"One Righteous Man" by Arthur Browne (2015)

This book is a by product of Langston Hughes unpublished biography of Samuel Battle, New York City's first African-American policeman. Hughes was working on a number of projects at the time he accepted this assignment to co-author Samuel Battle's autobiography in the late 1940's.

The author, Arthur Browne, gives all credit to Mr. Hughes where applicable. He has also created a multi layered story of the history of racism in the ranks of Civil Servants in the last days of the 19th Century as well as into the 20th.

Racism wasn't confined to the South as you may have been taught in school. It was rampant in the North as well. Sometimes more oblique ways perhaps, but at other times it was as brutal as the lynchings were.

One of the more enjoyable aspects of reading this was  authors skillful weaving of the history of those times along with Samuel Battle's own story.  It gives great depth to the the narrative. It helps the reader in understanding the systemic racism Mr. Battle was forced to tackle in order to be what he aspired to be. It is also a great history of  one particular street in Harlem which was like a "Doctor's Row", in that many of the most educated  and affluent of the ciiy's African-Americans lived there. 

Today there is a small plaza dedicated to him outside City Hall. But, in reality, no plaza could ever be large enough to hold the spirit of Samuel Battle. This is the story of that man. It is also the story of his vision and how he achieved it.

"The Genius Child" by Langston Hughes

This poem by Langston Hughes was part of a collection of his poetry published in 1958. I am unsure of which of his many published works it first appeared in. No matter; it made a great impression upon me when I was about 13 and first read it. I was reminded of it just this week while reading "One Righteous Man" by Arthur Browne. It is the story of Langston Hughes unpublished book about the life of Samuel Battle, New York City's first African-American Police Officer.

What makes this poem so unusual for Mr. Hughes is that it is a poem of personal despair. He wrote about his personal struggle between art and making a living in a letter to Maxim Lieber dated December 30, 1935. In that letter he said, “I’ll just let Art be a sidekick like it used to be in the days I was a busboy and was at least sure of my meals.” 

This poem is at least partially about the author and his longing to have a “normal” job, rather than being a sometimes broke author/poet/activist. Having a vision and trying to fulfill that dream is never an easy task; it is often a burden. It’s lucky for us Langston Hughes could carry that weight…

The Genius Child

This is a song for the genius child.

Sing it softly, for the song is wild.

Sing it softly as ever you can -

Lest the song get out of hand.

Nobody loves a genius child.

Can you love an eagle,

Tame or wild?

Can you love an eagle,

Wild or tame?

Can you love a monster

Of frightening name?

Nobody loves a genius child.

Kill him - and let his soul run wild.

"I, too, sing America" by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was one of the last of the great poets from the Harlem renaissance. His work influenced all who came after; including the great Maya Angelou, recently deceased. He was born in 1902, in the middle of the Jim Crow Era; and he passed away in 1967 at the height of the Civil Rights struggle.

In this 21^st Century we are engaged in a new struggle; one for economic equity. In this struggle there are no colors; just bank balances. I have been struck by how appropriate the literature of the Civil Rights Era applies to this new set of circumstances.

For instance; in this poem, when you think of the “darker brother” think of the common working man. He does all the work for the least amount of money. He’s weary of being cast aside; told he doesn’t count. Remember the disdain which Mitt Romney showed for the average American. He even said it, we “don’t count.”

This poem is for all people everywhere who get the short end of the stick, while working towards a better tomorrow.

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,"

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

"The Great Debaters" with Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker, Jr. (2007)

Imagine being the man who trained some of the greatest orators of the civil rights era. That’s the story of Professor Melvin B. Tolson, faculty member of little Wiley College in Texas during the 1930’s. His debate team consisted of some of the brightest stars who would later inform the Civil Rights Movement.

