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“>US Black Women love our hats, especially the older church ladies in their 40s and 50s and above. It is a tradition of my Black elders. So one of my black elders
would not dare go to church without that perfect hat, at least most. It has
been an expression for women of all ages in the black race.
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385500869
Who is Willis H. Crosby? Willis H. Crosby is a Black
Radio legend. He first stepped onto the microphone
September 16, 1947 at WAIM studios. His radio
career continued at WANS and lasted till Feb 1997.
He is noted as the first Black disk jockey in Upstate
South Carolina. Crosby recruited national gospel
and rhythm and blues artists like the Williams
Brothers, the Swannee Quintet, the Five blind
Boys, Sam Cooke and Soul Steerers, Percy
Sledge, Dee Clark, and Joe Simon to
Anderson.
The proceeds coming from concerts were
promoted by Crosby and sponsored scholarships
to deserving students to attend college.
Mr. Crosby raised food, toys, and clothing
for families that are in need.
He used his show as a bridge to influence
and sponsor numerous causes. Willis took
many children to Atlanta for professional
baseball games and those people got to
see radio upclose through his “DJ for a day”
program. Trips like that make the biggest
impact on a child’s life. Some of that
career field might just rub off on them
and even the desire to be humanitarians.
It would be great to have generation and
generation of people to do that. The thing
is though that I read online that us Black
people are the most charitable.
Continuing on, he did custodial work at WANS
and the handling of his show’s advertising and
production duties. One of his quotes is “Anything
that’s legal is good work.
Mr. Crosby’s facilitated appearances in area
schools to further positive human relations. He
promoted both local talent and professional concerts to
raise money for food,clothing, scholarships for the
economically disadvantaged, and money to supply
a room at the Anderson Memorial Hospital.
This his persistence to keep going on, he received
many awards from the South Carolina General
Assembly and from local religious, educational,
and civic and charitable organizations.
The moral of the story is that the more people
to help and do something or be a part of
something great, the better the world is. Also,
we give to help others but in the process
when we give, we get back. Sometimes
what we give back is the same blessing,
one of equal value, or better.
Here’s a very special
tribute to black librarians. Round of
applause to Augusta Baker. She is one of
OUr Black people whowas a librarian.I
want to see more Black Librarians
in all states.Anyways, Augusta Baker lived in Baltimore Maryland and
moved to Columbia when her career ended.
And ofcourse being a librarian is not just so simple.
In order to be a librarian a person must have a degree.
I was so surprised to figure that out.
Augusta Baker is taken care of. She a literary phenomenon who got her degree in Library science from New York State
College.
Her routine is that she would light a candle,
then tell a story. Augusta Baker open children’s
eyes to literature. Her passion was doing
dramatic storytelling and was so glad to
entertain them.
On the list, Ms. Baker was number 6 of
100 most important library figures in our
nation’s history. What makes her so memorable
is all she does and that she worked
in the City Public Library System.
Just in time, she began work there in 1937.
That was the start of a time when children’s
literature depicted African Americans. Baker
set up a list of positive of books that showed
off positive, realtistic images of African Americans.
This encouraged authors and artists to make
original works of children’s fiction out of the black
experience.
She took on the position as Storyteller in Residence
at the University of South Carolina.Augusta
shows children that if you have a vision
put it out there.Let it be seen and heard.
Her parents and grandparents introduce her
to books at a really young age. Baker
graduated at New YOrk State College.
At 26, Baker did her first library job at
New York Public Library’s 135 Street
in Harlem. Going in, she thought this was be
a temporary job. But Guess what? It lasted
17 years.See, just goes to show people never
know where things will lead. Just like the
volunteer can lead himself or herself in the
job, think about other positions lead to
higher positions. With being a volunteer
can be rewarding like having a job. But she
is the true representation of doing it big.
So her long term job gave her the opportunity
to found James Weldon John Memorial Collection
of Children’s books right there. This collection
correctly portrays black children and black life.
