tag:www.funtimesmagazine.com,2005:/categories/history?page=15
History | FunTimes Magazine Page 15
Celebrating Africa And Its Diaspora
2023-05-25T10:29:11-04:00
urn:uuid:f6220ff1-84e5-4dd3-b393-fda5f338b138
2023-05-24T11:17:48-04:00
2023-05-25T10:29:11-04:00
The empire sings back: the deep history behind South African soprano Pretty Yende's triumph
2023-05-25 10:00:00 -0400
The Conversation via Reuters Connect
<p>Image: Pretty Yende. Source: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pretty_yende_official/?hl=en" target="_blank">Instagram | Pretty Yende Official</a></p><p><br></p><p>Among the invited artists at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-coronation-of-king-charles-iii-5-essential-reads-on-the-big-royal-bash-and-what-it-all-means-204898">coronation</a> of Britain’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-III-king-of-the-United-Kingdom">King Charles III</a> was the South African soprano, <a href="https://theconversation.com/pretty-yende-a-south-african-opera-star-with-a-voice-that-shatters-glass-ceilings-200559">Pretty Yende</a>. Coronations are not events that take place often. What made the moment special is not just singing for a new king, but the rareness of the occasion. After millions of global television viewers experienced her soaring high notes, stage presence, musicality and star quality, audiences were no doubt asking, “Who is she, where does she come from?”</p><p>As a scholar of African opera with a particular research interest in various South African singers including Pretty Yende – and what is sometimes called Black vocality – I would like to present a slightly different history of her than most writers do. My interest here is showing Yende as a product of global histories and processes across time and space. That her singing is in fact embedded in the globalisation of the 1800s and its continuity to the 2000s. The varied and painful tapestry that ultimately led Yende back to Britain has a long historical basis.</p><p>My interest is to excavate Yende’s vocal memory by looking at history and the community. Opera stardom did not surreptitiously land in her lap. Instead, home, church and school singing was foundational. For someone with no foundational classical education, to go on to sing in French, Italian and German (and speak these languages with ease) reveals how she has triumphed against the limitations of both empire and the legacy of <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">apartheid</a>’s lack of opportunities for Black South Africans.</p><p><br></p><h2>Amakwaya</h2><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1002577/fill/700x0/lovedale.jpeg?timestamp=1684945392"></div> Lovedale Mission Station, which became known as Lovedale College. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovedale_(South_Africa)#/media/File:The_National_Archives_UK_-_CO_1069-214-41-Derivative-01.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a><br><br><p>During the reign of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victoria-queen-of-United-Kingdom">Queen Victoria</a>, in the early to mid 1800s, a group of British settlers entered the port of what became known as Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) in South Africa. As they gradually moved east, a small group of Scottish missionaries settled on the banks of the Tyhume River to <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/lovedale-missionary-school">establish</a> what was eventually known as <a href="https://www.lovedale.edu.za/history.php#:%7E:text=The%20institution%20concentrated%20on%20%22industrial,the%20well%2Dknown%20Lovedale%20Press.">Lovedale College</a>.<br><br></p><p>It was at Lovedale that most locals learned to read, write and – importantly for the discussion here – sing and compose by notating music. It was in the <a href="https://www.ru.ac.za/corylibrary/collections/lovedalecollection/">Lovedale Press</a> that the country’s first choral composition was published. This space formed the seeds of a choir singing tradition called <a href="https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/3083">amakwaya</a>.</p><p>Many Black South Africans owe their musical prowess to being part of a choir at school or in the community. The joy of singing came through preparing for competitions. Ever since the 1800s choir competitions pervade various sectors of society – schools, churches, government departments. These have eliminations which culminate in national finals. These competitions were based on Welsh <a href="https://eisteddfod.wales/business/background">eisteddfods</a>.</p><p>Over the years, there have been modifications to suit local needs and tastes in the major national festivals. Uniquely for the late 1990s and early 2000s, opera <a href="https://www.masterclass.com/articles/arias-in-music">arias</a>, ensembles and choruses were prescribed in the repertoire.</p><p>Black communities in South Africa have no formal music tuition. Forms of training are relational, through singing with the family at home, and communal singing at school and church. This too is a <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC97714">product of historical processes</a>.After colonialism, the white-minority apartheid government (1948 to 1994) provided a system of <a href="https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/caseconsortium/casestudies/130/casestudy/www/layout/case_id_130_id_919.html">inferior education to black students</a> who attended schools which did not have the resources to provide <a href="https://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1640&context=vrme">quality music education</a>, a legacy that continued into post-apartheid South Africa. Born in 1985, Yende began her schooling in the early 1990s, as a <a href="https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/index.php/site/q/03lv02039/04lv02046/05lv02047/06lv02049/07lv02060.htm">transition to democracy</a> was taking place in the country.</p><p>Thousands of kilometres from Lovedale, in the small town of Piet Retief in Mpumalanga province, Yende’s musicality was incubated in her family’s lounge. She sang with siblings, uncles and her grandmother, gogo KaDladla, who taught her choruses from a church-based form of music called amakhorasi that’s accompanied by dancing and clapping of hands. She developed her voice there and at Ndlela High School, under the guidance of conductor Ndumiso Kwazikwenkosi Sithole, and in community choirs, particularly the Africa Sings Choir under George Mohlala.</p><p><br></p><p>Thus, although first hearing French composer Léo Delibes’ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1bWw10hqBo">Flower Duet</a> sparked great awe and interest in a genre she hadn’t known existed before – opera – she was already part of a grassroots network of music making before embarking on an opera path. In a newly democratic South Africa, Yende won the national schools championship singing Austrian composer Wolfgang Mozart’s Batti, Batti, O Bel Masetto. She earned a platinum category result, which means she bagged 90-100%. It would be just one of several competition victories that left judges like choir conductor Themba Madlopa mesmerised by her talent.</p><p>It is again from the community music scene that Yende received opera assistance and coaching – from the likes of choral music champion and opera singer <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2020-03-06-imizwilili-zika-nolufefe-fefe-mtshabe/">Nolufefe Mtshabe</a> and leading choir competition organiser Mzwandile Matthews. Yende finally benefited from a formal music education when, thanks to her eisteddfod success, she was <a href="https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2007-03-19-yende-bags-role-in-italy#:%7E:text=But%20as%20the%20eisteddfod%20winner,the%20performer%27s%20diploma%20in%20opera.">accepted into</a> the University of Cape Town for a diploma in opera studies in 2003.</p><p>Here, very much in brush strokes, I have tried to map the importance of amakwaya as an informal conservatoire for Black South African opera singers. Through sheer resilience and some good fortune, opera singers like Yende, <a href="https://pumezamatshikiza.com/">Pumeza Matshikiza</a>, <a href="https://operawire.com/one-in-a-million-soprano-vuvu-mpofus-fascinating-story-of-opera-success/">Vuvu Mpofu</a>, <a href="https://musangqungwana.com/">Musa Ngqungwana</a> and <a href="https://masabanececiliarangwanasha.com/">Cecilia Masabane Rangwanasha</a> made strides towards international stardom. None of them knew, as they joined a junior school choir, that they would become opera stars.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix"><span class="pull-left"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2022/06/22/403649/c-elebrate-and-support-our-classical-music-artists-as-we-re-define-classical" target="_blank"><img alt="Re-Collective Orchestra Image Source Official Facebook page" src="https://cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/930568/fit/80x80/re-collective.jpeg?timestamp=1684945798" class="media-object"></a></span><div class="media-body"><h4 class="media-heading"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2022/06/22/403649/c-elebrate-and-support-our-classical-music-artists-as-we-re-define-classical" target="_blank">Celebrate and support our classical music artists as we re-define classical</a></h4><p>I was super impressed to view and find out about the all-African American Re-Collective Orchestra that served as the musical backdrop to CNN’s Juneteenth TV production. <span class="pull-right"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2022/06/22/403649/c-elebrate-and-support-our-classical-music-artists-as-we-re-define-classical">Read More »</a></span> </p></div></div><p></p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/21/432187/noni-jabavu-was-a-pioneering-south-african-writer-a-new-book-shows-how-relevant-she-still-is" target="_blank"><img alt="Noni Jabavu was a pioneering South African writer - a new book shows how relevant she still is" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995029/fit/80x80/noni_20jabavu.jpeg?timestamp=1684945994" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/21/432187/noni-jabavu-was-a-pioneering-south-african-writer-a-new-book-shows-how-relevant-she-still-is" target="_blank">Noni Jabavu was a pioneering South African writer - a new book shows how relevant she still is</a></h4>
<p>Noni Jabavu was the first Black South African woman to publish memoirs and one of the first African women to pursue a literary career abroad. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/21/432187/noni-jabavu-was-a-pioneering-south-african-writer-a-new-book-shows-how-relevant-she-still-is">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><br><h2>The global stage</h2><br><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1002573/fill/700x0/pretty_20yende.jpeg?timestamp=1684945109">Image: Pretty Yende at the coronation. Source: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pretty_yende_official/?hl=en" target="_blank">Instagram | Pretty Yende Official</a></div><br><p>Amakwaya (choirs) are known for teaching discipline. It is discipline and fortitude that led Yende to graduate <a href="https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2013-02-01-pretty-good-met-debut-for-yende">cum laude</a> from the University of Cape Town. She would embark on a remarkable spree of winning just about any competition she participated in. In 2016, in the prestigious international <a href="https://www.belvedere-competition.com/">Belvedere Singing Competition</a>, she won a prize for each category and was named <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gm1YCMAWFs">overall winner</a>.</p><p>Her global career began with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/bel-canto">bel canto</a> roles in the Italian opera style. Her scintillating voice led her to all the major opera houses around the globe. She has performed with great artists such as Italian tenor <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AScMNGm2LNg">Andrea Bocelli</a> and performed many leading roles. She has won national orders in her home county, Italy, France and elsewhere. She has shattered all imaginable glass ceilings. And this at only 38 years old.</p><p>In 2022 Yende was invited to sing at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th anniversary celebrations at Windsor Castle. Her inimitable style must have mesmerised King Charles, because he reportedly extended a <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/490731/opera-singer-pretty-yende-on-preparing-to-perform-at-king-charles-coronation-exclusive/">personal invitation</a> to perform at his coronation.</p><p>Yende sang <i>Sacred Fire </i>by environmentally conscious British composer <a href="https://www.sarahclass.com/">Sarah Class</a>. The creative forces of two award-winning female musicians was formidable. But Yende’s path is particularly singular.</p><p>Her performance marked a historical moment. Born into the oppressive legacy of colonialism and apartheid, she has adopted a Eurocentric art form and mastered it with skills honed by communal African tutelage. The result is a unique and resilient force. As she ascends the stage, may her ancestors guide her to even greater heights.</p><p>Makube chosi, kube hele. (Everything that is said, let it manifest.)</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/05/12/434805/south-africa-s-hidden-jazz-history-is-being-restored-album-by-album" target="_blank"><img alt="South Africas hidden jazz history is being restored album by album" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1000083/fit/80x80/abdullah_20ibrahim.jpeg?timestamp=1684946123" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/05/12/434805/south-africa-s-hidden-jazz-history-is-being-restored-album-by-album" target="_blank">South Africa’s hidden jazz history is being restored album by album</a></h4>
<p>It’s fitting that Johannesburg is among 12 cities featured in the 2023 Unesco International Jazz Day, themed “jazz journey around the world” <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/12/434805/south-africa-s-hidden-jazz-history-is-being-restored-album-by-album">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/22/432215/africans-in-world-war-1-artist-william-kentridge-s-epic-theatre-production-restores-forgotten-histories" target="_blank"><img alt="Africans in World War 1 artist William Kentridges epic theatre production restores forgotten histories" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995181/fit/80x80/head_20and_20the_20load_203.jpeg?timestamp=1684946218" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/22/432215/africans-in-world-war-1-artist-william-kentridge-s-epic-theatre-production-restores-forgotten-histories" target="_blank">Africans in World War 1: artist William Kentridge’s epic theatre production restores forgotten histories</a></h4>
<p>The Head & The Load tells the forgotten stories of Africans in World War 1, who served mostly as porters for European armies on the continent. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/22/432215/africans-in-world-war-1-artist-william-kentridge-s-epic-theatre-production-restores-forgotten-histories">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p>The immediate public reaction to the death of Gloria Bosman from a short respiratory illness on 14 March 2023 was shocked disbelief. The multiple award-winning South African jazz vocalist... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/08/431388/gloria-bosman-was-more-than-a-south-african-jazz-vocalist-she-was-a-guiding-light">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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</p><p> </p><div><div><div><div><div></div></div></div></div></div><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>
urn:uuid:5f856cf6-3136-4d50-ace0-d910c17fe262
2023-05-22T13:53:00-04:00
2023-05-22T14:01:38-04:00
The Little Mermaid has always been a story about exclusion – and its author was an outsider
2023-05-23 14:00:00 -0400
The Conversation via Reuters Connect
