Gender: Female Nationality: American Ethnicity: African-American Species: Reaper Occupation: Agent; store manager Likes: Jazz clubs, art books, crystals, rain, flowy clothes, Korean barbecue, rings

@punkeropercyjackson @floof-ghostie @mayacondotcom

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Little Richard - Tutti Frutti 1955

Richard Wayne Penniman was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Architect of Rock and Roll", Richard's most celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s, when his charismatic showmanship and dynamic music, characterized by frenetic piano playing, pounding backbeat and powerful raspy vocals, laid the foundation for rock and roll. Richard's innovative emotive vocalizations and uptempo rhythmic music played a key role in the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk. He influenced singers and musicians across musical genres from rock to hip hop; his music helped shape rhythm and blues for generations.

Richard was honoured by many institutions. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its first group of inductees in 1986. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from The Recording Academy and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 2015, Richard received a Rhapsody & Rhythm Award from the National Museum of African American Music.

"Tutti Frutti" (Italian for "all fruits") is a song written by Little Richard and Dorothy LaBostrie, recorded in 1955, which was his first major hit. With its energetic refrain, and its hard-driving sound and wild lyrics, it became not only a model for many future Little Richard songs, but also for rock and roll itself. The song introduced several of rock music's most characteristic musical features, including its loud volume, powerful vocal style, and distinctive beat and rhythm. In 2007, an eclectic panel of renowned recording artists ranked "Tutti Frutti" at number 1 on Mojo's "The Top 100 Records That Changed The World" and hailed the recording as "the sound of the birth of rock and roll". In 2009, the US Library of Congress National Recording Registry added the recording to its registry, claiming the "unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music". It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.

"Tutti Frutti" received a total of 86,3% yes votes!

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Howard Mandel (Editor): Jazz & Blues Encyclopedia (2019)

I bought this Jazz & Blues Encyclopedia at Nashville's National Museum of African American Music, and it's as entertaining and educational as a visit to this incredible museum, should you find yourself in Music City.

Decade by decade, throughout the 20th Century and into the 21st, this comprehensive survey provides detailed descriptions of the music’s evolution in both technical and artistic terms, while putting everything into clear historical and social context.

And it ain't just jazz and blues in the strictest definition, but every possible branch in their family trees, leading into countless other styles of American music, such as R&B, Soul, Funk, Gospel, Doo Wop, and, of course, Rock 'n' Roll and Hip Hop.

Each decade also gets a dedicated description of relevant events, deep dives into a handful of key artists, and capsule biographies of dozens more, both familiar and obscure (depending upon the reader, of course), along with their most important works.

All the while, this incredible trove of invaluable information is presented with a fair, authoritative, scholarly tone, reminiscent of the very best PBS documentaries -- at once dispassionate and oh-so-passionate -- about these timeless artists and their music.

Needless to say, this encyclopedia is highly recommended to find a shelf in every home -- not least as a handy reference book.

Featured Records:

Bessie Smith: The World’s Greatest Blues Singer (1970)

Various Artists: Jazz Abstractions (1960)

Sun Ra & His Solar Arkestra: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 2 (1966)

Nina Simone: Nina Simone Sings the Blues (1967)

Charles Mingus’ Mingus Ah Um (1959)

Miles Davis: Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet (1958)

Billy Cobham: Spectrum (1973)

Buy from: Amazon