That led her to become one of the top administrators
in the country. She took over children’s services.
There was a time where she was a consultant to
Sesame’s Street tv show.So there you go, if you
know any kids who watch Sesame Street,
that’s something to tell them.
People even got creative in their way
To bring her more attention, recognition
and honor. The College Library and
Information Science, joined with the Richland
County Public Library, to founded the annual
Augusta Baker’s Dozen Storytelling Festival
because of her.
Like her desire to tell children’s stories,
I desire to write children’s stories.I think
I will try that one day.Her being so driven
can drive somebody else.Kudos!!
Well, I’m so enthused that Obama is President of America.
I’m so thrilled that I just keep advertising him and his products.
God has put OBama in charge and he gives me such glory.
Well you know how they have those half dollar coins and
they are so rare. I don’t know why they are rare or where
they come from. But now is our chance to have the Obama
coin in a half dollar form. It’s sitting there looking good
because Obama’s picture is on it. Imagine how that would
look sitting up on a shelf or wall or in a plaque or wherever
else you could put it.
Details:
This coin is layered in genuine 24 karat gold.
The serial numbered certificate is the real thing.
https://www.officialobamacoin.com/Default.aspx?mid=523911#order
(Pearl Fryar above and below)
Well, there’s something very inviting about a beautiful garden.
If you see it, it’s like a dream place that you want to dive in or
walk in rather. I’ve seen pictures of topiary online like a clock
and other things. Topiary art is truly superb. But rarely do
we hear the news talk about our black people doing topiary art.
Well, great news! Pearl Fryar, a Black man age 68 is a topiary
artist. He has trimmed the bushes and yard stuff to such delight.
‘
He’s in South Carolina, a place I plan to go.
The man is so skilled, he now has a documentary
out about himself doing topiary works. “A Man Named
Pearl is the name of his documentary. It is
directed by Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson.
Synopsis: This documentary shows show the son
of an African AMerican sharecropper gets around
all the bigotry and racism. He takes junk plants
and transforms them for the better to be
the “attention getting” and dazzling topiary art forms.
His work has taken several decades of trimming
and tweaking. Thousands of people are rushing to
see his garden, a 3 and a half acre backyard.
Before he became topiary king, people complained
saying he did not keep up his yard. That’s why
people never know who they are talking
to or standing next to or living next to.
If they only knew. But ofcourse I’m
sure they found out.Well, the
man gave his yard a makeover.
It was Jackie Robinson that inspired
Pearl to know his dreams could come true
even though Jackie did baseball and Pearl
does topiary art. So Pearl fashioned plants into
figurative forms, 20 foot geometric compositions
and letters that show his love.
ANd what an innate ability he has to do this.
He had absolutely no training in horticulture.
So he taught himself. All Pearl’s topiary
designs are a vision. Like the fashion designer
has a vision so does Pearl in his topiary art.
If you like gardens, have one or just curious
about them, the film gives away Pearl’s
secrets. The secrets are pretty easy and basic.
Sprays and fertilizers are things
he does NOT use to protect the plants.
Pearl does NOT even have a watering
system. In place of that, he digs
trenches around the plants that collect
rainwater. So his kind of gardening is
very different.
Pearl has got it going on as you can see.
He has a permanent collection of the South
Carolina State Museum in Columbia. He is known
nationally for his exceptional garden by the
Perservation Project of the Garden Conservancy.
ANd more than just topiary, Pearl wants to help
students who don’t test well to discover what
they are good at so they can acheieve through
hard work He lectures in public schools,
colleges, church groups, etc.
To sum it all up, success is like stairs, you
must walk from the bottom to get to the top.
You don’t just take the elevator in success.
Source of article written:
http://chelseanow.com/cn_95/topiarypearls.html
Video trailer and more information about his documentary in topiary art
http://www.amannamedpearl.com/
Music is a sound for the soul” that’s
what I say. Think of how many times
a different song has touched you
and how. Think about what it made
you feel and how it made your day.
