CBMR Part Two: Perfect Guidance

During our research week, Ashe and I (along with the other grant recipient Kirk Smith) received guidance from the amazingly well-informed staff. Particularly helpful to us were Melanie Zeck and Janet Harper. Both of them were always available to give us information, whether it was a name of a performer or composer that we should look into, books and scholars to explore as another avenue of inspiration, or cultural events throughout the great city of Chicago. One of these events was an exhibit of the paintings of Archibald Motley.

Just like President Barack Obama, Archibald J. Motley Jr. (1891 - 1981), was of a mixed racial makeup that included direct African and European backgrounds. He grew up with his family in a  quiet middle class neighborhood in Chicago that did not emphasize racial disparities. Consequently, throughout his life he never identified as with any racial label, but used his art to delve deeper into racial stereotypes and the politics of skin tone. Of these works, the portraits of mixed race women were of a particular focus for him.

During his time, labels such as "octoroon" or "quadroon" or "mulatto" were used in abundance, even though it was difficult to exactly determine these qualities simply by looking at skin. Motley's portraits embodied this message, along with other piercing critics regarding race in the United States of America. Ashe and I were so moved by this exhibition that we decided to base Castle of our Skins's next Call for Proposals on works of visual art by Black artists.

Other suggestions (just to mention a few out of many, including the Helen Walker-Hill books mentioned in the previous post) were the music of Akin Euba and Fred Onovwerosuoke. Both still living, these composers represent their native African countries very well in their clever, moving music. The suggestion of these composers has lead me to look into the music of other African composers, like Fela Sowande and Samuel Ekpe Akpabot and Halim El-Dabh. So much good music to discover!

On a final note, doing this research has uncovered to me how much improper documentation exists for Black composers. I often came across contradictory birth dates, contradictory or missing death dates, contradictory titles and instrumentations, and many pieces that have been lost. One such death date gave Ashe and me a bit of a pause. We came across some pieces by Dr. Lettie Beckon Alston that are perfect for the COOS Collective - the flexible ensemble that is a part of our organization. In our search for her contact information, we came across the news that she had passed away, yet online source after online source did not mention this (and they still do not). She passed away in 2014. Luckily for us and the world, she left behind some wonderful music.

(Stay tuned for part 3!, and We'd like to hear from YOU!)

CBMR Part One: Beautiful Black Women

Castle ofour Skins was honored to receive a Travel-to-the-Collections grant from the Center for Black Music Research (CBMR) in Chicago. As a result, co-artistic directors Ashleigh Gordon and I (Anthony Green) spent a week immersing ourselves in the massive collection of scores, audio, magazines, books, newspaper clippings, primary and secondary sources, and other material related to composers, performers, musicologists, and other music lovers who identify as Black or work with artists who identify as Black. Over the course of the week, Ashe and I had an initial objective to collect repertoire to add to a database of possible chamber works that can be programmed during the upcoming COOS seasons. After day one, however, we knew that other objectives would be inevitably added to our research, and this week was simply not long enough to 100% achieve any of them. But we would give it the old college try!

While Ashe was busy looking up repertoire (and coming across some hits and misses), I organically gravitated towards focusing on Black female composers. This inclination was mainly because of books by Helen Walker-Hill, books of which I was not aware until this research period. This line of focus lead me to discover two things: 1) Helen Walker-Hill was affiliated with a school that I attended, and 2) that same school in its past had a celebration of Black (mostly classical) music in its history, but it does not anymore. This celebration happened in February, however, the institute referred to February as Black Awareness Month. One such celebration included a performance by the legendary Kathleen Battle. I was 11 years too late to witness this.

