June 18, 2009
Every February, we recognize and appreciate black history, but every day a part of our culture is steady slipping away and we appear to just let it happen. I am speaking of soul music. The tradition of soul or rhythm and blues music as we know it could die out completely on radio stations that employ programmers who do not know the importance of black music, or just don't care in this hip-hop oriented society.
While most radio stations directed to the African American market consider themselves servicing the best R&B and hip-hop, the artists reflects music directed to teens and young adults only. The top rated songs on the Billboard R&B/Soul and blues chart features Keri Hilson and Kanye West. They are certainly not what the average black music fan would consider R&B. Not even Shirley Brown with a hit on the southern blues charts made in it into the top 50 on Billboard while Jamie Foxx has three entries. How do the programmers now define R&B? Are Shirley Brown, Renee Smith, Barbara Carr, Otis Clay, Uvee Hayes, Willie Clayton and Latimore too black for black stations?
Soon, this music and these performers will be just a memory to the black community and become a stepchild of the genre such as the blues has become. You are witnessing the death of soul music. The recording industry is increasingly turning to young artists, ranging from Beyonce to Lil Kim to Jenifer Hudson and ignoring the true, dedicated soul artists that paved the way. Denise LaSalle, Lee Shot Williams, Mel Waiters, Marvin Sease and other soul artists must fight for the few spots offered by the southern blues and soul stations in small to medium markets to hope for any recognition, personal appearances or CD sales.
Some of our major urban cities including Atlanta, Memphis and Chicago are abandoning the artists that made their stations so powerful. St. Louis does not have a soul station after the format change at WESL. Except for KDHX you probably won’t be hearing much T. Bone Walker, Guitar Slim, Chuck Strong, Floyd Taylor, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James or Otis Spann.
From 1915 to 1929, great waves of blacks migrated from the south to the north. Memphis, St. Louis and Chicago greeted them with jobs in factories, stockyards and mailrooms and they depended on the black newspapers for information and the church or Juke joints for religious or social activities. In the '40s and '50s the personality black disc jockeys appeared and the focus of black life turned to the radio and black people were enlightened and entertained and informed by their social groups and equals.
The June 2000 edition of Ebony magazine stated 'for four centuries, from the arrival of the first Blacks in English America in 1619 to the hip-hops of the Millennium, African-Americans have dominated American music and dance. Black music, in fact, is America's only original music, and the Spirituals-Blues-Jazz-Gospel-Charleston-Twist-Hip Hop gift is the foundation not only of rhythm and blues but also of Broadway, the Grammys and Elvis et al.'
Now, we have virtually nothing, and that what we do have we don't own. There is no commitment and perhaps no future for the African American soul artist. Some believe that images and concepts portrayed in Hip Hop and Rap music are eroding values in the Black community. The music industry is dying because were are losing or abandoning the oral tradition of folk sermon, spirituals, blues, ballad, while succumbing to rap and hip hop. Johnnie Taylor, "Little" Johnnie Taylor, KoKo Taylor, Little Milton, Oliver Sain, Ike Turner, Minnie Ripperton, Tyrone Davis, Luther Ingram, Otis Reading, Rufus Thomas and others made these radio stations the powers they have become, and their place on American music must not be underestimated.
These African-American men and women dedicated their lives to making this art. We must at least attempt to keep the music alive.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or by e-mail at: berhay@swbel.net
Hotep!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
44 Years – A Time to Reflect!
May 14, 2009
April 21st marked my 44th anniversary in the St. Louis area. It was a pretty uneventful occasion. Since then, many things have changed in our communities and societies. I was amazed at the stark contrast of the City of San Francisco, where I had recently departed and the urban environment of The Gateway City. I also noticed the dissimilarity of the City of Chicago, where I was raised.
The first difference that caught my attention was the crisis with the city public schools. In 1965 the board of education was promoting a bond issue asserting that if it did not pass, the city schools would have to close. I could not imagine a community that was in such distress that the public schools might close. Apparently I was wrong in 1965 and I am equally disturbed and surprised in 2009. The unprecedented and unthinkable of more than four decades is now a reality. How can this be?
I at once become aware of individuals who took a leadership role in helping to make this a great city as I melded into the customs and traditions of the community of which I soon learned to admire and respect. I met Norman Seay, Charles Coen, Diane White, James Buford, ACTION, the Black Liberators, Percy Green, members of the Black Press and the other organizers that had transformed the scenes and shaped the mind-set of the region, as well as the many politicians that contributed to the renaissance of the area.
As an announcer and disc jockey at KATZ, I was proud to be a member of a medium that provided information and entertainment to a city that was on the move. A modern city with hospitals to care for the regions health needs and services and neighborhoods opening to citizens that were once restricted. There was Homer G. Phillips Hospital that was built to serve the city's black population by black physicians who could not be employed elsewhere. There was DePaul Hospital and Faith Hospital, also located on the city’s North Side.
The city had Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center, and Max Starkloff Hospital. The poor and indigent had St. Louis County Hospital providing health care for the region.
