LION KING & BEYONCE - AND GLOBAL AFRICAN MUSIC

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

Beyonce and ‘Lion King’ About to Take Nigeria Music Scene Global

Maskini = I'm sorry, Rafiki yangu! (my friends)

I looked at the headline to the article and initially thought, "Wow! Nice, but no cigar!" since THE LION KING was based in EAST AFRICA - not WEST AFRICA - the language is SWAHILI, not YORUBA or IBO.

RAFIKI = Friend in Swahili (the Mandrill Priest)

SIMBA = Lion in Swahili

HAKUNA MATATA = no worries in Swahili

In fact, ALL OF THE REFERENCES, LANGUAGE and NAMES are  IN SWAHILI, which means KENYA, UGANDA, TANZANIA, OR tangential countries in EAST AFRICA.

Mimi nikupenda dada Beyonce' (I love sister Beyonce') lakini (but) she needs to do more homework. 

I wish we would at least learn about our culture - since Africa is a Continent made of 54 countries.   I wonder how our brothers and sisters in EAST AFRICA feel about this? 

 

I guess the celebrity value alone mitigates having to have any authenticity, though.

Mind you, I have nothing against global African culture or music.  I love our African culture and danced professionally to African music, and music from most of the cultures from Egypt to South Africa and points in between for four years.  We studied them, as well as the influences we had from South America (Brazil), and the Caribbean and gave credit to their points of origin. 

Somebody please tell our wonderful sister that there are some cultural changes she just really has to understand, while she is moving forward to acknowledge and embrace her African heritage.  We appreciate the wonderful example she is trying to set in bringing the awareness of our beautiful culture and heritage to the world.  

That said, I plan to be front and center because when the movie premiers.   Despite the mixed cultural cues, we need more movies about Black people and Black culture in positive lights.  I loved the first release of The Lion King, and the sequels.  I will also enjoy this as well.  After all, who doesn't love Beyonce' and who doesn't love African music?  Asante Sana (thanks very much) Beyonce'.

If I'm not playing jazz or spiritual music in the background, I'm playing original African music - and believe me, we have a rich, rich heritage dating back thousands of years. 

Let this inspire you to study, support and feature more and more of our original and positive cultural styles.  

Kwaheri (Goodbye)

Mungu Itakubariti

STAY BLESSED

Gloria

PS:  (okay! okay!  my Swahili is a might rusty - it's been 50 years since I studied - but I know enough to know East from West African Culture)

Odabo = Goodbye (Yoruba)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-18/beyonce-and-lion-king-about-to-take-nigeria-music-scene-global-jy8o7x4s


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_King_(2019_film)

HAPPY NEW YEARS - KWANZAA KIZURI - DAY SEVEN - IMANI/FAITH

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

HELLO ALL :

HAPPY NEW YEARS TO YOU AS WE ENTER DAY SEVEN, OR IMANI, IN KWANZAA JANUARY 1, 2015.

I received this beautiful quotation by F. Scott Fitzgerald from my Sister/Friend Terrie Williams, PR Diva Supreme, and I wanted to share it with you all as you enter 2015:

We all are blessed with imagination, dreams, talents, skills, abilities, just waiting to burst forth -

Some of us are fortunate to have shared them with great success

          Some of us have latent talent just bubbling under the surface, waiting for the right catalyst              to  propel it into action. 

Some of us are geniuses in training - regardless of what our age, financial or educational status happens to be -

God put the good on the inside before society came along and tried to put a stamp on the outside.  If we all follow the nguzo saba (7 principles) of Kwanzaa daily throughout our lives, individually and collectively, we can change our lives and the entire world for the better.

NGUZO SABA ( SEVEN PRINCIPLES) OF KWANZAA

 Creativity and imagination comes from the inside out - and we are all CO-CREATORS WITH GOD THE LIVING SPIRIT ALMIGHTY!   Right now! Not just yesterday, or some far off tomorrow, but RIGHT NOW -

My Mom, Ruby Love Dulan used to day:

"TODAY IS THE TOMORROW WE WERE TALKING ABOUT YESTERDAY!!!"

Not only are we embarking on a New Year, but I feel that as Black People, we are also embarking on a NEW ERA - individually and collectively - and it's so exciting, because this time we're all awake, aware, alert and alive, and active - and can amalgamate our considerable strengths to make it happen - so that our next Fifty years on this plane of action will be absolutely amazing.

I am so happy to have each and every one of you in my life as friends, relatives, loved ones at this very moment.  And I am totally looking forward to this great new adventure - my own, yours and ours.

I can't wait to see how it turns out - because I know that if we continue this movement together - 
as we have already begun, then we are already WINNERS!!!