This line of research also lead me quickly to believe that I was grossly unware of about 90% of the Black women composers about whom I read. Consequently, I constructed a list of names in a word document, along with (very light) notes and birth/death dates. This list includes over 200 names. My favorite part of this list is that some of the names I added to it were names I came across before Ms. Walker-Hill had her chance. Ms. Walker-Hill left this earth suddenly on August 8, 2013. At this time, however, there was not any update to any of her books or research to include composers like Renee’ Baker, SerenaCreary, Pamela Z, and Nailah Nombeko, to name a few. It is good to know that her line of work will continue to have a need, and her legacy will continue as this scholarship develops.

(Stay tuned for part 2!, and We'd like to hear from YOU!)

#COOSgives

Castle of our Skins, the new Boston-based concert and education series organization dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music, has recently launched an IndieGoGo Campaign to ask YOU - our beloved fans and supporters - to help us out not only monetarily, but through word of mouth and positive energy. Some have asked why #COOSgives? Glad you asked!

COOS (Castle of our Skins) is not just a group of musicians playing pieces from the repertoire or commissioning new music from composers around the world. We do that, but we do that with a goal in mind: to correct the grave problem of artists (composers, performers, spoken word artists, narrators, storytellers, etc ...) with Brown skin being underrepresented in public forums. We focus on music for the concert and chamber halls - strictly notated music for acoustic instruments and voices. Composers of this music - such as Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Renee Baker, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Fela Sowande, Margaret Bonds, Ed Bland, etc ... - have been pioneers, mentors, and big influences on composers and musicians of various backgrounds. Yet the music of these composers is basically ignored, and their influence is rarely taught in post-secondary institutions.

Similarly, the Black story in America is not given justice in history classes for elementary through high school students. February rolls around, and a couple of wonderful Black leaders are mentioned. However, this is not the complete picture, and this aspect of the American story is pushed so far into the background that it almost disappears. How does this ignorance manifest itself? This ignorance, combined with misrepresentations of Black people in the media, in twisted statistics, social media, and other forums of image, sound, and video - all of this creates children who lack the complete picture of their history, and lack a pride in who they are and from where they came. Furthermore, in their lack of a complete picture, they are bombarded by negativity, thus incubating the idea that this is who they are. Obviously this is not the story for everyone. We all have different journeys. Hopefully, these journeys will all lead to pride, awareness, and knowledge.

This is where COOS steps in. The above problem is too great to be solved quickly or by us alone! However, what we do: we give. We plant seeds through our educational series, directed by Seychelle Dunn. We present ourselves and the stories of great Black artists in the community, through house concerts, senior home recitals, presentations in schools, and more. We perform the music that has been ignored, and put it into greater contexts with spoken word. And this work will evolve into something more if we are supported! Therefore, when YOU give to COOS, you allow COOS to give.

Thank you for your donations, your word-of-mouth support, your suggestions, your kindness, your love, and your positive energy. We need all of it to continue giving.

#COOSgives

Reflections on Black History Month

Last month was February - national Black History Month in the United States. It is a time where I always think about how there are two sides to every coin; in a previous post, I stated that having a "Black History Month" can imply that Black history is not important in any other month of the year, however, the awareness that Black History Month has brought to America is priceless. I wouldn't want to take that back for anything in the world, but it would be nice to have the lessons of Black History Month spill out more into daily life.

Usually not wont to take advantage of this shortest month of the year, this year I decided to go against this resolve. Inspired by a friend who posted Black History tidbits as Facebook statuses last year, I decided to post a tidbit about a Black composer every day during Black History Month. The results were mixed, as is the idea of Black History Month itself. Did my posts get more people regularly listening to the music of Black composers? No. Did it raise consciousness? Perhaps. Despite my unease, the overall result was positive. I received comments of gratitude from friends, and some from strangers. Some of the posts were shared. Some started conversation. Another blogger mentioned my project in one of his posts. There you go.