<p>Statue of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark. Halle Bailey in her role as The Little Mermaid (2023). Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Expo_2010_Denmark_Pavilion-_Little_Mermaid_Statue_from_Copenhagen_Harbor_02.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a href="http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-wPm99PF9U" target="_blank">Disney Official Trailer on YouTube</a></p><p><br></p><p>Disney’s forthcoming live-action adaptation of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5971474/"><i>The Little Mermaid</i></a><i> </i>has sparked an astonishing backlash. The <a href="https://youtu.be/xiyPHXkcz6s">trailer</a> for the 2023 film was met with millions of dislikes on YouTube, seemingly because the mermaid is played by Halle Bailey, a Black actress.</p><p>The 1989 <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097757/">animated Disney film</a>, on which the upcoming film is based, featured a red-headed mermaid named Ariel (and a singing crab with a Jamaican accent). The implication of much of the recent criticism is that a Black mermaid is not “authentic” to <i>The Little Mermaid </i>fairy tale.</p><p>But fairy tales are continually retold in new ways over time.</p><p>Hans Christian Andersen’s literary fairy tale is radically different to the 1989 film. He was a bisexual social outsider who struggled to express his desires. And his <i>The Little Mermaid</i> was not the happily-ever-after romance Disney fans are familiar with, but a tale of torturous unrequited love – which he worked on while a man he was infatuated with was getting married.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/13/431654/disney-s-black-mermaid-is-no-breakthrough-just-look-at-the-literary-subgenre-of-black-mermaid-fiction" target="_blank"><img alt="Disneys Black mermaid is no breakthrough just look at the literary subgenre of Black mermaid fiction" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/993823/fit/80x80/mami_20wata.jpg?timestamp=1684772549" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<p>The fact that Disney’s portrayal of a nonwhite mermaid is controversial is due to 150 years of whitewashing. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/13/431654/disney-s-black-mermaid-is-no-breakthrough-just-look-at-the-literary-subgenre-of-black-mermaid-fiction">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/01/09/423625/halle-bailey-plays-lead-in-disney-s-the-little-mermaid-" target="_blank"><img alt="Halle Bailey Plays Lead in Disneys " src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/975409/fit/80x80/image1.png?timestamp=1684772549" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/01/09/423625/halle-bailey-plays-lead-in-disney-s-the-little-mermaid-" target="_blank">Halle Bailey Plays Lead in Disney’s, "The Little Mermaid"</a></h4>
<p>Most of us dreamed of being princesses as young girls. However, as young Black girls, we were unable to identify any princesses who resembled us. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/01/09/423625/halle-bailey-plays-lead-in-disney-s-the-little-mermaid-">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><p><br></p><h2>The first Cinderella was Chinese</h2><br><p>Outrage over fairy tales crossing cultural and racial boundaries is misguided. Variations of most popular tales are found in multiple cultures, and familiar tale types have a history of circling the globe. The way they’re told has adapted, too: from being shared orally, to literary versions (from the 17th century), and now film, television and games (from the 20th century).</p><p>Indeed, the very reason fairy tales have endured is because they are continually retold in new ways, to suit changing audiences and cultural norms.</p><p>The first recorded <i>Cinderella</i> variant, for example, is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Xian">Yeh-Hsien</a>, from China. It was first published around 850; while Charles Perrault’s <i>Cinderella</i>, which influenced most adaptations we know today, was published in 1697. Yeh-Hsien does not have the aid of a fairy godmother; instead, she wishes on the bones of a fish. If fairy tales should only “belong” to the first culture in which they were ever told or written, then it would be logical to suggest we should only depict Cinderella as Chinese.</p><p><br></p><h2>Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid</h2><br><div class="image-main"><div class="image-medium"><br></div><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1001982/fill/700x0/Little_Mermaid__Bilibin__02.jpeg?timestamp=1684776407">Illustration from<i> The Little Mermaid.</i> Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little_Mermaid_(Bilibin)_02.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a><br><br></div></div><p>Disney’s animated adaptations, beginning with <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029583/"><i>Snow White</i></a><i> </i>in 1937, have come to define our cultural understanding of fairy tales. It’s one reason why we’ve lost our cultural awareness of the diverse origins and traditions surrounding these tales. And these films, aimed at a family audience, sanitise earlier fairy tale variants – which were often more gruesome and disturbing than their Disney adaptations.</p><p>Unlike the Disney films, Andersen’s <i>The Little Mermaid </i>is a tragic story of suffering and extreme sacrifice. P.L. Travers, the author of <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780007398553/mary-poppins/"><i>Mary Poppins</i></a><i>, </i>wrote about her dislike of the mermaid’s protracted agony and found Andersen’s “tortures, disguised as piety” to be “demoralizing”.</p><p>Many of Andersen’s protagonists are small and delicate figures who arouse our sympathy. This frailty can be due to being poor and uncared for, as in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Match_Girl"><i>The Little Match Girl</i></a>. Or it can result from characters who are unable to move without difficulty. The tiny <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumbelina">Thumbelina</a> must be carried from one location to another. And the Little Mermaid walks with the sensation of metal blades piercing her feet with every step.</p><p><i>The Little Mermaid </i>is also a prime example of Andersen’s focus on female sacrifice and suffering. For a start, she has her tongue cut out by the sea witch and is made mute. And she maintains her delicate femininity with her “lovely, floating” walk on her hard-won human legs, despite the severe pain that is the cost of her bargain.</p><p>The mermaid saves the Prince on two occasions. First, she risks her life to rescue him from a shipwreck. Andersen’s fairy tale is not a love story, however, because the Prince never romantically desires the mermaid. He is impressed by her devotion but treats the mermaid like an animal or a child. He even gives her “permission to sleep on a velvet cushion at his door”.</p><p>The ultimate self-sacrifice of the Little Mermaid is evident when the Prince marries another woman and the mermaid holds the train of her wedding dress, while thinking only “of her death and of all she had lost in this world”.</p><p>The sea witch had promised that if the mermaid could make the prince fall in love with her, she would gain an immortal soul. If not, she would die of a broken heart on the first day after his marriage to someone else – and become sea foam on the waves. When she is faced with the choice to kill the Prince and rejoin her family in her mermaid form, she sacrifices her own life instead.</p><p><br></p><h2>Andersen as outsider</h2><br><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1001980/fill/700x0/HCA_by_Thora_Hallager_1869.jpeg?timestamp=1684773743">Image: Portrait of Hans Christian Andersen. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HCA_by_Thora_Hallager_1869.jpg" target="_blank">Public Domain</a></div><br><p>Andersen’s sad personal life unavoidably influences how his stories of downtrodden and pitiful characters are interpreted. In the case of the <i>Little Mermaid</i>, there is a close connection between the writing of the story and Andersen’s own feelings of isolation and rejection.</p><p>Andersen was a social outsider who never married – and potentially never had sex. He did become infatuated with both men and women and is therefore understood as bisexual. Yet he struggled to express his desires, an issue related to a series of complex psychological problems.</p><p>One of the men Andersen loved was his friend Edvard Collin, who did not return Andersen’s feelings. Biographer <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/hans-christian-andersen-9780140283204">Jackie Wullschläger</a> notes that The Little Mermaid was written “at the height of Andersen’s obsession with and renunciation of Edvard Collin”. When Collin’s marriage to a woman was held in August of 1836, Andersen intentionally remained on the Danish island of Funen in order to avoid the wedding. There, he continued to work on The Little Mermaid.</p><p>It is possible to view the Little Mermaid failing to gain an eternal soul through marriage to the Prince as Andersen rejecting the idea that immortality must depend on love being reciprocated. As Wullschläger suggests, Andersen likely equated himself, a bisexual, with the mermaid’s understanding of herself as a different species to humans.</p><p>Andersen wrote that he deliberately avoided the convention found in other mermaid fiction, such as Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140996.Undine">Undine</a> (1811), in which human love enables the acquisition of a soul:</p><blockquote><p><i>I’m sure that’s wrong! […] I won’t accept that sort of thing in this world. I have permitted my mermaid to follow a more natural, more divine path.</i></p></blockquote><p>Andersen’s tales frequently promote his Christian religious ethics. The path to salvation with God that Andersen maps often entails a cheerful embrace of pain, suffering, or humiliation. Maria Tatar comments that Andersen’s protagonists embrace death “joyfully”. They “reproach themselves for their sins and endorse piety, humility, passivity, and a host of other ‘virtues’ designed to promote subservient behaviour”.</p><p>Most of Andersen’s protagonists are female. Fairy tales in the 19th century, such as those of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimms%27_Fairy_Tales">Brothers Grimm</a>, commonly sought to direct the behaviour and morality of girls. In the case of the Little Mermaid, her harsh treatment and ultimate fate can be understood as punishment for her sexual curiosity in pursuing the Prince. It’s also a caution against attempting to leave the undersea home where she belongs.</p><p>The conclusion of Andersen’s tale transforms the Little Mermaid into sea foam and then a “daughter of the air” who may gain a soul after 300 years of compassionate, self-sacrificial behaviour. The moral educational function of fairy tales is especially evident in this ending. Child readers are informed their own good acts will shorten the length of time the Little Mermaid (and the other daughters of the air) must wait by one year, while bad acts will lengthen their wait.</p><div><br><h2>Diversifying and adapting fairy tales</h2><br><p>Disney’s original, animated <i>The Little Mermaid</i> departs radically from Hans Christian Andersen’s published fairy tale. Some of these changes reflect developments in ideas about the purpose of stories of children. Young characters undergoing extreme self-sacrifice and unhappy endings now rarely appear in stories for children.</p><p>Disney’s transformation of a story of salvation and religious devotion into a straightforward romance is but one example of how fairy tales lend themselves to retelling in new contexts. The live-action adaptation starring Halle Bailey, which seeks to make children of colour feel represented in fairy tales, is one more iteration of the story.</p><p>This attempt to diversify fairy-tale adaptations builds on the queer history of <i>The Little Mermaid.</i> The story is already understood as having parallels with Andersen’s bisexuality – and the experience of transgender people. The most important UK organisation for supporting transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse young people, for example, is called <a href="https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/about-us/">Mermaids</a>.</p><p>It’s unsurprising that outsiders of all kinds connect with a story about a mermaid who cannot fit in the human world she desperately wishes to belong to. Whether that’s a beloved author in 19th-century Denmark, or an African American girl today.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles: <br></p><div class="media clearfix">
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/20/432186/three-essential-tales-of-black-vampirism" target="_blank">Three essential tales of Black vampirism</a></h4>
<p>There is a long tradition of Black vampires that goes back centuries. These stories subvert the vampire mythos traditionally dominated by white men of high social status. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/20/432186/three-essential-tales-of-black-vampirism">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/30/432705/great-expectations-why-it-s-not-historically-inaccurate-for-a-dickens-character-to-be-black" target="_blank">Great Expectations: why it’s not historically inaccurate for a Dickens character to be Black</a></h4>
<p>The idea that there were no Black people in Britain in Dickensian times is prevalent, but wrong. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/30/432705/great-expectations-why-it-s-not-historically-inaccurate-for-a-dickens-character-to-be-black">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/05/22/435845/cleopatras-skin-color-didnt-matter-in-ancient-egypt-her-strategic-role-in-world-history-did" target="_blank"><img alt="Cleopatras skin color didnt matter in ancient Egypt - her strategic role in world history did" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1001973/fit/80x80/queen_20cleopatra.png?timestamp=1684772580" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/05/22/435845/cleopatras-skin-color-didnt-matter-in-ancient-egypt-her-strategic-role-in-world-history-did" target="_blank">Cleopatra's skin color didn't matter in ancient Egypt - her strategic role in world history did</a></h4>
<p>Much debate has raged about her ethnicity. The queen was of Greek ancestry. In the Netflix series she’s played by a black actress. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/22/435845/cleopatras-skin-color-didnt-matter-in-ancient-egypt-her-strategic-role-in-world-history-did">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p></div><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>
urn:uuid:78a845ac-d239-4d9b-89ad-11cbf8f839e2
2023-05-22T12:13:12-04:00
2023-05-22T12:13:50-04:00
Cleopatra's skin color didn't matter in ancient Egypt - her strategic role in world history did
2023-05-22 14:00:00 -0400
The Conversation via Reuters Connect
<p>Image: Still from trailer of <i>Queen Cleopatra </i>docudrama series. Source: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IktHcPyNlv4" target="_blank">Netflix | YouTube</a></p><p><br></p><p><em>Cleopatra, queen of Egypt in the years 51-30 BC, is back in the news thanks to a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-65322821">controversial</a> docudrama series on Netflix called <a href="https://www.netflix.com/za/title/81230204">Queen Cleopatra</a>. Much <a href="https://time.com/6273435/cleopatra-race-debate-netflix/">debate</a> has <a href="https://www.egyptindependent.com/egypt-to-produce-its-own-documentary-on-queen-cleopatra/#:%7E:text=The%20Egyptian%20documentary%20channel%20%22al,accurate%20depiction%20of%20her%20life.">raged</a> about her ethnicity. The queen was of Greek ancestry. In the Netflix series she’s played by a black actress. The fuss has provided an opportunity to look at her role in history and how she has been portrayed over time. Historian Toby Wilkinson is an Egyptologist and author of the award-winning <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/rise-and-fall-of-ancient-egypt-9781408810026/">book</a> The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: the History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra. We asked him to shed some light on the past.</em></p><p><em><br></em></p><h2>Who was Cleopatra and why is she so important?</h2><br><p>In a very real sense, the reign of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cleopatra-queen-of-Egypt">Cleopatra</a> marks the final flourishing of <a href="https://www.livescience.com/55578-egyptian-civilization.html">ancient Egyptian culture</a>.</p><p>Cleopatra – or Cleopatra VII to be precise: there were six earlier queens with the same name – was the last monarch of the <a href="https://www.thecollector.com/ptolemaic-dynasty-ancient-egypt/">Ptolemaic dynasty</a>, a family of Macedonian Greek origin which ruled Egypt from the death of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-the-Great">Alexander the Great</a> in 323 BC until the country’s conquest and occupation by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustus-Roman-emperor">Octavian</a> (later Emperor Augustus) in 30 BC.</p><p>During her reign of 21 years, at a time when other states in the eastern Mediterranean were being assimilated by the growing power of Rome, Cleopatra managed to preserve Egyptian independence through her astute diplomacy, strategic leadership and personal charisma. She is important because of her position in history – she is the individual who connects the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Hellenistic-Age">Hellenistic Age</a> of Alexander’s successors and the Roman Empire that followed it – and her legendary status since her death. When Cleopatra died, so did ancient Egyptian civilisation as a vibrant, living culture.<br></p><p><br></p><h2>What do you make of the controversy over her ethnicity?