The black radio stations, KATZ, KWK and KXLW were playing the music of Motown, Stax, Atlantic and other labels that were popular with the masses. They competed against KXOK and WIL, not only for listeners, but also for advertising dollars.
We had the Black Circle and Soul Brotherhood television dance shows on channel 30, and the preachers would make sure the music we played did not offend our audience, especially women and children. At that time we welcomed the challenge of an open St. Louis and we interacted with art and culture.
Eventually the people elected an African American mayor, African American school superintendent, African American police chief and African American Fire Chief.
Then something happened. During this period, we were inundated with Superfly, The Mack, Dolemite and other Blaxplotation movies, and the music changed to a medium of promoting drugs, sex and misogyny. This was no accident. These changes were deliberate and well planned and we fell right into the well laid trap of the media magnates and their political allies. We were lulled to sleep.
The community landscape is very different now, which requires us to take a new dimension into account in our personal and private relations. It is worse in some areas than it was in 1965. We have lost most of what we had gained. Our children are becoming murderers and wannabe ‘gangsta’s.
Complacency is not acceptable. Imagine what the area would be like if we had continued with the development we were making in the 60’s and 70’s. This is why we today must take stock of the progress achieved and lost and agree on the future priorities for making our communities safer, taking into account the developments that are dividing our neighborhoods.
We must endure and develop by the talent and ability of our people. It is a matter of survival. We have now come full circle and it is now time to develop and walk a straight line.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 8373369 or by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Hotep!
April 21st marked my 44th anniversary in the St. Louis area. It was a pretty uneventful occasion. Since then, many things have changed in our communities and societies. I was amazed at the stark contrast of the City of San Francisco, where I had recently departed and the urban environment of The Gateway City. I also noticed the dissimilarity of the City of Chicago, where I was raised.
The first difference that caught my attention was the crisis with the city public schools. In 1965 the board of education was promoting a bond issue asserting that if it did not pass, the city schools would have to close. I could not imagine a community that was in such distress that the public schools might close. Apparently I was wrong in 1965 and I am equally disturbed and surprised in 2009. The unprecedented and unthinkable of more than four decades is now a reality. How can this be?
I at once become aware of individuals who took a leadership role in helping to make this a great city as I melded into the customs and traditions of the community of which I soon learned to admire and respect. I met Norman Seay, Charles Coen, Diane White, James Buford, ACTION, the Black Liberators, Percy Green, members of the Black Press and the other organizers that had transformed the scenes and shaped the mind-set of the region, as well as the many politicians that contributed to the renaissance of the area.
As an announcer and disc jockey at KATZ, I was proud to be a member of a medium that provided information and entertainment to a city that was on the move. A modern city with hospitals to care for the regions health needs and services and neighborhoods opening to citizens that were once restricted. There was Homer G. Phillips Hospital that was built to serve the city's black population by black physicians who could not be employed elsewhere. There was DePaul Hospital and Faith Hospital, also located on the city’s North Side.
The city had Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center, and Max Starkloff Hospital. The poor and indigent had St. Louis County Hospital providing health care for the region.
The black radio stations, KATZ, KWK and KXLW were playing the music of Motown, Stax, Atlantic and other labels that were popular with the masses. They competed against KXOK and WIL, not only for listeners, but also for advertising dollars.
We had the Black Circle and Soul Brotherhood television dance shows on channel 30, and the preachers would make sure the music we played did not offend our audience, especially women and children. At that time we welcomed the challenge of an open St. Louis and we interacted with art and culture.
Eventually the people elected an African American mayor, African American school superintendent, African American police chief and African American Fire Chief.
Then something happened. During this period, we were inundated with Superfly, The Mack, Dolemite and other Blaxplotation movies, and the music changed to a medium of promoting drugs, sex and misogyny. This was no accident. These changes were deliberate and well planned and we fell right into the well laid trap of the media magnates and their political allies. We were lulled to sleep.
The community landscape is very different now, which requires us to take a new dimension into account in our personal and private relations. It is worse in some areas than it was in 1965. We have lost most of what we had gained. Our children are becoming murderers and wannabe ‘gangsta’s.
Complacency is not acceptable. Imagine what the area would be like if we had continued with the development we were making in the 60’s and 70’s. This is why we today must take stock of the progress achieved and lost and agree on the future priorities for making our communities safer, taking into account the developments that are dividing our neighborhoods.
We must endure and develop by the talent and ability of our people. It is a matter of survival. We have now come full circle and it is now time to develop and walk a straight line.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 8373369 or by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Hotep!
A Community in Crisis!
April 16, 2009
Over the past few months a small band of hoodlums has terrorized our street and communities, committing murder and spreading violence. Most of the people murdered in the St. Louis metropolitan area each year are black, part of a persistent pattern in which African Americans are disproportionately victimized by violent crime, usually perpetrated by black on black, and are more likely to be confronted with firearms.
Blacks are also more likely than any other group to be victims of serious violent crime, which is defined as murder, rape, sexual assault, robbery or aggravated assault.