I wanted to comment on one observation (for the sake of writing a 75-page thesis). For the post about Scott Joplin, two of my friends posted that they didn't know he was Black. I thought to myself: wow, that's odd. As a child, I remember seeing a picture of Scott Joplin, and not caring much about his skin color, but knowing somewhere in the back of my mind and the depth of my heart that for some reason his skin color was important. Of course I just assumed that everyone has seen a picture of Scott Joplin, and - even if they hadn't - that the rhythmic qualities of that music were so Black that that composer himself must be! This, however, is not the case in the slightest. My immediate conclusions are mixed: it is really great to know that today's world may be one where the skin color of composers does not matter so much. At the same time, racism still exists in a big way, especially in the USA. If certain people grow up thinking that Scott Joplin is not Black, then they've missed an opportunity to learn about the achievements of someone whose music they might like ... or even love. Yet, a typical racist - upon learning that Scott Joplin is Black - would probably just stop listening, and start preaching how that music is no good, despite previous feelings of admiration.

It is a tough pill to swallow, this question: should the skin color and background of a composer matter? On a purely musical quality level, perhaps not. If one enjoys listening to the music, then listen, and not let anything else get in the way. It is very difficult to admit that. On the contrary, why are Black composers slighted so often, and - when recognized - placed in a box? Is it impossible to simultaneously recognize a Black composer and not place him/her in a box? What about female composers? Native-American composers?

I have concluded personally that the background of a composer - his/her struggles, successes, failures, biography, traveled lands, spoken languages, parents' history, political leanings, social awareness, etc ... - is important. While it is impossible to inhabit the lives of all of our favorite composers, there are tidbits that can break into the backgrounds of our beloved composers. Skin color can be one of them.

To see the Facebook posts, please click here!

FIRE!!

Happy New Year! It's winter, and cold for many in the northern parts of the world. Wouldn't you like to relax by the fire, perhaps reading the first and only issue of the magazine devoted to younger Negro artists, FIRE!!?

In November 1926, during the highpoint of the Harlem Renaissance, three talented artists decided to light a fire in the world of magazine publication. These three - Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Wallace Thurman - have come to be considered some of the finest writers of history. For the creation of Fire!!, Langston Hughes said that its mission was "to burn up a lot of the old, dead conventional Negro-white ideas of the past ... into a realization of the existence of the younger Negro writers and artists, and provide us with an outlet for publication not available in the limited pages of the small Negro magazines then existing."

At that time, there was contention caused between the cult of young, unconventional Negro artists and a Black leadership class referred to as The Talented Tenth, whose most prominent figure was Dr. W. E. B. DuBois. This contention manifested itself mostly socially - the Talented Tenth were more concerned with portraying intelligence, reserve, and a conservative comportment, perhaps most likely in an attempt to break away from the white stereotypes of Blacks that were developed during the times of slavery. Wallace Thurman, Richard Bruce Nugent, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and many other Harlem Renaissance artists disagreed, and opted to display a more diverse, real, raw image of Black culture, in an attempt to perhaps romanticize the diversity of that culture, as well as highlight how such diversity can yield honest, passionate art. Aaron Douglas stated: 

"... Our problem is to conceive, develop, establish an art era. Not white art painting Black ... Let's bare our arms and plunge them deep through laughter, through pain, through sorrow, through hope, through disappointment, into the very depths of the souls of our people and drag forth material crude, rough, neglected. Then let's sing it, dance it, write it, paint it."

After a mixed reaction of the first issue of Fire!! (mostly by Black intellectuals), its publishing quarters burnt down, destroying many of the original first prints. What were the origins of this ironic yet real-life fire?

Ujamaa - Kwanzaa's financial support day

Habari gani? UJAMAA!!

In 1966, when Dr. Maulana Karenga and his "The Organization US" set out to create a purely Black tradition, it is no wonder they turned to the successes of East Africa as a foundation. For example, in Kenya, successful Harambee thought lead to that country adopting this word as its motto. In Tanzania, President Julius Nyerere employed Ujamaa principles from the 1960s, and published these principles officially in 1967. The results of Ujamaa in Tanzania included an increase of literacy, enrollment in schools, declines in infant deaths, and more. It is important to note also that in East Africa Swahili is widely used, and Swahili has become one of the most spoken languages in the continent.