</h2><br><p>It tells us more about the preoccupations of our own time than about what was considered important in Cleopatra’s age. According to my knowledge of ancient Egyptian custom, skin colour was much less important than culture: if you lived like an Egyptian, adopting Egyptian cultural practices, then you were considered an Egyptian, whatever your ethnic background. There is no evidence that Cleopatra’s ethnicity was a matter of debate or interest during her own lifetime. She came from a long line of Greek-speaking kings, but her family had lived in Egypt for 300 years.</p><p>There is some doubt about the identity of Cleopatra’s mother. But centuries of royal precedent suggest she too would have been of Macedonian Greek descent.</p><p>Because of Cleopatra’s remarkable achievements during her lifetime and her lasting reputation down the ages, it is understandable that different groups want to claim her as their own. Cleopatra belongs to us all.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1001969/fill/700x0/Denderah3_Cleopatra_Cesarion.jpeg?timestamp=1684771025">Image: Relief at Temple of Denderah depicting Cleopatra and her son, Cesarion. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Denderah3_Cleopatra_Cesarion.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></div><p><br></p><h2>Why do you think her looks have been foregrounded?</h2><br><p>If we look at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/what-did-cleopatra-look-like">images of Cleopatra</a> created during her own lifetime – in statuary, on temple walls, and on coins – she does not necessarily conform to modern ideals of beauty.</p><p>For example, she is often depicted with a long, aquiline nose and a pointed chin. But because Cleopatra evidently charmed two of the strongest military leaders of her day – the Romans <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julius-Caesar-Roman-ruler">Julius Caesar</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Antony-Roman-triumvir">Mark Antony</a> – we project onto her our own cultural preconceptions about female influence, and assume she must have been physically attractive.</p><p>However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and history teaches us that power is a strong aphrodisiac. Her attractiveness to Caesar and Antony would have stemmed as much from her position of power, ruling over the wealthiest country in the Mediterranean, as from any personal qualities. Whether Cleopatra was “beautiful” or not in modern terms, she was an accomplished ruler and skilful politician, and her contemporaries clearly recognised her abilities.</p><p><br></p><h2>What about her brain? What did she achieve in her time?</h2><br><p>Cleopatra was intelligent, shrewd and strategic. She was a woman ruler in a world dominated by strong men. She forcefully asserted her right to rule, dispensing with her two brothers when they undermined or tried to thwart her objectives. Both ended up dead.</p><p>Her strategic liaisons with Caesar and then Antony were carefully calculated to secure her own position and her country’s autonomy. Her diplomatic skills enabled Egyptian independence when other states were falling to the power of Rome.</p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1001967/fill/700x0/Elizabeth_Taylor_as_Cleopatra.jpeg?timestamp=1684770680"><br>Image: Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_Taylor_as_Cleopatra.jpg" target="_blank">Public Domain</a></div><p><br></p><p>As a native Greek speaker, she was also the first of her dynasty to learn to speak Egyptian, so that she could communicate with her subjects in their own language. This was highly unusual at the time, given the differences and difficulties of the language. It marks Cleopatra as a progressive thinker and able linguist.</p><p>Her leadership skills also enabled her to avert famine in Egypt when other lands in the eastern Mediterranean suffered from starvation. Last but not least, she was comfortable operating across cultures: she promoted ancient Egyptian civilisation, founding new temples and honouring the traditional deities, while also maintaining Egypt’s position as the leading nation of the Greek-speaking Hellenistic world.</p><p><br></p><h2>Why do you think she still fascinates people?</h2><br><p>Even in her own time, Cleopatra was a source of fascination – as a woman ruler in a man’s world. The Romans found her exotic, intriguing and controversial; and the writings of Roman historians and commentators ensured Cleopatra’s posthumous reputation. Her entanglement with Rome, especially her infamous love affairs with Caesar and Antony, scandalised contemporary Roman society and have fascinated subsequent generations.</p><p>The exact nature of these relationships – were they based on true love or political necessity, and what the power dynamic between Cleopatra and her lovers was – has inspired writers throughout history, from British playwright <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Shakespeare">William Shakespeare</a> to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-64414">Hollywood</a>.</p><p>Today, her example of female empowerment and independence of thought resonates with contemporary concerns. Although Cleopatra’s name is famous, we actually know very little about her real character. This allows every age to project its hopes, fears and aspirations onto her.</p><p><br></p><p><em>Queen Cleopatra streams on Netflix from 10 May</em></p><p><em><br></em></p><p><em><br></em></p><p><i></i>Related articles:<br></p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p>Although there is no evidence to suggest that Roman leaders, cultural and political, were uniformly White, classics and ancient history have been associated with whiteness. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/15/431847/challenging-the-whiteness-of-classics-remembering-the-black-romans">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p>To pose for a photograph became an empowering act for African Americans. It served as a way to counteract racist caricatures that distort facial features and mocked Black society. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/05/434145/how-black-people-in-the-19th-century-used-photography-as-a-tool-for-social-change">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p>May is Historic Preservation Month and we want to highlight museums and memorial sites and centres which highlight the good and the bad of African American history. Visit these significa... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2021/05/08/355796/9-black-museums-to-visit-across-the-u-s">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>
urn:uuid:5d418686-7c61-4b7b-b527-49a385090a83
2023-05-11T11:58:24-04:00
2023-05-11T13:03:07-04:00
South Africa’s hidden jazz history is being restored album by album
2023-05-12 14:00:00 -0400
The Conversation via Reuters Connect
<p>Abdullah Ibrahim (aka Dollar Brand), one of the artists released by the As-Shams record label. Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Ibrahim#/media/File:Abdullah_Ibrahim_06N4688.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a><br></p><p><br></p><p>It’s fitting that Johannesburg is among 12 cities featured in the 2023 Unesco <a href="https://jazzday.com/aboutjazzday/">International Jazz Day</a>, themed “jazz journey around the world”. The day, established in 2011 to celebrate the role of jazz in “uniting peoples across the globe”, is now marked annually on 30 April in close to 200 nations. It would have been hosted by Cape Town in 2020 had COVID-19 not intervened.</p><p>Even so, many jazz lovers elsewhere may be aware of the long history and uniqueness of South Africa’s jazz legacy through only a few names – <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism-178230">Miriam Makeba</a>, <a href="https://abdullahibrahim.co.za/biography/">Abdullah Ibrahim</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/remembering-hugh-masekela-the-horn-player-with-a-shrewd-ear-for-music-of-the-day-86414">Hugh Masekela</a> – who were driven out by <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">apartheid</a> to find world stages. Uncovering, documenting and showcasing more of the creativity that fought to flower inside the country remains a work in progress.</p><p>For writer and film-maker <a href="https://www.musicinafrica.net/users/calum-macnaughton">Calum MacNaughton</a> of Cape Town-based <a href="https://sharp-flat.bandcamp.com/">Sharp-Flat Music</a>, it’s vital work. He’s the archivist and curator of the historic <a href="https://daily.bandcamp.com/label-profile/as-shams-label-profile">As-Shams record label</a> archive. MacNaughton told me, in an interview as part of my ongoing research into South African <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Soweto_Blues.html?id=_fwkCIKoTpgC&redir_esc=y">jazz histories</a>, that he wants access to the archive not only for musicology researchers, but “enthusiasts and budding musicians in frivolous conversation late into the night”.</p><p><a href="https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2013/12/as-shams-south-african-jazz-guide">As-Shams</a> has a 60-year history as South Africa’s first Black-owned record label, founded by music producer <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rashid-vally-mn0001241537">Rashid Vally</a> out of a corner of his father’s Koh-i-Noor general store in central Johannesburg. As-Shams was responsible for an eclectic array of releases from the teenage township pop of the Beaters (who became <a href="https://mg.co.za/friday/2021-03-20-harari-a-union-of-music-defiant-politics-and-african-pride/">Harari</a>) to the iconic, implicitly subversive <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3i4rUOIW0A">Mannenberg (Is Where its Happening)</a> of Abdullah Ibrahim (then Dollar Brand).<br><br></p><p>As part of opening access, As-Shams recently released the <a href="https://as-shams.bandcamp.com/album/as-shams-archive-vol-1-south-african-jazz-funk-soul-1975-1982">first volume</a> of a planned series of archival compilations covering the label’s history. <i>As-Shams Archive Vol. 1: South African Jazz, Funk & Soul 1975-1982 </i>contains 10 tracks, 10 original compositions and 10 ensembles. More than 90 minutes of music spans eight deeply repressive apartheid years. Yet, in those years artists of the calibre of pianists <a href="https://as-shams-busy-bodies.bandcamp.com/album/deeper-in-black">Lionel Pillay</a>, <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2012-06-08-tete-mbambisa-jazz-giant-among-the-heroes/">Tete Mbambisa</a> and <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/patrick-vuyo-matshikiza">Pat Matshikiza</a>, saxophonists <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/kippie-jeremiah-moeketsi">Kippie Moeketsi</a>, <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/basil-coetzee">Basil “Manenberg” Coetzee</a> and <a href="https://as-shams.bandcamp.com/album/blue-mike">Mike Makhalemele</a>, and vocalist <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/sathima-bea-benjamin">Sathima Bea Benjamin</a> were making original, innovative music.<br></p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p>South Africa’s world famous singer and activist Miriam Makeba (1932-2008) would have turned 90 on 4 March 2022. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/24/432342/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1000078/fill/700x0/as_shams.png?timestamp=1683820034">Image: Cover for <i>As-Shams Archive Vol. 1: South African Jazz, Funk & Soul 1975-1982</i> (2023) Source: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CoMYCSvt6-E/" target="_blank">Instagram | As-Shams/The Sun Records</a></div></div><p><br></p><h2>The album<br><br></h2><p>The compilation unites tracks from various albums As-Shams has already re-mastered and reissued, predominantly since 2020. But curating its contents, says MacNaughton, provided the opportunity for a fresh approach, to shape new sequences reflecting professional networks and shared thematic concerns.</p><p>For example:</p><blockquote><p><i>On the vinyl edition Side A is dedicated to the remarkable connection between Moeketsi and Matshikiza. Dick Khoza (as leader is heard) on the heels of his performance with Mbambisa’s big band, Black Disco’s Night Express and Pillay’s Deeper in Black are thematically linked. And the compilation closes with Benjamin’s music, which ties everything together with a spiritual thread.</i></p></blockquote><p>There’s also what he calls an “11th hidden track”: artwork on the vinyl from South African painter and graphicist <a href="http://www.capegallery.co.za/hargreaves_ntunkwana_cv.htm">Hargreaves Ntukwana</a>, often the label’s cover artist of choice.</p><p>This restructuring works: tracks have a wholly new impact when heard in fresh company, rather than embedded in their original albums. By avoiding the “obvious” choices – often the title tracks – the collection conveys the collective music-making of a community and an era, rather than fondly remembered jazz hits.</p><p><br></p><h2>Restoring the archive</h2><br><p>Yet the process of recovering what MacNaughton counts as “some of South Africa’s most important cultural artefacts of the 20th Century”, wasn’t without problems. Despite fears about degradation, the tapes had not been damaged by constant moving.</p><p>Rather, the problem was getting the history right, revealing the meticulous detective work that restoring South Africa’s hidden musical history demands. Though most tapes had been carefully annotated, recording engineers sometimes did not name all players, and occasionally the paper record of names was absent. Just one example from the compilation was McNaughton being “presented the challenge of identifying which of the three bassists and two drummers who share the album credit appear on the specific track. I reached out to bassist Lionel Beukes, who spent a weekend listening to the track only to conclude that he couldn’t say for certain.</p><p>In other cases, artists remained unidentified because of contractual commitments to other labels, or the imprint faced restrictions because of conflicting licensing and distribution deals.</p><p>Perhaps the most complex detection trail surrounded another As-Shams re-release: Pillay’s <a href="https://as-shams-busy-bodies.bandcamp.com/album/shrimp-boats"><i>Shrimp Boats</i></a>. That first appeared in 1987 when As-Shams resurrected its Mandla imprint to issue out-of-print titles. Multiple tracks were brought together to round out the length of an album, not all the performer credits travelled with them and the cover artwork omitted Pillay in favour of Coetzee.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/1000080/fill/700x0/shrimp_20boats.png?timestamp=1683820256">Image: Cover art Lionel Pillay feat. Basil Coetzee - <i>Shrimp Boats</i>. Source: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CcU1D1hODf3/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Instagram | As-Shams/The Sun Records</a></div><p><br></p><p>By pure happenstance, this writer played the resulting album to the late <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/robert-edward-jansen">Robbie Jansen</a> in Botswana in the late 1980s. "Hey,” the saxophonist said, “that’s me playing saxophone on Birdland! I always wondered what happened to that session …” Yet Jansen was not named on the sleeve. When I communicated this to MacNaughton after the 2022 re-release, he contacted everybody still living he could find who might have memories to confirm the attribution. Having confirmed it, the label put new information online.</p><p>MacNaughton is extremely sensitive about the responsibilities of any reissue – not only to artists, but also to music historians and the truth.</p><p><br></p><h2>Why this matters</h2><br><p>MacNaughton is still digging through the archives. A second compilation in preparation features, among others, guitarist <a href="http://www.theorbit.co.za/themba-mokoena/">Themba Mokoena</a>, 70s fusion group <a href="https://sisgwenjazz.wordpress.com/2021/04/25/spirits-rejoice-african-spaces-reappears-but-theres-still-little-archival-space-for-russel-herman/">Spirits Rejoice</a> and saxophonist <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/winston-monwabisi-ngozi">Winston “Mankunku” Ngozi</a>. Full releases are planned for forgotten sessions by Mbambisa and Moeketsi.</p><p>Restoring these masterworks to the public domain can change our conversations about South African jazz. Instead of isolated stars, we hear a community at work: the rich musical conversations disrupting what has sometimes been characterised as a “silent” cultural period under apartheid. Conversing with each other, with overseas jazz and with tradition, those players made the music what it is today.<br></p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p>On this International Jazz Day, we celebrate some South African jazz musicians whose work has brought joy and soul to thousands across the continent. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2021/04/30/354973/celebrating-international-jazz-day-check-out-these-5-south-african-jazz-musicians">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p>Dubbed The Father of South African Jazz, Hugh Masekela’s successful career started from humble beginnings and took him across international stages.