Well, where music is concerned
Wynton Marsalis is the man to
show off his skills.
Wynton Marsalis is one of our African
American people that has enormous talent.
His talent is so big that it could get a crowd
excited like the final basketball throw making a team win.
Marsalis started off early in music at the age of 6.
When he was 14, he made his debut with the
New Orleans Philharmonic. He played with the
New Orleans Civic Orchestra and at the same
time he played funk and jazz with other local
groups. An honor also under his belt is that
he was a Straight A student who graduated
high school with honors. He went on to
continue studies at the Julliard School
of Music in New York City.
Marsalis was still a teenager when he joined Art
Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, a great
finishing school of many musicians.
At age 19, he signed a recording contract
with CBS Records. Over the next 17 years
he produced about 40 jazz classical
recordings for Columbia Jazz and Sony
Classical.
Question, what makes this musician really stand
out?In 1983, he had done something nobody ever
did, he won both classical and jazz
Grammy Awards in the same year. He
then repeated that. Mr. Hampton has
taken home 6 Grammy awards for his
jazz and 2 for his classical music.
His accomplishments are like a grand empire.
His achievements keep going.
In 1987, he co founded Jazz at Lincoln
Center to sponsor jazz performance and
educational programs at New York’s
Premier performing arts center.
Since 1992, Marsalis served as the
business’ Artistic Director and
the leader of the Lincoln Center
Jazz Orchestra.
The concert pieces he has written are
In this House, On This Morning, and
a longer version based on the form
of a tradional gospel service.
Come 1993, Marsalis has composed
music for ballet and modern dance
and has created works for the
New YOrk City Ballet and Alvin
American Dance Theater.
And the Pullitzer Prize goes to
Marsalis….for his oratorio Blood in
the Fields. He was the very first
jazz musician to take this honor.
2000 came and he saw the release
of the 8 volume CD series
Swinging Into the 21st.
The Very busy man Marsalis produces
music education programs for public
radio and tv. His 4 part tv series Marsalis
on Music shows young viewers
the adventure of making music.
Mr. Marsalis was even the principal
consultant and on camera commentator
for the 20 hour documentary series called
Jazz.
Basically the facts I have given are like a
slideshow. It’s so much better if you see
the full picture by seeing his works.
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mar0bio-1`
<img src=”http://inlinethumb33.webshots.com
Music is perfect for calming people and
relaxing in general. But we should all hear
great songs and find out who is behind them.
That way we can have a music collection.
I know it may have happened that some people
heard a song on the radio and could not
find out the song title or artist. That’s
really really hard with jazz because
at least you can type the words in online
and find the song and artist. But
I would like to introduce you all
to this Black musician.
Lionel Hampton is a Black man who is known for being
a musician. He was titled as one of the extraordinary
musicians of the 20th century. Born April 20, 1908,
he was just like his father, all wrapped up in the
music industry. His father was a singer and pianist,
so music is in his bloodline. His sister gave him
drum lessons.
When Lionel attended St. Monica’s School in
Chicago, Lionel got a job selling papers
so he could join Chicago Defender’s Newsboys
Band. To start, Lionel began with the bass drum.
After a while, he moved up to the snare drum.
During his time in high school, he got a job
in a teenage band. At 15, he had already
graduated high school. He later left for
Los Angeles to join Reb Spike’s Sharps and
Flats.
Lionel got a big opportunity to play with Paul
Howard’s Quality Serenaders and a new band
emerged by Hite, which is the same person
who supported Louis Armstrong at the Cotton
Club.
Hampton recorded a session with Armstrong.
During a break he got, Hampton went to
the vibraphone and began playing the vibes
on one song. The song came to him just right
and was a hit. Hampton brought a refreshing
and renewed voice to jazz and he got the
title “King of the Vibes”.