IMANI MEANS FAITH IN SWAHILI - AND IF WE STAY IN FAITH WITH GOD THE LIVING SPIRIT ALMIGHTY AND WITH EACH OTHER,

                         IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME!

STAY BLESSED &

ECLECTICALLY BLACK

YOURS IN VICTORY AND TRIUMPH
(no more struggle - we are Victors not Victims)

GLORIA

-->

BABA JITU WEUSI HAS JOINED THE ANCESTORS

--> 


By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Brother Jitu Weusi

I have to admit that I’ve been procrastinating on this article.  I’ve lived now with the announcement that my dear friend Jitu Weusi has joined the ancestors.  I first received it from brother K. Mensah Wali, around midnight of the 22 of May.

Jitu was a life long friend.  I’ve known him since the days of the East and the school that he tried to develop to help young Black boys and girls receive a better education than the one they’ve been subjected to under the New York City Public School System.

Jitu was always a revolutionary.  Tall, lanky, imposing, yet genteel, articulate, positive and powerful.  I took an instant liking to him.  But at the time, I was more concerned about making sure my daughter, who was 4 at the time, had a culturally and academically rich education. 

Though I was living in Harlem at the time, I would schlepp her over to Brooklyn so she would be able to attend the shule and be around positive examples of Black men and women, and have peers who were also there to learn and become positive contributors to the world.

But it was not to be, and the school unfortunately fell into disarray because some of the individuals were not necessarily suited to be educators.  It turned out that the only real educator in the house was Jitu himself, and I eventually transferred my daughter to The Modern School, a Black private school in Harlem.

And that, it would seem, was the end of my interaction with the brother I knew as Baba Weusi (Jitu means big and Weusi means Black in Swahili, folks). 

Little did I know that it was only the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship that would  last for over 40 years.  It seemed that there was always a karmic link between myself and Jitu.  We couldn’t help running into each other because, as activists, we operated in concentric circles.

But one of the biggest indicators that we would be life long friends was because my husband, Lou Wilson (of Mandrill) kept talking about his best friend, “Yams” who was a Black activist like I was.  They had grown up together in Brooklyn, and had been involved in jazz and sports.  He had actually boarded at Jitu’s mom’s home while attending college, and they used to pull pranks (stealing pies, etc) when they were kids.  Lou was so enthused about “Yams” and brought him to dinner at our apartment one evening, as a surprise.  And it turned out that “Yams” was none other than Baba Jitu Weusi!  The joke and shock was on us all, because neither of realized we all had each other in common.  His birthday, October 25, was the same date as Lou’s, as well/
 
That was just one of many ways in which we connected.  Jitu would later on be instrumental in helping select a name for our son, Rais (emperor or ruler, in Swahili) Enaharo (like the Sun in Yoruba).  

Now all this is so very personal - but I considered Jitu my big brother - so his transition is personal to me.  There are so many accolades that accrue to this brother.  His contributions over his life time are legendary indeed.  But for me, when ever I called him, for whatever reason, he always gave me a listening ear, even if there was nothing else he could offer to assist me.

His love of jazz is likewise legendary, and was the genesis of the Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium, which recently celebrate 30 years of excellence.

He never did anything by half measures.  If he was your friend, he was your friend, no matter what.  If there was an injustice, or a discrepancy that was detrimental to Black people, he was going to take it on.  Not one to tilt at windmills, but one who had a well thought out plan of attack.  Even if things didn’t turn out the way he envisioned, he would stick it out. 

By the same token,  he also didn’t suffer fools lightly, either; if he found himself surrounded by miscreants, he would shake them loose without ever looking back.

Brother Jitu Weusi Educator, Activist, Friend

Ironically, Jitu was the first person I called when my husband suddenly died of cardiac arrest on January 7th.  Not realizing that he was himself in the hospital suffering from cancer, I called blubbering through the phone, totally out of control.  He talked with me for the better part of an hour, and spoke of all the great things to remember about Lou.  He even asked me to keep him up to date on the services and anything else he could do to help.  When I later found out that he was in the hospital, I called him back to admonish him for not letting me know.  His response was:  “I’m not dead yet.  And I’m not planning to go any time soon.  I’ll be around for a minute.  And Lou was like my brother.  So no problem.  Just take care of you and keep me posted.”

Two weeks ago I received a message from Jitu on Facebook requesting my presence at Jazz 966 in Brooklyn.  I responded, I would be happy to attend as long as he could guarantee I would get at least one dance with him, with Angela’s permission.  That was our last communication.

As I said, his accomplishments were legendary.  And I am proud to have served on several committees with him over the years, including the Medgar Evers Coalition, which was formed to protect Medgar Evers College from being dismantled.  I’ve had the honor of writing about him over the years as well.  He is indeed one of my personal heroes. 