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/08/431388/gloria-bosman-was-more-than-a-south-african-jazz-vocalist-she-was-a-guiding-light" target="_blank"><img alt="Gloria Bosman was more than a South African jazz vocalist she was a guiding light" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/992738/fit/80x80/gloria_20bosman.png?timestamp=1683821071" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/08/431388/gloria-bosman-was-more-than-a-south-african-jazz-vocalist-she-was-a-guiding-light" target="_blank">Gloria Bosman was more than a South African jazz vocalist, she was a guiding light</a></h4>
<p>The immediate public reaction to the death of Gloria Bosman from a short respiratory illness on 14 March 2023 was shocked disbelief. The multiple award-winning South African jazz vocalist... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/08/431388/gloria-bosman-was-more-than-a-south-african-jazz-vocalist-she-was-a-guiding-light">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><div><div><div><div><div></div></div></div></div></div><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>
urn:uuid:faf31253-ccaf-439b-bdf0-3510f87c35a9
2023-05-10T13:07:14-04:00
2023-05-10T13:28:05-04:00
How Burna Boy set the world alight with his mixed brew of influences
2023-05-11 14:00:00 -0400
The Conversation via Reuters Connect
<p>Burna Boy live at Nativeland Concert, Lagos in 2018. Image modified from original. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burna_Boy#/media/File:Afrobeats_star_Burna_Boy_performing_with_at_Nativeland_Concert,_Lagos,_Nigeria_2016.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p><p><br></p><p>Nigerian Afrobeats star <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/burna-boy-mn0003297650/biography">Burna Boy</a> burst onto the global stage in 2018 with a slew of irresistible hits on his third album, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4wXXJEoblA">Outside</a>, accompanied by mandatory fiendish good looks and charm. <a href="https://www.grammy.com/artists/burna-boy/251682">Grammy</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsvCb59TcDk">BET</a> awards helped firm up his status within a highly competitive global music industry.</p><p>Before his international success, which has been cemented by his latest offering <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/burna-boy-love-damini-album-stream-1235109630/"><i>Love, Damini</i></a><i> </i>(2022), Burna spent years experimenting with different sounds in London and South Africa and his ragga-inspired vocal style became distinctive.</p><p>His 2014 contribution to South African hip hop mainstay AKA’s infectious song "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIuXDU-V954">All Eyes on Me</a>" first put him on the African radar. His smouldering hook on the multiple award-winning track made all the difference and demonstrated he was an artist to watch, channelling both West African and Jamaican musical flavours.</p><p>Although he was deemed talented by his South African hip hop peers, his shine remained somewhat muted. He had to return to his native Nigeria to attain the level of success he obviously yearned: awards, global tours and A-class industry connections.</p><p>Although he rose in a whirlwind, with an enigmatic combination of singing styles and influences, Burna Boy has, at least for the moment, become mainstream; a slightly compliant agent of the commercial music industry. (The same is true of most of today’s Afrobeats stars, even if this is a Faustian truth everyone might choose to ignore.)</p><p>On <i>Love, Damini </i>(he was born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu) Burna still exudes just the right amount of foreboding and palpable intrigue to remain credible as an artist. But how much of his much-touted originality does he have left? Perhaps a way to begin to answer this question is to revisit his musical influences.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999941/fill/700x0/Twice_as_Tall_Burna_Boy_Album.jpeg?timestamp=1683738464">Cover art for album,<i> Twice as Tall. </i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twice_as_Tall#/media/File:Twice_as_Tall_Burna_Boy_Album.jpg" target="_blank">Fair Use</a><br><br>Related articles:<br><div class="media clearfix"><span class="pull-left"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/05/07/434148/setting-the-record-straight-burna-boy-didnt-create-a-music-genre-called-afrofusion" target="_blank"><img alt="Setting the record straight Burna Boy didnt create a music genre called Afrofusion" src="https://cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/998915/fit/80x80/640px-Burna_Boy__cropped_.jpeg?timestamp=1683739522" class="media-object"></a></span><div class="media-body"><h4 class="media-heading"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/05/07/434148/setting-the-record-straight-burna-boy-didnt-create-a-music-genre-called-afrofusion" target="_blank">Setting the record straight: Burna Boy didn't create a music genre called Afrofusion</a></h4><p>Burna Boy seems to be claiming to have created a new genre, Afrofusion, causing much debate. <span class="pull-right"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/05/07/434148/setting-the-record-straight-burna-boy-didnt-create-a-music-genre-called-afrofusion">Read More »</a></span> </p></div></div><p> </p><div class="media clearfix"><span class="pull-left"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/23/432216/timeless-review-nigerian-star-davido-s-new-album-is-mostly-form-over-substance" target="_blank"><img alt="Timeless review Nigerian star Davidos new album is mostly form over substance" src="https://cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995185/fit/80x80/davido.jpeg?timestamp=1683739532" class="media-object"></a></span><div class="media-body"><h4 class="media-heading"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/23/432216/timeless-review-nigerian-star-davido-s-new-album-is-mostly-form-over-substance" target="_blank">Timeless review: Nigerian star Davido’s new album is mostly form over substance</a></h4><p>Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido (David Adeleke) has demonstrated himself to be a master of showboating. <span class="pull-right"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/23/432216/timeless-review-nigerian-star-davido-s-new-album-is-mostly-form-over-substance">Read More »</a></span> </p></div></div><p> </p><div class="media clearfix"><span class="pull-left"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/05/10/434642/from-nigeria-to-the-world-afrobeats-is-having-a-global-moment" target="_blank"><img alt="From Nigeria to the world Afrobeats is having a global moment" src="https://cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999818/fit/80x80/Wizkid_at_Iyanya_s_album_launch_concert__2013.jpeg?timestamp=1683739558" class="media-object"></a></span><div class="media-body"><h4 class="media-heading"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/05/10/434642/from-nigeria-to-the-world-afrobeats-is-having-a-global-moment" target="_blank">From Nigeria to the world: Afrobeats is having a global moment</a></h4><p>Another Grammy Awards season and there is a growing list of African nominees. <span class="pull-right"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/05/10/434642/from-nigeria-to-the-world-afrobeats-is-having-a-global-moment">Read More »</a></span> </p></div></div><p> </p></div><h2>Spotting his influences</h2><br><p>It is difficult not to love club bangers such as "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-h7ltwACLs">Soke</a>", "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPe09eE6Xio">Ye</a>", "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7WfPHHXCAY">Gbona</a>" and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecl8Aod0Tl0">On the Low</a>", all produced before Burna Boy’s groundbreaking 2021 Grammy win with his fifth album,<i> </i><a href="https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/burna-boy-twice-as-tall/"><i>Twice as Tall</i></a> (2020).</p><p>In most of these songs, Fela Kuti’s influence is crystal clear in samples and the unequivocal lifting of various hooks. For many, it seemed like Burna was Kuti’s heir apparent.</p><p>From the late 1960s Nigerian musician and singer Kuti, along with his amazing bands, almost single-handedly pioneered a genre called <a href="https://www.masterclass.com/articles/afrobeat-music-guide#what-is-afrobeat">Afrobeat</a>. This sound incorporated strong Pan Africanist politics, intricate call and response singing, and heavy West African drumming laced with enticing jazz and funk riffs. <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/afrobeat-history">Afrobeats</a> is an umbrella term for a more radio-friendly and commercial version of Kuti’s Afrobeat.</p><p>Burna Boy’s Kuti credentials appear impeccable. His maternal grandfather, the broadcaster and jazz enthusiast Benson Idonije, had <a href="https://guardian.ng/art/dis-fela-sef-a-benson-idonije-memoir/">managed</a> Kuti in the 1960s. In one <a href="https://www.okayafrica.com/bose-ogulu-burna-boy-mom-manager-fela-kuti-dancer-okayafrica-100-women-2019/">interview</a>, his mother and manager, business woman Bose Ogulu, reportedly refers to Kuti as the closest thing she had to a godfather.<br><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999946/fill/700x0/fela_20kuti.png?timestamp=1683738976">Fela Kuti. Source: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/goodreadsbiography/49024927991/in/photolist-2hGaz6a-24SnAnR-7F4M2i-aNCW2-51e2Jj-4nMm2u-fqpeLM-ffsR9Z-cf7S9m-fKJFQ1-NEipZ-8KczZc-85SAdn-axzZkA-2nS2Ztg-2nRZnEQ-2nS2Zir-2nRZnKj-2nRZnHW-2nS1PRd-2nS2CHv-2nS2Znz-2nS1PNh-2nS1PLi-2nRZnvG-2nS2Zsp-2nRWKL5-2nS2CAM-2nS2CN5-9NWhoD-9zfQ1E-nh8hHE-2nS2CHa-2nRWKzi-2nS2Zog-7FhgHi-2nS2Znp-2nS1PEw-2nRWKGn-2nS2CAg-2nRWKFa-m38njT-2nRWKBT-SPZnB7-7oujQa-7Sk1GC-9JqSnC-myF93-777GSN-2nS1PJu" target="_blank">Goodread Bio | Flickr Commons</a><br><br></div><p>Burna has also been influenced by ragga, dub and grime ever since his days as a student in the UK. The foundations of these genres were laid mainly in Jamaica but found fresh creative wings in urban UK music scenes. This culminated in a hit like Burna’s 2017 song "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xho39TPlL4Q">Rock your Body</a>."</p><p>Even before the arrival of <i>Love, Damini</i>, Burna Boy had succeeded in melding his diverse cultural and sonic experiences into one powerful aural stew.</p><p>Burna has not only cribbed the Jamaican sound. He’s also adopted the rude boy persona with tales of <a href="https://guardian.ng/news/burna-boy-faces-police-probe-for-the-second-time-in-six-years/">private security gunshots</a>, <a href="https://dailytrust.com/burna-boy-shatta-wale-and-rape-culture">rape allegations</a> and a trail of broken hearts that have clouded his already threatening aura.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p>A music recording in London in 1922 by Rev Josiah Ransome-Kuti (grandfather of music icon Fela Kuti) is regarded as the first formal effort at commercialising and “popularising” Nigerian ... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/09/434562/100-years-of-pop-music-in-nigeria-what-shaped-four-eras">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><p><br></p><h2>Ways to weigh Burna</h2><br><p>Obviously, Burna was aiming to act as some kind of generational spokesperson for a restless and burgeoning <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/17/world/africa/who-are-afropolitans/index.html">Afropolitan</a> brigade. It couldn’t have been otherwise after being fed on a diet of Kuti-inspired Pan Africanism and neocolonial resistance. By most standards, this is heavy stuff for a market and generation captured by instant gratification.</p><p>And then he struck musical gold with his eclectic brew of West African rhythms, West Indian jungle grooves and the ubiquity of hip hop. Burna once <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa6DweKPf1A">described</a> part of this gumbo as “pepperoni pizza” with Kuti’s Afrobeat as the dough. There is nothing particularly unique about this recipe. Instead, the X factor can be found in his own winning combination of ingredients – bound with an arresting personality. Of course, there’s also his amazing dexterity in sampling to ponder.</p><p>He has <a href="https://theconversation.com/setting-the-record-straight-burna-boy-didnt-create-a-music-genre-called-afrofusion-187189">proclaimed</a> that his brand of music is a new genre called Afrofusion. Probably this is just a way of leveraging newfound success for greater effect. A way to distinguish himself from the teeming throng of Afrobeats aspirers.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999943/fill/700x0/Lee_Scratch_Perry_2016__9_von_13_.jpeg?timestamp=1683738578">Lee "Scratch" Perry. Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_%22Scratch%22_Perry#/media/File:Lee_Scratch_Perry_2016_(9_von_13).jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></div><p><br></p><p>To the undiscerning, Burna Boy’s sound is pure genius. But for those conversant with Kuti, with Jamaican godfather of dub, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/reggaes-mad-scientist-65011/">Lee “Scratch” Perry</a>, and similar genres of <a href="https://jamaicansmusic.com/learn/origins/toasting">Caribbean toasting</a> (lyrical chanting over dancehall music), it all seems a bit déjà vu.</p><p></p><div></div><p></p><p>There are different ways to weigh Burna. If we put him against Kuti, Perry and the greats of dub, he is arguably minor. But in an incessantly Instagrammed era, endlessly photographed and reproduced, he is a giant bristling with substance, creative menace and yet to be decoded signification.<br><br></p><p>Burna was birthed from robust foundations of Afrobeat, hip hop, ragga, grime, drum ‘n’ bass and dub-related sounds. There are hardly any other foundations as deep as these. His work, up till now, has mainly consisted of translating and reconfiguring those jungle-laden sounds for a mass audience.</p><p>In this regard, he is a faithful conduit, a vehicle for simmering, unadulterated and quasi-spiritual grooves. Sometimes, it isn’t even certain that Burna recognises the depth of what he is channelling. If he did, he wouldn’t be so eager to pair up with every hot music star that pops up on the scene.</p><p>Burna’s lyrics in hits such as "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=421w1j87fEM">Last Last</a>" (2022) are replete with profanity, inanity and nonsense rhymes that sound good to the ears especially if you happen not to understand West African <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38000387">pidgin</a>. This is yet another aspect of his work that can be quite bewildering; the sudden swings between sense and nonsense, pseudo-philosophical gravity and outright puerility.</p><p><br></p><h2>Rolling in dollars</h2><br><p>Lately, Burna has launched a campaign to gain even greater success. Just look at his high profile collaborations with the likes of US musicians <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aiCPsNcRMU">Pop Smoke</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxb5GItBjJI">Beyoncé</a> as well as UK pop stars like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byO74UGa8bI">Sam Smith</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDZ25anwgjc">Ed Sheeran</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXeOBkKdiAg">Stormzy</a> or Nigerian singer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNTkoLf5x5U">Wizkid</a>.</p><br><br>Related articles:<br><br><div class="media clearfix">
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/02/06/425337/all-time-african-most-influential-musicians" target="_blank"><img alt="All-Time African Most Influential Musicians " src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/979521/fit/80x80/image8.jpg?timestamp=1683739658" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/02/06/425337/all-time-african-most-influential-musicians" target="_blank">All-Time African Most Influential Musicians </a></h4>
<p>African music has been an integral part of the culture for centuries, and many great musicians have emerged from the continent. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/02/06/425337/all-time-african-most-influential-musicians">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/02/13/425841/east-african-hip-hop-8-iconic-rappers-who-put-east-africa-on-the-map" target="_blank"><img alt="East African Hip Hop 8 Iconic Rappers Who Put East Africa On The Map" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/980548/fit/80x80/east_20african_20rappers.jpg?timestamp=1683739664" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/02/13/425841/east-african-hip-hop-8-iconic-rappers-who-put-east-africa-on-the-map" target="_blank">East African Hip Hop: 8 Iconic Rappers Who Put East Africa On The Map</a></h4>
<p>"East African hip hop" is a genre of music that developed in East Africa in the late 1980s and early 1990s. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/02/13/425841/east-african-hip-hop-8-iconic-rappers-who-put-east-africa-on-the-map">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>
urn:uuid:b672addb-810b-489a-8007-12d6e2aad291
2023-05-10T11:13:29-04:00
2023-05-10T11:23:13-04:00
In ‘Air,’ Michael Jordan’s silence speaks volumes about the marketing of Black athletes
2023-05-11 10:00:00 -0400
The Conversation via Reuters Connect