In an effort to create a more universal ethos to this Black/Pan-African holiday, Dr. Karenga used terms in Swahili for creating Kwanzaa, which comes from the Swahili matunda ya kwanza or "first fruits of the harvest". As written on the official Kwanzaa website, maintained by "The Organization US":

"First, Kwanzaa was created to reaffirm and restore our rootedness in African culture. It is, therefore, an expression of recovery and reconstruction of African culture. Secondly, Kwanzaa was created to serve as a regular communal celebration to reaffirm and reinforce the bonds between us as a people. Thirdly, Kwanzaa was created to introduce and reinforce the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles): Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). Kwanzaa was conceived as a fundamental and important way to introduce and reinforce these values and cultivate appreciation for them." 

On this fourth day of Kwanzaa - one of the "struggle" days**, we must intimate how our efforts in cooperative economics shall bring to life our purpose (Nia) as a community.  Do you celebrate Kwanzaa? If so, what did you do today for Ujamaa? Today, I donated to Castle of our Skins, an organization dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music.

Heri za Kwanzaa!!

** Celebrating Kwanzaa involves lighting candles of various colors that sit on a kinara or candle holder. Since Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration, there are seven candles that are to be lit each day of the week. The first candle is black. It is in the center, and represents the (Black) people. It is lit to symbolize unity (Umoja). Then a series of red and green candles are lit in an alternating pattern. The red candles symbolize "struggle", while the green candles symbolize "the future and hope that comes from the struggle". Lighting a red candle and then a green candle symbolizes that through struggle comes positivity. In this way, Kujichagulia (self-determination) begets Ujima (collective work and responsibility); Ujamaa (cooperative economics) begets Nia (purpose); and Kuumba (creativity) begets Imani (faith). 

Claude McKay, Olly Wilson, and the recent murders

The incredible Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay (1889 - 1948) was a Jamaican-American writer and poet. He was active during the Harlem Renaissance, writing books and poetry, non-fiction and fiction. He was also a communist sympathizer, who later retracted his support, despite a favorable months-long stay in the communist Soviet Union. One of his favorite genres to employ was the Sonnet, and arguably his most famous Sonnet is the magnificent "If We Must Die":

If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursed lot.

If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
What though before us lies the open grave?

Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! 

This poem was published during the "Red Summer" of 1919, a time of intense, racially-motivated violence, mostly against Black Americans.

Fast-forward to 1991: the equally breath-taking, jaw-dropping Olly Wilson composes a large-scale work for choir, vocal soloists, and orchestra called "Of Visions and Truth". The last movement of this work incorporates the McKay Sonnet exquisitely. Olly Wilson himself was born in 1937, and has lived through the intense racial struggle of the 60s, and is now currently witnessing the delicate and explosive situation that is occurring at this very moment in the United States. You can listen to his powerful work here:

23 years later, and the situation is bubbling again. Sentiments held by those who are racist towards Black Americans that should have been corrected before the turn of the 1900s are arising yet again, just as powerful and just as nonsensical as ever. The innocent victims - Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, John Crawford III, Darrien Hunt, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and others - have been used to be "killed like hogs". Yet, those who know and have intimated the struggle also know that these beautiful, innocent Black Americans are human, and their deaths are NOT in vain.

Once again, McKay - in 1919 - ended his Sonnet with this powerful couplet:

Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! 

There are different ways to fight. McKay fought with his pen. Olly Wilson fights with his compositions. Castle of our Skins is also fighting, by celebrating Black artistry through music. Our voice, our work to celebrate the voice of beautiful Black artists, our concerts, our education work, our attempt to plant the seeds of social change and cultural curiosity and awareness - this is our fight.

Thank you.