Benny Goodman was impressed and wanted
Hampton to record with him.
Hampton’s wife Gladys took on the role as
being responsible for raising money for
Lionel to start his own band.
He founded the Lionel Hampton Orchestra
full of energy, bright showmanship and top
notch jazz musicianship. “Sunny Side of the
Street”, “Central Avenue Breakdown”, “Flying
Home”, and “Hamp’s Boogie-Woogie” all
became the high in rank best sellers when
released.
This Black man by the name of Lionel Hampton was
a composer and arranger. Lionel wrote over 200 works
which involves Flying Home, Evil Gal Blues, and Midnight Sun.
Also, he composed the King of the Suite.
That, President from long time ago, President Einsenhower asked
Hampton to be a goodwill ambassador for America. Then
Hampton got the chance to tour Europe, Africa, the Middle
East, and the Far East.
And much honor goes to him for all his acheivements
and the fact that there is a school named after
him called the Lionel Hampton School of Music.
Lionel, always found himself achieving cause there is
more. He made his own publishing company, and
he built up the Lionel Hampton Development Corporation
to build low income housing in inner cities.
Lionel passed away but left a beautiful collage
of acheivements in the world and in all places
that has his research information. The Lionel
Hampton Center is a $60 million project that
is the home for jazz housing the university’s
Jazz Festival, it’s School of Music, and its
International Jazz Collections which teach
and preserve jazz. Sounds like somebody
worth meeting, don’t you think?. I wish he was here, but
he is passed.
http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/hampton/bio.html
From Jazz to Swing,
In the 1920s, there were many black regional jazz bands
that were recorded and became products of the
entertainment industry.
Hennessey makes use of the files of African American newspapers
like Chicago Defender as well as published and
archival oral history interviews. This books showcases
the contradictions that our Black people faced as musicians
and being the products of differing regional experiences.
From Jazz to Swing follows jazz from the beginning in
the regional black music of the turn of the century in
New Orleans, Chicago, and New YOrk, and the
territories that make up the rest of the country.
http://wsupress.wayne.edu/africana/afrhistory/hennesseyfjs.htm
More words about Black Pride. They areso lovely they are frameable. These are
great words to put in a plaque and and
on a wall anywhere. So here are the great words
to be heard:
Young, gifted and black
Oh what a lovely precious dream
To be young, gifted and black
Open your heart to what I meanIn the whole world you know
There’s a million boys and girls
Who are young, gifted and black
And that’s a fact
Young, gifted and black
We must begin to tell our young
There’s a world waiting for you
This is a quest that’s just begun
When you feel really low
Yeah, there’s a great truth you should know
When you’re young, gifted and black
Your soul’s intactYoung, gifted and black
How I long to know the truth
There are times when I look back
And I am haunted by my youth
Oh but my joy of today
Is that we can all be proud to say
To be young, gifted and black
Is where it’s at
Source:
http://www.elyrics.net/read/e/elton-john-lyrics/young-g…nd-black-lyrics.html
The Banjo comes to be celebrated June 13. The Banjo was
brought to America in the 17th century by Africans. It is the
only Western stringed instrument that has a vellum belly.
The common African stringed instruments are the musical
bow, lute, harp, lyre, and Zither.
Professional musicians among the people of Gambia
play the kora, which is a 21 string harp-lute. The xalam is
a plucked lute which is similar to the African-American
banjo. It is commonly used in Senegal bY Wolof praise
singers whose songs laud(praise) significant people.
The banjo has a few other names it goes by:
banjar, bangie, banjer, banza. The banjo was played by Africans
in the 17th century era in America. The Africans made these
instruments with gourds, wood, tanned skins, and
used either hemp or gut for the strings.
( It’s amazing what can be used to make instruments.)
The Banjo resembled those instruments by the Moors,
who lived north of the Sahara.
You can find this information here:
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/231/The_Banjoan_African_instrument_