<p> Air Jordan I (1985), Image Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Jordan#/media/File:74892143_f94145facb.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a><br></p><p><br></p><p>The film “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16419074/">Air</a>,” which tells the story of Nike’s signing of Michael Jordan, isn’t actually about Michael Jordan at all.</p><p>It’s about the beauty of design and the seduction of marketing. It’s about power suits, purple Porsches and Rolexes. It’s about white men languishing through midlife crises who salivate over the branding potential of a star basketball player.</p><p>As for Jordan? Audiences just see his back as he strolls into the Nike offices and his hands as he admires the Air Jordan prototype – but never his face. In the entire film, he utters only three words.</p><p>Much has been made about <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2023/04/air-movie-ben-affleck-matt-damon-sonny-vaccaro.html">Michael Jordan’s representation</a> or lack thereof in “Air.”<br><br></p><p>How could a film about one of the most famous Black men in the world obscure his presence?</p><p>The film’s true power is its ability to convey an unnerving truth about the sneakers’ mystique: Jordan’s athletic ability was crucial to the success of Nike and Air Jordan; not so much his face – and definitely not his words.</p><p>In this way, “Air” becomes the story of how a struggling company created one of the most successful brands in the world on the back of a Black body, a tale as old as the nation itself.</p><p><br></p><h2>Liftoff</h2><br><p>In 1983, Nike’s marketing director, Rob Strasser, wrote an <a href="https://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/2016/6/13/meet-the-man-who-reinvented-nike-seduced-adidas-and-helped-make-portland-the-sports-gear-capital-of-the-world">internal memo</a> explaining the importance of using star athletes to sell their products: “Individual athletes, even more than teams, will be the heroes; symbols more and more of what real people can’t do anymore – risk and win.”</p><p>This memo appeared during a turbulent period for Nike. The company <a href="https://s1.q4cdn.com/806093406/files/doc_financials/1981/1981%20annual%20report.pdf">had gone public in 1980</a> with a listless opening. In 1984, the company posted its first losing quarter and initiated a monthlong wave of layoffs employees called the “<a href="https://www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-city-life/2016/06/meet-the-man-who-reinvented-nike-seduced-adidas-and-helped-make-portland-the-sports-gear-capital-of-the-world">St. Valentine’s Day Massacre</a>.”</p><p>Who would be that hero? The ailing shoe company sought a body brimming with transcendent talent, a superhuman athlete.</p><p>Enter the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan, of whom Boston Celtics legend <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2887426-god-disguised-as-michael-jordan-when-everything-changed-for-his-airness">Larry Bird once said</a>, “I think he’s God disguised as Michael Jordan.”</p><p><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/549826/sneakers-by-rodrigo-corral-alex-french-and-howie-kahn/">During the summer of 1984</a>, Nike shoe designer Peter Moore and Strasser gathered in the Washington, D.C., office of Jordan’s agent, David Falk.</p><p>In a scene authors Rodrigo Corral, Alex French and Howie Kahn detail in their 2017 book, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/549826/sneakers-by-rodrigo-corral-alex-french-and-howie-kahn/9780448494333">Sneakers</a>,” Falk, after exchanging pleasantries, looked to Strasser and said, “Rob, I’ve got an idea. I want to marry Michael to your airbag technology.”</p><p>Nike had developed <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Sneaker_Book.html?id=Drg9PgAACAAJ">its air cushions</a> in 1977. It involved infusing the midsoles of shoes with pockets of pressurized gas to absorb shock, but the company was having a difficult time marketing it.</p><p>Falk then paused for dramatic effect, before uttering, “Air Jordan.”</p><p>In 1985, Nike released the first Air Jordan sneaker. A year later, <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-10-07-9310070083-story.html">Nike sold US$100 million</a> worth of Air Jordan shoes and apparel, boosting the company’s profits to $59 million from only $10 million the year before.</p><p>After 38 years and 37 iterations of their flagship line of basketball shoes, Jordans have become a transcendent cultural talisman memorializing Michael Jordan’s career and basketball’s influence on American life – but also, his labor.</p><p>Today, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike/?sh=52574e9c6eb5">Nike is worth a staggering $200 billion</a>. Meanwhile, the Jordan brand, which was <a href="https://www.si.com/fannation/sneakers/news/jordan-brand-launched-25-years-ago-today">spun off into its own company in 1997</a>, brings in billions of dollars per year, of which <a href="https://frontofficesports.com/jordan-more-than-doubled-his-nba-career-earnings-in-2022-from-nike-deal">Jordan pockets 5%</a>.</p><h2><br></h2><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999919/fill/700x0/Michael_Jordan_in_2014.jpeg?timestamp=1683731742"></div> Michael Jordan in 2014. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Portraits_of_Michael_Jordan#/media/File:Michael_Jordan_in_2014.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a><br><br><br><h2>Buying a piece of Blackness</h2><br><p>I’m writing a book that explores the intimate connections between sneakers and Blackness. In it, I argue that the Black body’s long history of objectification and commodification undergirds the branding, mass consumption and culture of sneakers.</p><p>What “Air” does better than anything else is to unbox a provocative, sobering truth about Jordans’ meteoric rise: They are cast as literal extensions of Black bodies. They represent the literal molding of a Black man’s feet, with their vulcanized rubber, leather and laces encapsulating Black athletic greatness and cool.</p><p>Finally figuring out how to sell Nike’s airbag technology was the other side of Air’s recipe for success.</p><p>In truth, Nike Air was a curiosity. It was unstable and unreliable. But runners became enamored with the idea of a cushioning technology they couldn’t see and much less understand. People knew they loved the sensation of Air even though the “how” remained a mystery.</p><p>The seemingly simple concept of explaining Air had eluded the company. <a href="https://powerhousebooks.com/books/sole-provider-thirty-years-of-nike-basketball/">In an interview with journalist Scoop Jackson</a>, Bruce Kilgore, Nike designer responsible for the <a href="https://www.kickgame.co.uk/blogs/sneaker-news/how-bruce-kilgore-encapsulated-sneaker-culture">Air Force 1</a>, articulated the difficulty of taking the air midsole from idea to execution to market: “How do you take something inherently unstable and put [it] into [a basketball shoe] that is all about stability?”</p><p>But six years after the development of the air midsole, David Falk cracked the code of Nike’s transparent, little black box: Don’t market the technology. Market the body that wears it.</p><p>This marketing ploy to shift the attention of consumers from mundane pockets of polyurethane to on-court performances, while indeed innovative, centers an incredibly old tradition of Americans seeing Black bodies as being spectacularly convertible to profit.</p><p>Air Jordans romanticize an American wistfulness for the stoic and branded Black workhorse. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/the-legend-of-john-henry-talcott-wv.htm">John Henry</a>, the legendary steel driver, was a hero, and so, too, is Jordan. For Black bodies – Jordan and Henry, but also athletes like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/sports/football/damar-hamlin-bills-hit.html">Damar Hamlin</a>, who suffered a near-fatal injury during an NFL game in early 2023 – heroism is articulated through the hypnotizing anthem of toil and exhaustion.</p><p>Sports provide an easy cover for the perpetuation of this myth. Disgraced sports commentator Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder <a href="https://www.espn.com/espnplus/catalog/64d88369-89db-4c8a-a1b9-ba80986a4def/the-legend-of-jimmy-the-greek">once said</a>, “The Black is a better athlete to begin with … They can jump higher and run faster.”</p><p>How far removed is the marketing of Air Jordans from the words of Jimmy the Greek?</p><p>As the voiceover in the first Air Jordan television ad proclaims, “Who says man was not meant to fly?”</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999921/fill/700x0/commercial_20air_20jordan.png?timestamp=1683731911">Still from first Air Jordan tv commercial. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpWFtG07MME&t=4s" target="_blank">Youtube</a></div><p><br></p><h2>Bodies ripe for the picking</h2><br><p>Before Nike’s dominance, brands like Pony, Converse and Adidas were popular on street corners and basketball courts around the country – a history told by DJ and author Bobbito Garcia in his 2003 book, “<a href="https://www.circlea.com/product/where-d-you-get-those-tenth-anniversary-edition/2264">Where’d You Get Those?</a>”</p><p>Nike and the Air Jordan, however, represented a watershed moment in which this bubbling market of “sneaker fiends,” as Garcia calls them, went mainstream. Through artful placement in Black films – specifically Spike Lee’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc6_XgtOQgI">Do the Right Thing</a>” – and with an assist from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbHI1yI1Ndk">Michael Jackson and hip-hop</a>, the Air Jordan line transformed sneakers into one of the most important footwear items and fashion brands the world has ever witnessed.</p><p>Nike would go on to feature scores of other Black athletes in its ad campaigns, and the names of these heroes ring off the tongue sharp and proud like a trumpet’s blare: <a href="https://img.cdn-pictorem.com/uploads/collection/S/SO5PKP9NEK/900_Row-One-Brand_bo_jackson_1988_nike_ad_sc_trainer_shoe.jpg">Bo Jackson</a>, <a href="https://sneakernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Penny-Hardaway-Air-Penny-1-from-Lil-Penny-book.jpg">Penny Hardaway</a>, <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/bb/17/33bb17bce839e40918615c12c98e95c7.jpg">Kobe Bryant</a>, <a href="https://cdn.musebycl.io/2020-08/You%20Can%E2%80%99t%20Stop%20Sisters%20%7C%20Nike.jpg">Venus and Serena Williams</a>, <a href="https://cdn.wallpapersafari.com/26/46/nLoMke.jpg">Lebron James</a>.</p><p>None of this would be possible without Nike’s big bet on Jordan.</p><p>So why does a film give Michael Jordan, the man who had so much to do with Nike’s success, so little to say?</p><p>I believe the answer is as uncomfortable as it is simple: Michael Jordan isn’t the film’s subject, but its object.</p><p>In one of the film’s more memorable scenes, Nike marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon, goes to visit the Jordan family in Wilmington, North Carolina.</p><p>When he arrives, he greets James, Michael’s father, before being passed off to the real decision-maker: Deloris Jordan, the matriarch of the Jordan clan. Viola Davis portrays Deloris with a drowning depth. Every utterance and glance simmers.</p><p>“Five generations of Jordans are buried in these forests,” she announces as she sits with Vaccaro in their backyard. She’s polite but distant. Her piercing eyes know to be wary of unannounced visits from white men in shiny cars. Everyone wants a piece of her son, and it’s her job to keep him whole.</p><p>In the film, before unveiling the Air Jordan 1 to Vaccaro and Strasser, Peter Moore, played by Matthew Maher, describes the shoe: “It has the logic of water, like shoe was always here, like it always existed.”</p><p>What Moore cannot know is how right he really is. Deloris Jordan and those five buried generations have always been here.</p><p>The Black body, from America’s inception, has always been there, as cotton and as sugar, ripe for the picking.</p><div><br><br>Related articles:<br><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/03/17/429046/how-black-culture-designs-influences-fashion-trends-in-todays-generation" target="_blank"><img alt="How Black CultureDesigns Influences Fashion Trends in Todays Generation" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/987891/fit/80x80/pexels-rodnae-productions-6192558.jpg?timestamp=1683731661" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/03/17/429046/how-black-culture-designs-influences-fashion-trends-in-todays-generation" target="_blank">How Black Culture/Designs Influences Fashion Trends in Today's Generation</a></h4>
<p>For many years, Black culture has played an essential part in the evolution of fashion and beauty worldwide. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/03/17/429046/how-black-culture-designs-influences-fashion-trends-in-todays-generation">Read More »</a></span> </p></div></div><br><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/29/432467/10-black-owned-sneaker-brands-to-obsess-over" target="_blank"><img alt="10 Black-Owned Sneaker Brands To Obsess Over" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/996139/fit/80x80/image2.jpg?timestamp=1683728028" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/29/432467/10-black-owned-sneaker-brands-to-obsess-over" target="_blank">10 Black-Owned Sneaker Brands To Obsess Over</a></h4>
<p>The global sneaker market was valued at approximately $79 billion in 2020 and is predicted to reach $120 billion by 2026. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/29/432467/10-black-owned-sneaker-brands-to-obsess-over">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2020/11/14/335101/young-black-women-impacting-the-sneaker-industry" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/776353/fit/80x80/vashtie_20kola.jpg?timestamp=1683728028" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2020/11/14/335101/young-black-women-impacting-the-sneaker-industry" target="_blank"> Young Black Women Impacting the Sneaker Industry</a></h4>
<p>The sneaker industry is no longer dominated by men. The four women are making sure their voices are heard and leading the industry’s latest trends. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2020/11/14/335101/young-black-women-impacting-the-sneaker-industry">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p></div><div><div><div><div><div></div></div></div></div></div><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>
urn:uuid:2790120e-3479-404b-9e52-1ab2b1e54478
2023-05-08T15:51:16-04:00
2023-05-09T14:53:09-04:00
Harry Belafonte: a singer and actor but an activist at heart
2023-05-10 10:00:00 -0400
The Conversation via Reuters Connect
<p>Harry Belafonte at The Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. 1963. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harry_Belafonte_Civil_Rights_March_1963.jpg" target="_blank">Public Domain</a><br></p><p><br></p><p>The Caribbean-American singer and actor Harry Belafonte has passed away from congestive heart failure at the age of 96. Although he was well known for songs like <i>Day-O </i>(The Banana Boat song) and <i>Jump In The Line</i>, which earned him the title “King of Calypso”, his music was a vehicle for much more.</p><p>Belafonte led a life of tireless activism and was present at the many peaks of 20th-century civil and human rights struggles across the globe. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SupportBlackTheatreLA/videos/572463653952801/">Reflecting on his stardom</a>, Belafonte said:</p><blockquote><p><i>My activism always existed. My art gave me the platform to do something about the activism.</i></p></blockquote><p>Born 1927 in New York, he spent some years in Jamaica before returning to the US to enrol in high school. He then had a short stint in the navy before pursuing a career in the arts.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/BUki-v-NvoE">Inspired by Paul Robeson</a>, another singer and actor and titanic figure in the history of the struggle for Black liberation, Belafonte became a singer and then an actor. His first big break was in <u><i>Bright Road </i></u>(1953) starring opposite <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2020/07/30/323600/dorothy-dandrige" target="_blank">Dorothy Dandridge</a>.</p><p>Though he skyrocketed to success and was quickly vying for leading man roles with <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/03/12/428735/the-power-of-black-excellence-highlighting-african-and-african-american-achievements-in-various-fields-part-1" target="_blank">Sidney Poitier</a>, Belafonte chose to step back from Hollywood stardom from 1959 to 1970.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/arts/music/harry-belafonte-dead.html">He recounted</a> that decade as an era of film that lagged far behind reality in terms of racial matters. Protests were erupting across the US and yet Black actors were still reduced to portraying hollow characters whose race was their main characteristic.</p><p>Director Elvis Mitchell stated that Belafonte’s deliberate retreat made him the “<a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/81387240?trackId=14277281&tctx=-97%2C-97%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2CVideo%3A81387240%2CdetailsPagePlayButton">Muhammad Ali of the film world</a>” – resisting untold fame and fortune to avoid sacrificing his principles.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999623/fill/700x0/harry_20belafonte.jpeg?timestamp=1683575276"></div><p> Harry Belafonte in 1954, photographed by Carl Van Vechten. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harry_Belafonte_Almanac_1954_b_(cropped).jpg" target="_blank">Public Domain</a></p><p><br></p><h2>Civil rights</h2><br><p>With acting on the backburner, Belafonte turned his attention towards agitating for social justice. He became an ardent activist standing alongside Martin Luther King and others to protest for social, political and economic equality in America.