The other thing I admired about him was his love and devotion to his wife, Angela.  I remember one evening while I was hanging out in Harlem,  the were sitting quietly in the corner of Londels, celebrating their 25 wedding anniversary.  He quietly explained that he had to go outside of Brooklyn to do so, because too many people recognized him there.  They weren't just a great power couple, they were a loving couple, as well.





I feel privileged to have known and been a friend to this wonderful, gentle giant, who moved among us and with us, and loved us so much that he devoted his entire life to the Black community.

He is now one our “African Holy Ghosts” (I‘m borrowing that from Len Jeffries), watching over us, guiding us, and leaving us with some humongous footsteps to follow.  Brooklyn and the world is blessed to have had him.  Let’s not let what he’s given us die out or go unheralded.  He left us a legacy of leadership and activism; we have to pick up the baton and go forward.

According to the announcements, there will be a  “Sitting in Memory of Jitu” on Saturday, May 25 from 2:00 till 8 PM at FOR MY SWEET event space on 1103 Fulton Street near Classon Avenue in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn
 
My condolences to Angela and the family.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson


PS:  I can see him and Lou up there, or wherever they are, kicking it over some jazz artist, playing basket ball, and pranking Gil Scott Heron.  




FACEBOOK PHOTOS:  <https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200682610460287&set=t.100000694734961&type=1&theater

>

 

Is Marriage for White People? What do you think?

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson:

Hello All: I just received this email from the Black Star Project, a publication from the Midwest that I have been subscribing to for years now (ever since their inception). It's entitled: "Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone," and is written by Ralph Richard Banks.

Way to get your attention!!! I can see us lining up on either side of this one for a long, drawn out debate.

Interesting topic - eh what? I have often wondered how it is that we went from being descendants of kings and queens, from great empires, to being dis-functional and dis-trustful of each other. How we went from being families of great lineages, to this pseudo-independent solo act that we've got going here. I've not read this brother's book, but I find the question to be both deeply interesting and deeply disturbing at the same time. Given the fact that we survived the greatest ignominies because we were able to forge families and thereby our strengths, only to make it to a stage in our evolution where we can't, won't or don't have the wherewithal amongst us to find something so intrinsic within us to bond us and bless us as I see so many of our contemporary parallel cultural brothers and sisters being blessed with love, family, companionship (not talking about whites - but our African, East Indian, Latino, Asian, Caribbean and some "European" brothers and sisters who know "it takes two baby").

As one who grew up in a family of married partners - my parents, both sets of my grandparents, my great grand parents; my aunts and uncles on both sides of my family - all married partners - not stuck or sticking it out, but in it to win it, I find it puzzling and sad that we are ever the statistics that are held up, when it comes to dis-function, dis-integrated, and a few other disses I can name but won't.

We definitely need a paradigm shift. I'm not sure his is the one, but it does bring it all down front, doesn't it?

Can we as a people, individually and collectively, continue to go limping through society pretending to buy into the bull that there are not of us who are any good to go around? Talk about setting up a self fulfilling prophesy! We seem to be good about allowing others to define us, and we actually appear to be jumping through hoops to show that it's absolutely true, and we're "cool" with it.

Whether you call it accommodation, assimilation, resignation, or just stagnation, we are clearly further behind because of integration (should have stuck with desegregation), because the indication is that we on the brink of dissipation.

So for my sisters and brothers who really have yet to find the criteria you think the other should have, check out what you're bringing to the table - and I ain't just talkin' about money, either. Nobody's perfect - including you, or yours truly. And I hate to tell you this, but the person who said you can't love anyone until you learn to love yourself first, lied. Sometimes you learn to love yourself, because you learn to love. PERIOD!!

While I don't buy into the premise that the best answer for Black women is to marry outside their race, I also don't think we should be consigned to a solo life either. And since polygamy is not an alternative in the US - not because it doesn't work, because it does in other cultures - Americans are just too selfish to have it succeed here - Intracultural - I did not say multi-cultural, because that term has been so overworked as of late - relationships may be a positive and valid alternative.

Those who are the descendants of kings and queens, who have deliberately not passed on your legacy via having your own princes and princesses, and think that getting a PhD, or becoming a mega-star is going to do it, are missing the soul satisfaction that comes from nurturing your own (and for the cynics who find my views old fashioned, don't knock it if you haven't tried it. Adoption is also an option - we have so many of our children out here who would truly benefit from a real home).
I don't know where or who I would be without my three - bragging parent (and grandparent) that I am - but I digress.

We, as a people are in a mess - and it's up to us to redirect our paths and get us out of it, unless we really want to have placards in various parts of the world saying, Blacks used to live here, they are now largely extinct, except for a few melanites who reside on the outskirts of reality, and they themselves are a pale comparison of the original.