Jurnee Smollett plays Samantha Booke; Nate Parker plays Henry Lowe; Denzel Whitaker plays James Farmer, Jr., and Jermaine Williams plays Hamilton Burgess. These four comprise the debate team assembled by professor Toland. Forest Whitaker, Jr. (no relation) plays the father of James Farmer, Sr. Those two are exceptional in their portrayal of the sometimes tense; but always loving; relationship between the two.

Tolson trains his young debaters by challenging them at every turn. He even has them train their voices so they can be heard distinctly and clearly. Using a rowboat as his lectern he has them say the same mantra over and over again for days, each time rowing a bit further from shore while exhorting the team to speak louder so that he can hear them.

As they grow in confidence they beat every team they encounter. The other teams are always African-American. They soon discover that the pressure is very different when they face white opponents. There is always the racial disparity to overcome, but they manage to remain undefeated, a fact which professor Tolson uses to procure the opportunity of a lifetime; to be the first African-American debate team to debate at Harvard.

While this entire story unfolds, young James Farmer, Jr. learns that Professor Tolson is working with the local farmers to form a union; a very dangerous practice even for white men back in those days. While the boy is intrigued with the prospect of Civil Rights, his father seems to lives in the shadow of fear. This confrontation between father and son is one of the most emotionally charged scenes in the film; eclipsing in some ways even the final debate sequence.

The whole film is done with attention to detail and the result is perfection. This is a film which you will sit through even in front of your own television, eschewing the usual snacks and breaks available only a room or so away. An excellent screenplay by Robert Eisele; from the original story by Jeffrey Porro; coupled with excellent direction by Denzel Washington, combine to make this film a modern classic.

"Love Me or Leave Me" - Nina Simone

Only Nina Simone could pull off this amazing piano solo in the middle of a jazz number. Ms. Simone, a native of North Carolina, began playing piano at the age of 2. Just look at the decisive way she bears down on the keys, like she's been living with them all her life. And she did!

By 12 years of age Ms. Simone was already performing in public and by her early 20’s had graduated from Julliard School of Music in New York City as a classical pianist. That would have been around the year I was born in 1954. I did not become aware of Ms. Simone until I was listening to WLIB radio in New York when I was about 15 years old. This voice came out of the radio, singing a scathing set of lyrics, using her vocal chords almost like a stinging electric guitar. That record was "Backlash Blues", a poem written by Langston Hughes shortly before his death in 1967. If you have never heard it, you should be hitting You Tube right after reading this. It's a powerful song about Civil Rights, which I have posted here before. As a matter of fact, I’ll post it here again, with lyrics, at the end of this piece.

Ms. Simone, a native of North Carolina, where I live today, went on to become an iconic jazz performer and singer-composer in her own right. Some folks say that her 1976 album, "Nina Simone - Live in Montreux" is one of the greatest jazz performances ever caught on vinyl. All I know is that when I was 15 years old she knocked me over with a voice I had never heard before, singing Langston Hughes' poem about social injustice. In one of her last conversations with him, Mr. Hughes told her to sing the song wherever she went, because he wouldn't be around much longer.

Jump around a bit on You Tube for some incredible performances by Ms. Simone, either alone at her piano, or in one of the many combos she performed with over the years. And here is "Backlash Blues", followed by the Langston Hughes poem;



THE BACKLASH BLUES
by Langston Hughes

Mister Backlash, Mister Backlash,
Just who do you think I am?
You raise my taxes, freeze my wages,
Send my son to Vietnam.

You give me second class houses,
Second class schools.
Do you think that colored folks
Are just second class fools?

When I try to find a job
To earn a little cash,
All you got to offer
Is a white backlash.

But the world is big,
Big and bright and round--
And it's full of folks like me who are
Black, Yellow, Beige, and Brown.

Mister Backlash, Mister Backlash,
What do you think I got to lose?
I'm gonna leave you, Mister Backlash,
Singing your mean old backlash blues.

You're the one
Will have the blues.
not me--
Wait and see!

For more about Nina Simone hit the following link to The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame; http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/