</p><p>Belafonte integrated himself into a generation of Black artists like Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis and Frederick O’Neal, who similarly committed themselves and their platforms to help publicise and elevate grassroots activism. He participated in organising the 1963 March on Washington and financially backed the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee.</p><p>With such close connections to civil rights activism, Belafonte saw the ups, downs and tragedies of such work. At one point, Martin Luther King was perturbed and <a href="https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2017/01/12/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-i-fear-i-am-integrating-m/">confided in Belafonte</a>: “I have come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house.”</p><p>Soon after this revelation King was dead.</p><p>Enduring through the pain of losing a close friend and mentor, Belafonte remained dedicated to the cause. He not only supported the King family by covering <a href="https://twitter.com/BerniceKing/status/1650872390153371649">babysitting fees</a>, but continued to support Black activism and expanded into international work.</p><p>Like many Black political activists, he spoke out against <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/magazine/ramaphosa-recalls-belafonte-role-in-fighting-apartheid-4214570">South African apartheid</a> and also used his industry connections to organise 1985’s charity single We Are The World. For this, he was lovingly celebrated by the musicians featured in a group recital of his hit song Day-O. This clip remains a beautiful reminder of the respect and admiration Belafonte cultivated among his peers.</p><p><br></p><h2>A global outlook</h2><br><p>By the 2000s, although in his 70s, he remained stalwart in his efforts to support numerous campaigns for liberation across the world.</p><p>He lauded the socialist successes of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro. He also <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/harry-belafonte-calls-bush-terrorist-praises-chavez-in-venezuela/">denounced the neo-colonial efforts of leaders like George W. Bush</a>.</p><p>In the last decade, Belafonte continued to attend talks and events concerning progressive politics. In 2016, he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFwE9Itzzes&ab_channel=DemocracyNow%21">spoke at an evening with Democracy Now!</a> where he stated:</p><blockquote><p>When they started the purge against communism in this country and against the voice of those who saw hope in a design for socialist theory, and for the sharing of wealth, and for the equality of humankind, when we abandoned our vision and visuals on that topic … I think we sold out ourselves.</p></blockquote><p>He also continued to appear on screen. He featured in <a href="https://youtu.be/mHm6l8dZyyU">Spike Lee’s Black KKKlansman</a> in 2018 and <a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/81387240?trackId=14277281&tctx=-97%2C-97%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2C%2CVideo%3A81387240%2CdetailsPagePlayButton">Is That Black Enough For You?</a> in 2022.</p><p>Just two weeks before he died, Belafonte celebrated how he had been inspired by Paul Robeson at the <a href="https://twitter.com/RobesonHousePHL/status/1650904381993238545">125th anniversary of his birth</a>.</p><p>Time and again, Belafonte invoked the sentiments of the late Robeson stating that “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFwE9Itzzes&ab_channel=DemocracyNow%21">art is the radical voice of civilization</a>”. With his voice and his actions, Belafonte was led by his “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFwE9Itzzes&ab_channel=DemocracyNow%21">rebellious heart</a>” to influence and help shape the lives of many. His legacy and his message lives on in all of those who embrace their own rebel hearts and commit themselves to building a fairer, more just, and more equitable world for all.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/24/432342/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism" target="_blank"><img alt="The legacy of iconic singer Miriam Makeba and her art of activism" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995512/fit/80x80/miriam_20makeba.jpg?timestamp=1683575055" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/24/432342/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism" target="_blank">The legacy of iconic singer Miriam Makeba and her art of activism</a></h4>
<p>South Africa’s world famous singer and activist Miriam Makeba (1932-2008) would have turned 90 on 4 March 2022. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/24/432342/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2022/12/13/420884/black-civil-rights-torch-bearers-who-changed-america" target="_blank">Black Civil Rights Torch Bearers Who Changed America</a></h4>
<p>In this blog post, we will take a look at Black civil rights leaders of both the past and present. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2022/12/13/420884/black-civil-rights-torch-bearers-who-changed-america">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/05/08/434279/the-intersection-of-art-and-activism-african-photographers-fighting-for-social-justice" target="_blank"><img alt="The Intersection of Art and Activism African Photographers Fighting for Social Justice" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999158/fit/80x80/aida_20muluneh.jpeg?timestamp=1683575461" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/05/08/434279/the-intersection-of-art-and-activism-african-photographers-fighting-for-social-justice" target="_blank">The Intersection of Art and Activism: African Photographers Fighting for Social Justice</a></h4>
<p>These photographers are rewriting narratives, questioning prejudices, and motivating action via striking photos. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/08/434279/the-intersection-of-art-and-activism-african-photographers-fighting-for-social-justice">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>
urn:uuid:0c024ddb-fc47-4c1d-aa0f-ceeaa7e3d10a
2023-05-08T12:12:47-04:00
2023-05-08T15:07:39-04:00
100 years of pop music in Nigeria: what shaped four eras
2023-05-09 10:00:00 -0400
The Conversation via Reuters Connect
<p>Fela Kuti first record cover. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Fela_Kuti#/media/File:Fela_Kuti_record.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p><p><br></p><p>The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early months of 2020 shut down nearly all physical and social human activities. For musical practice this meant near death. Performing music is, after all, one of the oldest forms of social human engagement.</p><p>In Nigeria, the shutdown of concerts and public music performances was swift. Not even the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nigerian-civil-war">Nigerian–Biafran War</a> of 1967 to 1970 could shut down all of Nigeria. In fact, popular music activities boomed in Lagos as bombs rained on Biafra.</p><p>The pandemic was a watershed moment and offers a compelling reason to trace the trajectory and evolution of popular music in Nigeria 100 years ago since the birth of the modern state.</p><p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/18125980.2021.1958696">study</a> I surveyed the various political, economic and social events, trends and choices that characterised the 98 years between 1922 and 2020, giving consideration to how they shaped popular music practices and experiences in and of Nigeria.</p><p>Nigeria became a modern state in 1914 when British colonial powers <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/lord-lugard-created-nigeria-104-years-ago">amalgamated</a> the northern and southern protectorates into one unit. A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK327Yn1041LnQlDoL_D-eEQH-vH5MheP">music recording</a> in London in 1922 by Rev Josiah Ransome-Kuti (grandfather of music icon <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-art-provocateur-fela-kuti-who-used-sex-and-politics-to-confront-58599">Fela Kuti</a>) is regarded as the first formal effort at commercialising and “popularising” Nigerian music.</p><p>From that beginning, four periods emerged from the study: I called them the foggy years, the interactive-budding period, the liberal period and the mononationalist period.</p><p><br></p><h2>1922–1944: juju and palm-wine music</h2><br><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999610/fill/700x0/domingo_20justus.png?timestamp=1683572622">Image: Cover for Domingo Justus' <i>Roots of Juju 1928</i> Source: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NNBv8W2uBI" target="_blank">Youtube Video</a></div><br><p>For the first 22 years there was a foggy or unclear direction in the emergence of popular music practices in urban Nigeria. In this short time, two world wars and internal economic and sociopolitical tensions interfered with and delayed the growth of popular music. They limited social life among the youth, calling young men to enrol into the West African Frontier Force that fought for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Lugard#ref162502">Britain</a>.</p><p>These years witnessed early recordings by musician <a href="https://www.discogs.com/artist/1427104-Domingo-Justus">Domingo Justus</a> and political activist <a href="https://blackplaqueproject.com/biography/ladipo-solanke/">Ladipo Solanke</a>. The early recorded music was sung in the style of a hymn in a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yoruba">Yoruba</a> church, accompanied by plucked string instruments like the banjo.</p><p>The arrival of the guitar was followed by the rise of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/juju-music">Jùjú music</a> style in Lagos. Jùjú was basically a modern <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yoruba-language">Yoruba-language</a> reinterpretation of its traditional, precolonial Àsìkò music with the principal instrument known as jùjú (the tambourine). It was led by such artists as Tunde King, whose song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eTISSYI5sA">Aronke Macaulay</a> was produced in 1937.</p><p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/palm-wine-music">Palm-wine music</a> emerged, expressing a combination of styles but mostly accompanied by guitars and banjos and performed at palm wine drinking bars in the emerging urban areas. It was championed by Israel Nwaoba, G.T. Ọnwụka and others. Also notable is the appearance of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AquQg1Ifqg">Ọnịcha Native Orchestra</a>, which combined only musical instruments of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Igbo">Igbo people</a> while exploring various social themes and trends in their native singing style.</p><p>The church, the guitar and the tavern all influenced early popular music in Nigeria.</p><p><br></p><h2>1945–1969: highlife and civil war</h2><br><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999604/fill/700x0/highlife.png?timestamp=1683572378">Image: album cover for Bobby Benson & His Combo Source: <a href="https://youtu.be/Dlw3LQkEyLs" target="_blank">Youtube Video</a><br><br></div><p>The next 24 years saw interaction and budding among Nigerians as a new sociopolitical order emerged from the ashes of the Second World War. A <a href="https://www.rescue.org/article/african-nations-struggle-independence">wave</a> of decolonisation and talk of independence spread throughout colonial Africa. There was increased participation of Nigerians in mainstream social and political affairs.</p><p>With this a new generation of musicians emerged who would – through extensive interactions across nations and personalities – forge a decolonised popular music culture. They moved from the colonial influences they had been subjected to from birth.</p><p>It was at this time that Nigerian <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/highlife-African-music">highlife</a> music and the highlife music of Ghana and other nations evolved. It spread along the West African coast, essentially from increased cultural interactions between Africa and the West. “High” was in the name because highlife was reserved for “highly” placed Africans resident in urban centres.</p><p>It mostly adopted simple Western tonality, chords and instruments (like guitars, brass horns and bands) to perform popular themes (like love, mourning and joy), either in local languages, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-west-africas-pidgins-deserve-full-recognition-as-official-languages-101844">pidgin</a> or English. The marching bands of the colonial military formations were a major influence in the emergence of highlife. A few of the early notable exponents were <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bobby-benson-mn0002293410">Bobby Benson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/victor-olaiya-stadium-hotel-highlife-and-nostalgia-136072">Victor Olaiya</a>, <a href="https://www.discogs.com/artist/680972-Steven-Amechi-His-Rhythm-Skies">Stephen Amaechi</a>, <a href="https://www.naxos.com/Bio/Person/Samuel_Akpabot/17615">Samuel Akpabot</a> and <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rex-lawson-mn0001209429/biography">Rex Lawson</a>.</p><p>During this period, female artists joined the popular music industry for the first time, among them <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh0navM_hhzN-q9hK8QQPO5DXqb-BvgTV">Foyeke Ajangila</a> and <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/madam-comfort-omoge-mn0000230994/biography">Comfort Omoge</a>. And while US-influenced jazz and twist styles were introduced in Nigeria, Jùjú was also being championed.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nigerian-civil-war">Nigerian–Biafran War</a> brought the era to an end by 1969.</p><p><br></p><p>Related article:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/01/15/423779/the-nigerian-civil-war-against-biafra" target="_blank"><img alt="THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR AGAINST BIAFRA " src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/976137/fit/80x80/image1.jpg?timestamp=1683571286" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/01/15/423779/the-nigerian-civil-war-against-biafra" target="_blank">THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR AGAINST BIAFRA </a></h4>
<p>Most Nigerians regard the war over Biafra as a forgotten episode, but for the Igbo people who fought for secession, it remains a life-defining experience. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/01/15/423779/the-nigerian-civil-war-against-biafra">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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</p><p> </p><h2>1970–1999: Afrobeat and oil</h2><br><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999586/fill/700x0/Old_musical_tapes.jpeg?timestamp=1683571550">Nigerian casette tapes from the 90s. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_musical_tapes.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></div><br><p>The liberal period marked the most diverse and expansive moment of popular music practices in Nigeria so far. After the war, regional popular music styles and practices came to the fore. And new influences came with imports of foreign popular music such as pop (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Jackson">Michael Jackson</a>), rock (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-Beatles">Beatles</a>), marabi (<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism-178230">Miriam Makeba</a>) and others.</p><p>As influences mixed, new Afro-based music genres rose. Most celebrated of these was Afrobeat (<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerian-icon-fela-is-long-overdue-for-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-156870">Fela Kuti</a>). Afrobeat is a fusion of rich African polyrhythms and Afro-American forms like jazz and reggae. It was influenced by local political struggles and the US <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/American-civil-rights-movement">civil rights</a> movement.</p><p>But there was also Afro-reggae (<a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sonny-okosun-mn0000039654/biography">Sonny Okosun</a>), Afro-jùjú (<a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sir-shina-peters-mn0001204638">Shina Peters</a>) and Afro-pop (<a href="https://www.discogs.com/artist/1312414-Theadora-Ifudu">Dora Ifudu</a>). There was increased participation of women in the industry (<a href="https://www.theafricareport.com/199004/nigeria-for-onyeka-onwenu-it-aint-over-till-the-slim-lady-sings/">Onyeka Onwenu</a>, <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/queen-salawa-abeni-mn0001010176">Salawa Abeni</a> and others).</p><p>Middle class income grew as a result of the first oil boom in Nigeria. Added to this was the rise of pentecostal Christianity among young people as well as the rise of sophisticated Lagos nightclubs. The likes of <a href="https://thenativemag.com/shuffle-ronnies-way-feel-rap-laid-foundation-nigeria-rap/">Ron Ekundayo</a> and <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2021/06/20/floods-of-tributes-for-benson-idonije-at-85/">Benson Idonije</a> would foreground the explosion of Nigerian deejays from the 2000s. In this period popular music styles were often adapted to gospel themes.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2021/05/13/356234/fela-kuti" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/822134/fit/80x80/fela_20kuti_20image.jpg?timestamp=1683570387" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2021/05/13/356234/fela-kuti" target="_blank">Fela Kuti</a></h4>
<p>Musician and activist Fela Kuti pioneered Afrobeat music and was repeatedly arrested and beaten for writing lyrics that questioned the Nigerian government. Read more about him here.