I would love to hear back from those who listen to or attend the program, as to how you feel about where he's coming from?

This should keep us talking for quite some time. Wonder where we'll end up after this? After the Civil Rights Movement was finally "won," we, who were proudly known as Watu Wazuri (beautiful people in Swahili) ended up at each other's throats for 40 years - drugs, thugs, witches, bitches & "ho's", facing out of wedlock childbirths, baby's mamma drama, baby daddy debacle's, divorces, and a whole host of other perversions that have taken us off course, from being the exemplars of kings and queens who survived, to some sort or retrograde to a by gone era prior to the time when the motto was "education is key", "family first" and "what did you say about my momma??!!" (often followed by a punch in the mouth, now followed by some insipid fools trying to out denigrate each other's mother). THAT WAS TRULY A MOUTHFUL!

Do you somehow get the feeling that we are part of some gigantic behavioral modification experiment, where we are the double blind candidates - we don't even get a placebo - OR like Sister Henrietta Lacks - where we don't even get the cure - they take the information they have gleaned from our disfunction, and give the remedy to others, while we continue to writhe in our own confusion.

Time to buy a clue, get off the late show, wake up from the nightmare, and as Rev. Jesse Jackson has said so often, "turn to each other, not on each other;" and most certainly not away from each other.

Time to ramp up the learning curve, and get back to the spiritual (not religious - spiritual) people we claim to be. It's worth a try.

So, that said, perhaps we can put away the cynicism, drop the distrust, open up a little to understanding each other's angst, as well as glory, take a big cup of respect, mix it with a smile (I'm sorry, the so-called "game" face is really off-putting); drop the smart assed (uh, smart aleck) remarks and trade in the ghetto 4-letter words for something more soothing and uplifting such as "like", "love", "good", "trust", "happy"; and for goodness sakes take that snarky edge out of your voice, as though you're coming for war (did I say snarky? I meant sarcastic) - we're not competing to see who can defeat whom; it's about who can complement whom; who goes together with whom.

Now that I've gone waaaaay off on a tangent, as I often do, let me just end by saying that America is about the "pursuit of happiness." Africans are (or at least we were) about the achievement, attainment and sustainment of happiness.

I think living happily ever after is a goal worth working for. And I'm optimistic enough to think that we can do it together in our lifetime.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

The Press release about this book follows:

The Black Star Project: Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone. The Invisible Institute presents Ralph Richard Banks, Author, ina conversation with
Steve Edwards of Chicago Public Radio, on Thursday, October 27, 2011 - 7:00 pm
The Experimental Station (6100 S. Blackstone - 1500 east - Chicago, Illinois (for those of you may be in Chi-town and want to be there in person).

The Invisible Institute is presenting Ralph Richard Banks in a public conversation, which is sure to "spark a robust national conversation about race and relationships. Ralph Richard Banks is the Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. Banks explores the broad economic and cultural developments that have resulted in a society-wide decline in marriage--a decline that is most extreme among African Americans. Weaving together scholarly research with personal stories of women throughout the nation, he advances the challenging thesis that interracial marriage is the best hope for increasing marriage within the African American community."

Although Black women confront the smallest pool of viable partners due to the myriad struggles of Black men, they rarely marry men of other races. As Banks sees it, Black women would not only benefit themselves by being willing to marry a man of a different race, but would also bolster marriage among African American couples. Although often portrayed as abandonment of the race, interracial marriage by Black women, he argues, in fact serves the race.

Excerpts from the media page of his book's website gives you a taste of the public discussion--and controversy--prompted by Banks' thesis:

* Praise for Is Marriage for White People!
* "Fascinating--and very brave! Banks stays up close and personal as he surveys the brambly landscape of marriage prospects for accomplished African American women bringing into view rarely seen prides, longings, prejudices, and unexpected choices. Banks' probing examination makes a gripping read." - Nancy Cott, Harvard University
* "This brilliant and provocative book tells stories we all need to hear." - Susan Fiske, Princeton University
* "Learned and unflinching, careful but provocative. Banks unabashedly explores the most volatile racial issues. Sure to provoke fierce debate." - Randall Kennedy, Harvard Law School.

The Invisible Institute is a program of an Experimental Station in Chicago. "In the United States, we must teach parents to be better if we expect students and schools to be better. The Toyota/Black Star Parent University teaches more parents to be great parents. (Note: The Black Star Project | 3473 South King Drive, Box 464 | Chicago | IL | 60616)

I would love to be the fly on the wall when this controversy hits little ol' New York City! We are really going to have some serious dialogue around this. Can't wait til they bring that Brother to HueMan Books (hint). Should be very enlightening, indeed!!.

By the way, for those of you who read the title and answered "yes" you are the brainwashed ones.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson