"Citizen: An American Lyric" is a rumination on
the psychic and physical toll of anti-black racism in the U.S. It illuminates
the emotional second-guessing black people have become accustomed to in an
effort to make sense of the insanity of racism. The heartbreaking implications
of casting black people as the 'Other' are at the heart of "Citizen."
The reader is asked to bear witness to what black Americans experience daily-
casual slights; the assumptions of inferiority; the bizarre, schizophrenic
duality of hyper visibility and benign invisibility.
The poems reveal to the unaware reader that black people are
told in thousands of ways their lives do not matter. For the reader
who has lived the daily humiliating terrors of racism, "Citizen"
gives voice to a reality often too painful to be spoken.
The black citizen is a social construct. The black citizen
is a mythical creature both magical and monstrous. The black citizen is the
fool and the hustler, the whore, the pimp and the entertainer. The black citizen
is anything but a child of God. The black citizen lives without grace, but
always grants forgiveness. The black citizen is an enigma.
"Stand Up Straight and Sing!" A memoir by Jessye Norman
The cover photo of Jessye Norman’s memoir "Stand Up
Straight and Sing!" is glamorous. Her luminous face is set in
mid-expression. The image seems to capture her singing the last note of
something special. The book cover tempts the reader to immerse herself in the
life of this singular artist.
For the opera lover there are many Jessye Normans. She was
the diva whose flawless voice embodied the diverse pantheon of operatic
heroines and villains. She was the marvel who performed France’s national anthem 'La
Marseillaise' at the bicentennial of the French Revolution. Resplendent in a
tri-color couture gown inspired by the French flag, Ms. Norman sang to a live
audience of millions in Paris. Unfortunately, opera fans will not find
many delicious details or behind-the-scenes stories about the world of classical
music in "Stand Up Straight and Sing!.” Ms. Norman only provides very light sketches
of her work with James Levine of the Metropolitan Opera and other conductors. After watching Ms.
Norman in Julie Taymor's inventive production of Oedipus Rex, reading a more substantive reflection of the
production from her would have been invaluable to the discussion of aesthetics in classical music productions.The most intriguing opera related story in the book is about Ms. Norman
helping a friend and fellow singer defect from East Germany.
"Stand Up
Straight and Sing!" is at its best when Jessye Norman shares stories about
her upbringing in segregated Augusta, Georgia. Tales of growing up in a
middle-class black community in the Jim Crow South are not commonly documented
in memoirs. She writes with love about her dedicated parents and credits them
with setting expectations that have defined her approach to living: "Be
conscious of one's choices, resolute in one's beliefs, and always maintain
integrity and a work ethic that demands concentration and focus." Even in
the midst of a loving community Norman could not escape the horrors of the
times. She recounts the story of a black man executed for raping a white woman.
According to Norman, the man and woman were caught by the police having
consensual sex in the man’s car. The woman feared the consequences of having
her interracial relationship exposed and claimed she was raped. The man was
arrested, tried, convicted and executed by electrocution. The woman was broken
by her lover's fate. “She would later be found wandering around various African
American churches throughout Augusta on Sunday mornings, asking for forgiveness
for what she had done; she could not find peace. When she found her way to a
church, she was allowed to speak, as was anyone who wanted to stand up and
testify before a congregation, whether it was to give thanks for the help that
a grandmother received during her illness, or for being hired for a new job.
Still, when this woman finished her apology and begged for forgiveness, the
church was often silent as there was no discussion.”
Living in a segregated environment and under laws that
conferred second-class citizenship upon her did not deter Jessye Norman. In
addition to her parents and elders in her community, Ms. Norman found strength
and inspiration in Marian Anderson. Ms. Norman writes about Ms. Anderson's concert
at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday 1939 with reverence. Marian Anderson
had been denied the right to sing at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of
American Revolution. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt organized the concert at the Lincoln
Memorial in protest. Ms. Anderson's first song was a scathing rebuke of the
idiocy of American racism. She sang “My Country Tis' of Thee.”
“Stand Up Straight
and Sing!” is Jessye Norman’s testament to her phenomenal life.
When Lorraine Hansberry was writing “A Raisin in the Sun,”
she could not have anticipated the FBI's interest in her work. J. Edgar Hoover
was obsessed with communism. The notion that "subversive" ideas could
invade and warp the minds of Americans was one of his greatest fears. Any
prominent person or group that could be described as "left leaning"
was investigated. At the height of McCarthyism, the FBI administered its own
program to ferret out black communists in the Arts. Agents were dispatched to
read literary works before they were published. Lorraine Hansberry's play was
of particular interest to the FBI. In The American Reader, Professor William Maxwell
reveals the agency's fear of black communism and its attempts to censor black
artistic expression.
The Guardian followed up with Maxwell about how he uncovered
the depth of the FBI's surveillance and his new book on the subject, “FB
Eyes: How J. Edgar Hoover’s Ghostreaders Framed African American Literature.”
Orlando Jones (Captain Frank Irving on Sleepy Hollow) is writing, producing and plans to star in a movie about Ted Patrick, the 'father of deprogramming.’
Classic Ladies of Color tumblr
posted a sweet 2003 video of Graciela Grillo,
the ‘First Lady of Latin Jazz,’ talking about being a musician in the 1930’ and
40’s. Graciela was the first female star of the genre. She died in 2010 at the
age of 94.
40 Years of Chez Panisse: The Power of Gathering by Alice Waters and Friends
It is a good thing Alice Waters decided to celebrate 40 years of Chez Panisse with this beautiful book. In words and pictures, it recounts the story of how a little restaurant on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley helped change the way people eat in the United States. Before the terms ‘locavore,’ ‘artisan’ and ‘seasonal’ became staples of restaurant menus, Ms. Waters and her collaborators prepared the freshest most local food they could find with simple precision. Chez Panisse borrowed from the food culture of Provence to create a place with a sense of community. Friends could gather at the restaurant for good simple food, good wine and great conversation. They could also revel in the artistry of beautifully illustrated menus, exquisitely prepared flower arrangements, and gleaming furnishings in the Arts and Crafts style.
‘40 Year of Chez Panisse’ celebrates the restaurant, Ms. Waters and her influences, and the power of collaboration. It is amazing to see how an idea became a movement.
"The Cross of Redemption," the new anthology of the uncollected works of James Baldwin has been published just at the right time. In this era when inane talking point punditry passes for public discourse, Baldwin's eloquence and intelligence are necessary counterpoints. He was a brilliant thinker and impeccable writer whose insights continue to challenge readers to think critically and deeply about their beliefs and opinions.