This is a crisis that is devastating black teens and adults across our nation and guns play the major role in black homicide victimization. This crisis must be addressed. We are about to become the bloodiest community in the history of this state and it appears to me to be the most pressing problem confronting the St. Louis region today and the black community in particular. The scope of the challenge is immense. Was Malcolm X right? Do some Black people hate themselves?
It had been noted that some Black students often choose not to participate in gifted programs, and this choice contributes to their under representation in gifted education. This choice to not participate in gifted programs is often based on social or external influences, particularly negative peer pressures, as well as internal or psychological issues, namely racial identity status. Some studies indicate that fear, self-hatred and loneliness are fuelled by our mind and cause most of our miseries. The same mind, when made aware, can cure all these troubles. Are Afro-centric studies the key to solving some of these challenges?
Malcolm X once said “In hating Africa and in hating the Africans, we ended up hating ourselves, without even realizing it, because you can't hate the roots of a tree, and not hate the tree. You can't hate your origin and not end up hating yourself. You can't hate Africa and not hate yourself”.
As indicated by to Dr Jawanja Kunjufu, A new book recently published by local author and educator Fundi Sanyika Anwisye of the Frederick Douglas Institute, may hold the key to solving some of our troubles. Kunjufu writes “The African Personality: Lubrication for Liberation” has provided us an excellent blueprint for resolving conflict from an Afro-centric perspective. He has challenged all of us to go beyond superficial understanding of Afrocentricity and the Nguzo Saba. I believe Anwisye’s analysis that one of our greatest problems is not the external enemy but the one within”.
There are many faces of fear but the most terrible is violence. Most adolescent African American males demonstrate mastery of their environment, and are successful, both academically and socially, and this book was conceived and written in association with people committed to strive individually and collectively for peace and conflict resolution.
Anyise’s book is endorsed by some America’s and Africa’s best known scholars, and philosophers. The author thanks “our ancestors whose lesson is that we must, and can get along better with each other in order to survive, thrive and make a full return to righteous living and sovereignty”.
We understand the need to prevent deadly conflict. It is urgent and all parties, clergy and laymen, should condemn violence and the provocation to violence. Dr. Martin Luther King once said “Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now.”
We all must inform on and condemn those who seek to provoke violence on our streets and in our homes, and in our neighbors homes and in our communities. Let the violence cease.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 87-3369 or by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net
Asnate Sana!
Over the past few months a small band of hoodlums has terrorized our street and communities, committing murder and spreading violence. Most of the people murdered in the St. Louis metropolitan area each year are black, part of a persistent pattern in which African Americans are disproportionately victimized by violent crime, usually perpetrated by black on black, and are more likely to be confronted with firearms.
Blacks are also more likely than any other group to be victims of serious violent crime, which is defined as murder, rape, sexual assault, robbery or aggravated assault.
This is a crisis that is devastating black teens and adults across our nation and guns play the major role in black homicide victimization. This crisis must be addressed. We are about to become the bloodiest community in the history of this state and it appears to me to be the most pressing problem confronting the St. Louis region today and the black community in particular. The scope of the challenge is immense. Was Malcolm X right? Do some Black people hate themselves?
It had been noted that some Black students often choose not to participate in gifted programs, and this choice contributes to their under representation in gifted education. This choice to not participate in gifted programs is often based on social or external influences, particularly negative peer pressures, as well as internal or psychological issues, namely racial identity status. Some studies indicate that fear, self-hatred and loneliness are fuelled by our mind and cause most of our miseries. The same mind, when made aware, can cure all these troubles. Are Afro-centric studies the key to solving some of these challenges?
Malcolm X once said “In hating Africa and in hating the Africans, we ended up hating ourselves, without even realizing it, because you can't hate the roots of a tree, and not hate the tree. You can't hate your origin and not end up hating yourself. You can't hate Africa and not hate yourself”.
As indicated by to Dr Jawanja Kunjufu, A new book recently published by local author and educator Fundi Sanyika Anwisye of the Frederick Douglas Institute, may hold the key to solving some of our troubles. Kunjufu writes “The African Personality: Lubrication for Liberation” has provided us an excellent blueprint for resolving conflict from an Afro-centric perspective. He has challenged all of us to go beyond superficial understanding of Afrocentricity and the Nguzo Saba. I believe Anwisye’s analysis that one of our greatest problems is not the external enemy but the one within”.
There are many faces of fear but the most terrible is violence. Most adolescent African American males demonstrate mastery of their environment, and are successful, both academically and socially, and this book was conceived and written in association with people committed to strive individually and collectively for peace and conflict resolution.
Anyise’s book is endorsed by some America’s and Africa’s best known scholars, and philosophers. The author thanks “our ancestors whose lesson is that we must, and can get along better with each other in order to survive, thrive and make a full return to righteous living and sovereignty”.
We understand the need to prevent deadly conflict. It is urgent and all parties, clergy and laymen, should condemn violence and the provocation to violence. Dr. Martin Luther King once said “Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now.”
We all must inform on and condemn those who seek to provoke violence on our streets and in our homes, and in our neighbors homes and in our communities. Let the violence cease.
I can be reached by fax at (314) 87-3369 or by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net
Asnate Sana!
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