<span class="pull-right"><a href="/2021/05/13/356234/fela-kuti">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/24/432342/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism" target="_blank"><img alt="The legacy of iconic singer Miriam Makeba and her art of activism" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995512/fit/80x80/miriam_20makeba.jpg?timestamp=1683571791" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/24/432342/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism" target="_blank">The legacy of iconic singer Miriam Makeba and her art of activism</a></h4>
<p>South Africa’s world famous singer and activist Miriam Makeba (1932-2008) would have turned 90 on 4 March 2022. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/24/432342/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><h2><br></h2><h2>2000–2022: Naija hip hop and Afrobeats</h2><br><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995185/fill/700x0/davido.jpeg?timestamp=1683572462">Davido performing in 2022. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Davido#/media/File:Davido9.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></div><br><p>With the start of a new century came a seismic shift from a diverse to a singular focus in Nigerian popular music. The new government of <a href="https://theconversation.com/obasanjo-from-a-nigerian-village-to-the-pinnacle-of-power-on-the-continent-179862">Olusegun Obasanjo</a> decided to pursue a local content policy. This meant that local music was foregrounded in media and broadcast. This would help form the “Naija hip hop” scene.</p><p>Naija hip hop is a profusion of US/global hip hop, Afrobeat, highlife and other Nigerian/African styles mediated through computer-aided technology. It boasts local rhythms, languages and dance styles. A remarkable feature of the Naija hip hop movement is its branching out into <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-nigeria-to-the-world-afrobeats-is-having-a-global-moment-179910">Afrobeats</a> – an interlinked fusion of various Afro-based genres that has given Nigeria the greatest global fame and acceptance since its emergence as a modern nation-state in 1914.</p><p>Just a few of the notable artists of this period include <a href="http://www.afrobios.com/-Plantashun+Boiz">Plantashun Boiz</a>, <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lagbaja-mn0000125482/biography">Lagbaja</a>, 2Face Idibia/<a href="https://www.instagram.com/official2baba/?hl=en">2Baba</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/2niteflavour/?hl=en">Flavour</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/asaofficial/?hl=en">Aṣa</a>, <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/davido-mn0003057150/biography">Davido</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-nigerian-music-star-wizkid-and-why-is-he-taking-over-the-world-179775">Wizkid</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/temsbaby/?hl=en">Tems</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/burnaboygram/">Burna Boy</a>.</p><p>I characterise this period as mononationalist because of the one-dimensional focus on a particular nationalist musical movement (Naija hip hop) that has dominated.</p><h2><br></h2>Related articles:<br><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/05/07/434148/setting-the-record-straight-burna-boy-didnt-create-a-music-genre-called-afrofusion" target="_blank"><img alt="Setting the record straight Burna Boy didnt create a music genre called Afrofusion" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/998915/fit/80x80/640px-Burna_Boy__cropped_.jpeg?timestamp=1683570326" class="media-object"></a></span>
<div class="media-body">
<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/05/07/434148/setting-the-record-straight-burna-boy-didnt-create-a-music-genre-called-afrofusion" target="_blank">Setting the record straight: Burna Boy didn't create a music genre called Afrofusion</a></h4>
<p>Burna Boy seems to be claiming to have created a new genre, Afrofusion, causing much debate. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/07/434148/setting-the-record-straight-burna-boy-didnt-create-a-music-genre-called-afrofusion">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/03/04/427536/nigeria-elections-the-surprising-influence-of-afrobeats-music-on-politics" target="_blank"><img alt="Nigeria elections the surprising influence of Afrobeats music on politics" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/981739/fit/80x80/image1.jpg?timestamp=1683570337" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/03/04/427536/nigeria-elections-the-surprising-influence-of-afrobeats-music-on-politics" target="_blank">Nigeria elections: the surprising influence of Afrobeats music on politics</a></h4>
<p>In the run-up to Nigeria’s February 2023 elections, the country’s younger generation has mobilised to demand change and redefine the political landscape – and music has been pivotal. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/03/04/427536/nigeria-elections-the-surprising-influence-of-afrobeats-music-on-politics">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/23/432216/timeless-review-nigerian-star-davido-s-new-album-is-mostly-form-over-substance" target="_blank"><img alt="Timeless review Nigerian star Davidos new album is mostly form over substance" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995185/fit/80x80/davido.jpeg?timestamp=1683570348" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/23/432216/timeless-review-nigerian-star-davido-s-new-album-is-mostly-form-over-substance" target="_blank">Timeless review: Nigerian star Davido’s new album is mostly form over substance</a></h4>
<p>Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido (David Adeleke) has demonstrated himself to be a master of showboating. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/23/432216/timeless-review-nigerian-star-davido-s-new-album-is-mostly-form-over-substance">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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</div> <br><br><br><h2>Today</h2><br><p>The global COVID-19 pandemic’s shutdown of public life boosted online music structures and opportunities while helping to contain the unchecked powers of music pirates. This allowed many more talented and younger artists to emerge independently. But COVID-19 brought heavy economic losses to artists and music industry workers.</p><div>In 2022, the Naija hip hop phenomenon, whose child is Afrobeats, is surging on with hit songs tearing competitively into the global soundscape. As Nigeria marks a century of popular music practices and experiences, it appears that the mononationalist era may last for a full generation (three decades) or more before another episode emerges.<br><br><br><br><br>Related articles:<br><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/02/06/425337/all-time-african-most-influential-musicians" target="_blank"><img alt="All-Time African Most Influential Musicians " src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/979521/fit/80x80/image8.jpg?timestamp=1683571340" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/02/06/425337/all-time-african-most-influential-musicians" target="_blank">All-Time African Most Influential Musicians </a></h4>
<p>African music has been an integral part of the culture for centuries, and many great musicians have emerged from the continent. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/02/06/425337/all-time-african-most-influential-musicians">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/02/17/426396/nigerian-music-industry-and-its-rapid-rise-on-the-global-stage" target="_blank"><img alt="Nigerian Music Industry and Its Rapid Rise on The Global Stage" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/982001/fit/80x80/tems.png?timestamp=1683571351" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/02/17/426396/nigerian-music-industry-and-its-rapid-rise-on-the-global-stage" target="_blank">Nigerian Music Industry and Its Rapid Rise on The Global Stage</a></h4>
<p>Unquestionably, the Nigerian music industry has evolved over the years onto the global stage. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/02/17/426396/nigerian-music-industry-and-its-rapid-rise-on-the-global-stage">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/11/431635/calm-down-how-a-nigerian-singer-and-a-cameroonian-dancer-inspired-a-powerful-protest-in-iran" target="_blank"><img alt="Calm Down how a Nigerian singer and a Cameroonian dancer inspired a powerful protest in Iran" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/993389/fit/80x80/rema_20calm_20down.png?timestamp=1683571371" class="media-object"></a></span>
<div class="media-body">
<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/11/431635/calm-down-how-a-nigerian-singer-and-a-cameroonian-dancer-inspired-a-powerful-protest-in-iran" target="_blank">Calm Down: how a Nigerian singer and a Cameroonian dancer inspired a powerful protest in Iran</a></h4>
<p>A winning combination of music, movement and technology can make dance routines go viral. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/11/431635/calm-down-how-a-nigerian-singer-and-a-cameroonian-dancer-inspired-a-powerful-protest-in-iran">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/13/431655/asake-the-breakout-pop-star-from-nigeria-who-owned-2022" target="_blank"><img alt="Asake the breakout pop star from Nigeria who owned 2022" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/994069/fit/80x80/asake.png?timestamp=1683571380" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/13/431655/asake-the-breakout-pop-star-from-nigeria-who-owned-2022" target="_blank">Asake, the breakout pop star from Nigeria who owned 2022</a></h4>
<p>His rise to global reckoning was sealed by sold out shows in Atlanta and London and a collaboration with Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage on the hit Loaded. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/13/431655/asake-the-breakout-pop-star-from-nigeria-who-owned-2022">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p></div><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>
urn:uuid:66b009a3-0e4a-4c91-86c9-749d72a47997
2023-05-07T11:57:39-04:00
2023-05-07T11:59:01-04:00
The Intersection of Art and Activism: African Photographers Fighting for Social Justice
2023-05-08 14:00:00 -0400
Anand Subramanian
<span><p><br></p><p>For ages, the worlds of art and activism have been connected, and the junction of these two areas has produced a forum for artists to express their views on social justice concerns. Art has always been a potent social change tool, capable of questioning norms and inspiring movements. Photographers in Africa have embraced the convergence of art and activism, using their cameras to document the reality of their cultures and fight for social justice. This blog examines the fantastic work of African photographers committed to bringing attention to social concerns, amplifying minority voices, and pushing for positive change. These photographers are rewriting narratives, questioning prejudices, and motivating action via striking photos.</p><br><br><h2>James Barnor</h2><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999161/fill/700x0/james_20barnor.png?timestamp=1683474051">"Sick-Hagemeyer shop assistant with bottles, taken as a colour guide, Accra, 1971" C-Type print <br>© James Barnor/Autograph ABP, London. <br>Source: <a href="https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/451992/james-barnoraccra-london-a-retrospective/" target="_blank">e-flux.com</a></div><span><br><p>Ghanaian photographer James Barnor has been instrumental in portraying the shifting dynamics of African civilization. His classic images from the 1950s and 1960s show the hopes and difficulties of a generation striving for freedom and self-expression. During this time, several African countries were winning independence from colonial powers, and Barnor's images capture the continent's spirit of optimism and resolve. His photographs depict all aspects of African culture, ranging from street scenes and fashion photography to portraits of notable personalities and regular people. Barnor was able to capture the challenges, strengths, and ambitions of African people during a transformational moment via his lens. His photos inspire current African photographers to honor their cultural heritage while advocating for social justice.</p><br><h2>Zanele Muholi </h2></span><div></div><div><div><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999166/fill/700x0/zanele_20muholi.png?timestamp=1683474532">"Isililo XX" <br>Inkjet print on cotton fibre-based paper, <br>Baryta coated 19 7/10 × 19 7/10 in | 50 × 50 cm <br>Edition of 100<br>by Zanele Muholi <br>Source: <a href="https://www.artsy.net/artwork/zanele-muholi-isililo-xx" target="_blank">artsy.net</a></div></div><div><br>Zanele Muholi, a South African visual activist, focuses on capturing the LGBTQ+ community's experiences. Muholi examines the oppression and brutality suffered by African queer people via their vision. Muholi's pictures are more than just photographs; they represent a sort of activism. Each snapshot serves as a visual story that challenges cultural preconceptions and confronts the spectator with the truth of African queer people's difficulties. Muholi's goal in capturing these tales is to raise awareness and encourage a greater understanding of the LGBTQ+ community's experiences in Africa. Their compelling images depict their subjects' compassion, strength, and beauty, challenging society's biases and campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights. Muholi's work promotes empathy, understanding, and acceptance, aiming to make society more inclusive and egalitarian.</div></div><span><br><h2>Aida Muluneh</h2><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999158/fill/700x0/aida_20muluneh.jpeg?timestamp=1683473949">"Girl in Car with Father" <br>by Aida Muluneh. <br><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Girl_in_car_with_father.jpg" target="_blank">Public Domain</a></div><span><br><p>Ethiopian photographer Aida Muluneh explores topics of identity, gender, and cultural heritage. Her vivid and aesthetically captivating photos explore Ethiopian society's intricacies, stressing the difficulties of women and neglected people. Muluneh's art questions traditional beauty ideals and aims to empower individuals by highlighting their strength and resilience. Muluneh's images challenge conventional standards of beauty and contradict clichéd depictions. Her compositions are frequently loaded with vibrant colors, symbolic symbols, and rich textures, resulting in aesthetically arresting images that hold the viewer's attention. Muluneh urges a reevaluation of beauty standards and a more inclusive and varied perception of it by challenging established aesthetics. She co-founded the Addis Foto Fest, allowing African photographers to display their work while contributing to social change.</p><br><h2>Malick Sidibé</h2><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999167/fill/700x0/malick_20sidibe.png?timestamp=1683474731">"Nuit de Noël (Happy Club), 1963" Gelatin silver print, printed 2012</div><div><div>47 1/5 × 47 1/5 in | 120 × 120 cm<br>by Malick Sidibé<br>Source: <a href="https://www.artsy.net/artwork/malick-sidibe-nuit-de-noel-happy-club-1974" target="_blank">artsy.net</a></div></div><span><br><p>Malick Sidibé was a Malian photographer known for his classic black-and-white photographs that captured the passion and energy of post-independence Mali. Sidibé captured Bamako's dynamic young culture with his camera, capturing moments of pleasure, fashion, and social life in the 1960s and 1970s. His images are a monument to the Malian people's endurance and ingenuity, capturing their enthusiasm for life and cultural expression. With his ability to capture the spirit of a time and a generation with compassion and skill, Sidibé's work has significantly influenced the world of photography, increasing African photographers' exposure and inspiring generations of artists.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/05/05/434145/how-black-people-in-the-19th-century-used-photography-as-a-tool-for-social-change" target="_blank"><img alt="How Black people in the 19th century used photography as a tool for social change" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/998748/fit/80x80/Young_African_American_woman__three-quarter_length_portrait__facing_slightly_right__with_hands_folded_on_her_lap_LCCN98517067.jpeg?timestamp=1683474908" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/05/05/434145/how-black-people-in-the-19th-century-used-photography-as-a-tool-for-social-change" target="_blank">How Black people in the 19th century used photography as a tool for social change</a></h4>
<p>To pose for a photograph became an empowering act for African Americans. It served as a way to counteract racist caricatures that distort facial features and mocked Black society. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/05/434145/how-black-people-in-the-19th-century-used-photography-as-a-tool-for-social-change">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2021/06/01/358050/how-to-create-a-narrative-in-documentary-photography" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/826249/fit/80x80/the_20great_20migration.jpeg?timestamp=1683474919" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2021/06/01/358050/how-to-create-a-narrative-in-documentary-photography" target="_blank">How to Create a Narrative in Documentary Photography</a></h4>
<p>At its core, photography is about conserving the human aesthetic and capturing fleeting moments. While many genres are free to experiment with surrealism and abstract expressionism, docum... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2021/06/01/358050/how-to-create-a-narrative-in-documentary-photography">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2021/09/17/368679/compositions-for-mobile-photography" target="_blank"><img alt="Figure 1 - Mobile Photography tips Source - Pexel" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/853232/fit/80x80/mobile_20photo.png?timestamp=1683474929" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2021/09/17/368679/compositions-for-mobile-photography" target="_blank">Compositions for Mobile Photography</a></h4>
<p>By practicing and using any of the composition strategies, you will learn to direct your viewers to the emotions you wish to elicit and, eventually, match what you envisioned with what yo... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2021/09/17/368679/compositions-for-mobile-photography">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2022/02/23/390898/top-5-historic-female-photographers-in-africa" target="_blank"><img alt="Top 5 Historic Female Photographers in Africa" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/901558/fit/80x80/african_20female_20photographers.jpg?timestamp=1683474969" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2022/02/23/390898/top-5-historic-female-photographers-in-africa" target="_blank">Top 5 Historic Female Photographers in Africa</a></h4>
<p>Although the photographic record in Africa started about 1863, women image-makers have been mostly excluded from the mainstream. Photography has played a significant influence in broadeni... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2022/02/23/390898/top-5-historic-female-photographers-in-africa">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2021/06/03/358474/5-historic-african-american-fashion-photographers-you-should-know" target="_blank"><img alt="5 Historic African American Fashion Photographers You Should Know" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/827215/fit/80x80/early_20morning_20hugh_20bell.jpeg?timestamp=1683474976" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2021/06/03/358474/5-historic-african-american-fashion-photographers-you-should-know" target="_blank">5 Historic African American Fashion Photographers You Should Know</a></h4>
<p>Let us honor five historic Black fashion photographers whose work defined Black fashion aesthetics and culture, while also giving voice to oppression. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2021/06/03/358474/5-historic-african-american-fashion-photographers-you-should-know">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><div class="image-medium image-align-left"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/814912/fill/300x0/anand.jpg?timestamp=1683474994"></div><p> Anand Subramanian is a freelance photographer and content writer based out of Tamil Nadu, India. Having a background in Engineering always made him curious about life on the other side of the spectrum. He leapt forward towards the Photography life and never looked back. Specializing in Documentary and Portrait photography gave him an up-close and personal view into the complexities of human beings and those experiences helped him branch out from visual to words. Today he is mentoring passionate photographers and writing about the different dimensions of the art world.</p><p><br></p><p>Read more from Anand Subramanian:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/05/01/433701/5-major-historical-contributions-by-black-inventors" target="_blank"><img alt="5 Major Historical Contributions by Black Inventors" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/997742/fit/80x80/marie_20van_20brittan_20brown.png?timestamp=1683475005" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/05/01/433701/5-major-historical-contributions-by-black-inventors" target="_blank">5 Major Historical Contributions by Black Inventors</a></h4>
<p> It is critical to acknowledge and appreciate Black innovators' accomplishments, not just for their historical value but also for the inspiration they bring to future generations. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/01/433701/5-major-historical-contributions-by-black-inventors">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/05/07/434276/the-power-of-black-excellence-highlighting-african-and-african-american-achievements-in-various-fields-part-2" target="_blank"><img alt="The Power of Black Excellence Highlighting African and African American Achievements in Various Fields - Part 2" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999099/fit/80x80/collage_20black_20excellence_202.jpg?timestamp=1683475013" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/05/07/434276/the-power-of-black-excellence-highlighting-african-and-african-american-achievements-in-various-fields-part-2" target="_blank">The Power of Black Excellence: Highlighting African and African American Achievements in Various Fields - Part 2</a></h4>
<p>Black brilliance has had a wider influence, and it has played an essential part in shaping our society today. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/07/434276/the-power-of-black-excellence-highlighting-african-and-african-american-achievements-in-various-fields-part-2">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/05/04/434125/the-preservation-and-celebration-of-african-languages-and-dialects" target="_blank"><img alt="The Preservation and Celebration of African Languages and Dialects" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/998688/fit/80x80/tanzania_20school.jpeg?timestamp=1683475033" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/05/04/434125/the-preservation-and-celebration-of-african-languages-and-dialects" target="_blank">The Preservation and Celebration of African Languages and Dialects</a></h4>
<p>The necessity to address the preservation and appreciation of African languages and dialects has become crucial. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/04/434125/the-preservation-and-celebration-of-african-languages-and-dialects">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><p><br></p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>
urn:uuid:ad63e1a2-fb0f-41e3-9813-bd4713fe682c
2023-05-06T15:47:58-04:00
2023-05-06T15:48:15-04:00
The Power of Black Excellence: Highlighting African and African American Achievements in Various Fields - Part 2
2023-05-07 10:00:00 -0400
Anand Subramanian
<span><p>Image: collage of Black trailblazers. Source: Credited below.</p><p><br></p><p>Part 2 of our exploration into the impact of Black greatness is now here. The next phase of our study will look into the extraordinary accomplishments and contributions of persons of African and African American descent in various fields. Black brilliance has had a wider influence, and it has played an essential part in shaping our society today. We will highlight these persons' outstanding arts, sciences, sports, and politics achievements. We ask you to join us in honoring these trailblazers and their extraordinary achievements.</p><p><br></p><p>Read Part 1 of the series:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/03/12/428735/the-power-of-black-excellence-highlighting-african-and-african-american-achievements-in-various-fields-part-1" target="_blank"><img alt="The Power of Black Excellence Highlighting African and African American Achievements in Various Fields - Part 1" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/987220/fit/80x80/black_20excellence_201.jpg?timestamp=1683399027" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/03/12/428735/the-power-of-black-excellence-highlighting-african-and-african-american-achievements-in-various-fields-part-1" target="_blank">The Power of Black Excellence: Highlighting African and African American Achievements in Various Fields - Part 1</a></h4>
<p>Black Americans have imprinted on the globe in multiple fields, including politics, entertainment, athletics, and science. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/03/12/428735/the-power-of-black-excellence-highlighting-african-and-african-american-achievements-in-various-fields-part-1">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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</p><p> </p><br><h2>Literature and Visual Arts -</h2><br><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999097/fill/700x0/morrison_20angelou.jpg?timestamp=1683401753"></div><div class="image-main">Toni Morrison (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Morrison#/media/File:Toni_Morrison.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>), Maya Angelou (Public Domain)<br><br><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999098/fill/700x0/hughes_20achebe.jpg?timestamp=1683401775">Langston Hughes, Chinua Achebe. Public Domain.</div><span><br><br><p>Black greatness has profoundly influenced literature and the arts, leaving an indelible legacy. Recognizing and honoring literary titans like <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2020/11/06/334353/toni-morrison-beloved-author" target="_blank">Toni Morrison</a>, <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/03/15/428956/positive-affirmations-how-talking-to-yourself-can-let-the-light-in" target="_blank">Maya Angelou</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes" target="_blank">Langston Hughes</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe" target="_blank">Chinua Achebe</a> for their exceptional contributions is critical. These prominent authors have made an unmistakable impression on the literary landscape, enthralling readers worldwide with their profound words and insightful insights into the human condition.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/03/13/428755/the-brief-but-shining-life-of-paul-laurence-dunbar-a-poet-who-gave-dignity-to-the-black-experience" target="_blank"><img alt="The brief but shining life of Paul Laurence Dunbar a poet who gave dignity to the Black experience" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/987253/fit/80x80/paul_20laurence_20dunbar.jpg?timestamp=1683402082" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/03/13/428755/the-brief-but-shining-life-of-paul-laurence-dunbar-a-poet-who-gave-dignity-to-the-black-experience" target="_blank">The brief but shining life of Paul Laurence Dunbar, a poet who gave dignity to the Black experience</a></h4>
<p>In his short yet prolific life, Dunbar used folk dialect to give voice and dignity to the experience of Black Americans at the turn of the 20th century. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/03/13/428755/the-brief-but-shining-life-of-paul-laurence-dunbar-a-poet-who-gave-dignity-to-the-black-experience">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2021/11/14/374683/5-best-african-american-authors" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/867661/fit/80x80/black_20authors.jpg?timestamp=1683402160" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2021/11/14/374683/5-best-african-american-authors" target="_blank">5 Best African American Authors</a></h4>
<p>This article honors the legacy of 5 African American authors who have made an indelible effect on the literary world. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2021/11/14/374683/5-best-african-american-authors">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2022/03/19/393241/5-of-the-best-african-female-authors" target="_blank"><img alt="5 of the Best African Female Authors " src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/908044/fit/80x80/african_20female_20authors.jpg?timestamp=1683402173" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2022/03/19/393241/5-of-the-best-african-female-authors" target="_blank">5 of the Best African Female Authors </a></h4>
<p>Here are five of Africa's most accomplished female authors, who write on a diverse variety of social and cultural topics, from women's rights and feminism to post-war and post-colonial id... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2022/03/19/393241/5-of-the-best-african-female-authors">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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</p><p> </p><br><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999096/fill/700x0/black_20excellence_20visual_20art.jpg?timestamp=1683401113"></div><p> Left to Right: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley. Sources: Fair Use, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Walker#/media/File:Kara_Walker_Interview_Camden_Arts_Centre_01.47_(cropped).jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>, and Public Domain.</p><span><br><p>We must not neglect the tremendous contributions made by <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/12/431653/basquiat-a-multidisciplinary-artist-who-denounced-violence-against-african-americans" target="_blank">Jean-Michel Basquiat</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Walker" target="_blank">Kara Walker</a>, and <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2021/06/16/359705/top-5-black-contemporary-artists-who-are-making-a-cultural-difference" target="_blank">Kehinde Wiley</a> in visual arts. These artists have boldly questioned established standards and paved the way for new forms of creative expression. They have given voice to the Black community's experiences and problems via their works, casting a light on its depth, complexity, and resilience. Their artistic achievements have encouraged new artists to explore their identities and convey their experiences through art.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/12/431653/basquiat-a-multidisciplinary-artist-who-denounced-violence-against-african-americans" target="_blank"><img alt="Basquiat A multidisciplinary artist who denounced violence against African Americans" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/993625/fit/80x80/history-of-the-black-people.jpg_Large.jpg?timestamp=1683402044" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/12/431653/basquiat-a-multidisciplinary-artist-who-denounced-violence-against-african-americans" target="_blank">Basquiat: A multidisciplinary artist who denounced violence against African Americans</a></h4>
<p>At the time of the Black Lives Matter movement, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work is more relevant than ever. It highlights racial inequalities and the lack of representation of racialized peop... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/12/431653/basquiat-a-multidisciplinary-artist-who-denounced-violence-against-african-americans">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2022/04/27/398230/5-best-african-painters" target="_blank"><img alt="5 Best African Painters" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/916832/fit/80x80/african_20painter.jpg?timestamp=1683402062" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2022/04/27/398230/5-best-african-painters" target="_blank">5 Best African Painters</a></h4>
<p>Let us go into the realm of artworks that have had a significant impact on the landscape of African culture. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2022/04/27/398230/5-best-african-painters">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><span><br><h2>Politics and Activism -</h2><br><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999094/fill/700x0/excellence_20politic_20activism.jpg?timestamp=1683400512">Left to Right: Shirley Chisholm, Patrice Lumumba, Harriett Tubman. all images are Public Domain.</div><span><br><p>Black brilliance has been at the vanguard of political and social activity, confronting oppressive regimes and advocating for justice. In 1968, <a href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm" target="_blank">Shirley Chisholm</a> was elected as the first African American woman to the US Congress. Throughout her reign, she fought for the rights of underrepresented groups, including women and people of color. Chisholm became the first Black major-party presidential candidate in 1972 thanks to her historic presidential campaign. <br><br><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrice_Lumumba" target="_blank">Patrice Lumumba</a> was a Congolese independence leader and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's first democratically elected Prime Minister. Lumumba was instrumental in guiding his country to freedom from Belgian colonial authority. </p></span><p><br><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2022/03/18/393196/how-philadelphia-is-honoring-the-legacy-of-harriet-tubman" target="_blank">Harriet Tubman</a> was an abolitionist and political leader who was instrumental in the Underground Railroad, a network that assisted enslaved people in escaping to freedom. Tubman's bravery and persistence saved numerous lives and elevated her to a legend in the battle against slavery and injustice. <br></p><span><br>Related articles:<br></span><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2021/12/10/377874/5-african-politicians-who-changed-the-political-landscape-across-the-continent" target="_blank"><img alt="5 African Politicians Who Changed the Political Landscape Across the Continent" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/874488/fit/80x80/african_20politician.jpg?timestamp=1683402013" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2021/12/10/377874/5-african-politicians-who-changed-the-political-landscape-across-the-continent" target="_blank">5 African Politicians Who Changed the Political Landscape Across the Continent</a></h4>
<p>These leaders were heroes and heroines of their periods, prepared to risk all to confront the unknown and express change in Africa. Join us on a trip down memory lane as we look at the fi... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2021/12/10/377874/5-african-politicians-who-changed-the-political-landscape-across-the-continent">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2022/12/27/422150/who-was-joseph-hayne-rainey-" target="_blank"><img alt="Who was Joseph Hayne Rainey" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/972265/fit/80x80/Joseph_Rainey.jpg?timestamp=1683402023" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2022/12/27/422150/who-was-joseph-hayne-rainey-" target="_blank">Who was Joseph Hayne Rainey?</a></h4>
<p>Joseph Hayne Rainey was the second African American to serve in Congress and the first to fill in the House of Representatives. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2022/12/27/422150/who-was-joseph-hayne-rainey-">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><span><br><h2>Entrepreneurs -</h2><br><p>Black success goes beyond conventional areas, including notable achievements in entrepreneurship and business. Black entrepreneurs have shown tenacity, inventiveness, and a dedication to economic emancipation by launching successful firms and encouraging future generations. </p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/999093/fill/700x0/black_20excellence_20entrepreneurs.jpg?timestamp=1683400076">Left to Right: Madam C.J. Walker, Robert F. Smith, and Mellody Hobson. first two images: Public Domain, last image: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mellody_Hobson.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></div></span><span><br><br><p>One famous example is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker" target="_blank">Madam C.J. Walker</a>, a trailblazing entrepreneur and philanthropist. She was the first female self-made millionaire in the United States in the early twentieth century. Walker accomplished extraordinary financial success with her hair care and cosmetics firm and liberated Black women by establishing work possibilities and fostering economic independence.</p></span><p>Figures such as <a href="https://robertsmith.com/" target="_blank">Robert F. Smith</a> have made substantial contributions to the business sector lately. Smith, the founder of Vista Equity Partners, is one of the wealthiest African Americans and a vocal champion for increasing opportunities for Black professionals in technology. His humanitarian actions, like repaying an entire graduating class's student loans, demonstrate his dedication to giving back and inspiring others.</p><span><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellody_Hobson" target="_blank">Mellody Hobson</a> is a well-known entrepreneur and financial advisor. She is the co-CEO and President of Ariel Investments, one of the country's largest Black-owned investment management organizations. Hobson's accomplishments in finance and her commitment to diversity and inclusion have garnered her acclaim as a corporate pioneer.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/01/19/424082/best-africans-and-african-americans-entrepreneur-books" target="_blank"><img alt="Best Africans and African Americans Entrepreneur Books " src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/976852/fit/80x80/pexels-gustavo-fring-4173168.jpg?timestamp=1683401977" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/01/19/424082/best-africans-and-african-americans-entrepreneur-books" target="_blank">Best Africans and African Americans Entrepreneur Books </a></h4>
<p>For African and African American entrepreneurs, several books stand out as precious resources. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/01/19/424082/best-africans-and-african-americans-entrepreneur-books">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2022/07/16/406036/popular-black-entrepreneur-podcasts-to-listen-to-in-2022" target="_blank"><img alt="Popular Black Entrepreneur Podcasts to listen to in 2022" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/936431/fit/80x80/pexels-ketut-subiyanto-4559517.jpg?timestamp=1683401991" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2022/07/16/406036/popular-black-entrepreneur-podcasts-to-listen-to-in-2022" target="_blank">Popular Black Entrepreneur Podcasts to listen to in 2022</a></h4>
<p>We've compiled a thorough list of the most popular Black Entrepreneur podcasts. Look no further if you want to fire podcasts for Black companies - we've got you covered. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2022/07/16/406036/popular-black-entrepreneur-podcasts-to-listen-to-in-2022">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><p><br></p><span><h2>Conclusion - </h2><br><p>That concludes the second segment of our journey into the power of Black greatness! We've taken a whirlwind tour through literature, the arts, science, athletics, politics, social action, and business, learning about the incredible achievements of African and African American people. But hold onto your hats, for our adventure isn't over! As we celebrate these tremendous achievements, it is critical to remember that the pursuit of real equality is a never-ending pursuit. We hope to kindle a spark in the hearts of future generations by shining a light on the power of Black greatness. We want them to realize their full potential, pursue their aspirations, and create a world that celebrates and uplifts all souls, regardless of race or background. We can create a rich tapestry of diversity by working together, where every color and every voice is valued. We can put on our shoes, march forth, and tear down the barriers that separate us. We can continue to construct a brighter, more inclusive future for everybody with a little quirky, a sprinkle of bravery, and a lot of commitment.</p><br><br></span><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><div class="image-medium image-align-left"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/814912/fill/300x0/anand.jpg?timestamp=1683401942"></div><p> Anand Subramanian is a freelance photographer and content writer based out of Tamil Nadu, India. Having a background in Engineering always made him curious about life on the other side of the spectrum. He leapt forward towards the Photography life and never looked back. Specializing in Documentary and Portrait photography gave him an up-close and personal view into the complexities of human beings and those experiences helped him branch out from visual to words. Today he is mentoring passionate photographers and writing about the different dimensions of the art world.</p><p><br></p><p>Read more from Anand Subramanian:</p><div class="media clearfix">
<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/05/01/433701/5-major-historical-contributions-by-black-inventors" target="_blank"><img alt="5 Major Historical Contributions by Black Inventors" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/997742/fit/80x80/marie_20van_20brittan_20brown.png?timestamp=1683402186" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/05/01/433701/5-major-historical-contributions-by-black-inventors" target="_blank">5 Major Historical Contributions by Black Inventors</a></h4>
<p> It is critical to acknowledge and appreciate Black innovators' accomplishments, not just for their historical value but also for the inspiration they bring to future generations. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/05/01/433701/5-major-historical-contributions-by-black-inventors">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2022/09/23/412348/top-black-motivational-speakers-to-lift-your-spirits" target="_blank"><img alt="Top Black Motivational Speakers to Lift Your Spirits" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/951021/fit/80x80/jack-sharp-4ZF5cV50QPM-unsplash.jpg?timestamp=1683402224" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2022/09/23/412348/top-black-motivational-speakers-to-lift-your-spirits" target="_blank">Top Black Motivational Speakers to Lift Your Spirits</a></h4>
<p>With their words, motivational speakers can stir the whole globe to greatness. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2022/09/23/412348/top-black-motivational-speakers-to-lift-your-spirits">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/01/25/424435/who-are-the-black-civil-rights-leaders-we-should-follow-" target="_blank"><img alt="Who are the Black Civil Rights Leaders we should follow" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/977762/fit/80x80/civil_20rights_20leaders.jpg?timestamp=1683402248" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/01/25/424435/who-are-the-black-civil-rights-leaders-we-should-follow-" target="_blank">Who are the Black Civil Rights Leaders we should follow?</a></h4>
<p>These young activists, organizers, and thinkers have pushed for racial justice and equality, using their platforms to amplify marginalized communities' voices and demand change. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/01/25/424435/who-are-the-black-civil-rights-leaders-we-should-follow-">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><br><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>