Unveiling the Grammy Award Voting Process: An Insider's Perspective by Grant Maloy Smith
by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Grant Maloy Smith is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and former businessman from Jacksonville, Florida. We both are on the Grammy voting committee members so I sat down to have an in-depth conversation with Grant regarding the Grammy Awards. The Grammy Awards, simply known as the Grammys are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious and significant awards in the music industry worldwide. They were originally called the Gramophone Awards, as the trophy depicts a gilded gramophone.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.: Hi Grant, As a Grammy voting member, could you please explain the nomination and voting process for the Grammy Awards?
Grant Maloy Smith: The Grammy process works in two stages. First, members are allowed to submit their works to NARAS (the organization that runs the Grammys among other things) to be on the ballot. Members indicate which fields and categories they intend their work to be in. Each entry is reviewed by committees that listen and make sure that the works fit into the desired fields and categories. If they determine, for example, that an album of Contemporary Instrumental music really belongs in New Age music, they will move it there. When the entry deadline has closed there is some time before the first round of voting begins. Record labels as well as independent artists normally use this time to promote their entries within the larger music community using email, social media, and advertisements in magazines like Billboard, Rolling Stone, etc. There are several membership levels in NARAS, and voting members are the ones who are allowed to vote. Members log in securely to their individual accounts to enter their music and cast their votes. The first round of voting determines who the nominees are. The exact definition for the various fields and categories changes from time to time, as determined by NARAS. Most categories have five nominees, but a few have eight. There is another interval of time between the announcement of the nominees and when the second round of voting takes place. The results are kept secret until the actual Grammy Awards in February or March each year.
LWC: As far as the Grammys I find it to be very competitive to get nominated and less competitive to win; I would go as far as to say in the past 10 years it’s the same people winning the top honors (Song of the Year, Record of the Year) which seems to always be Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Adele but what is your take on the lack diversity?
GMS: The Big Five awards usually go to Pop or Hip-Hop artists. This is to be expected because the Grammys were founded to promote record sales, so obviously the main focus is on the biggest, most mainstream artists. But honestly, I don’t really follow Pop or Hip-Hop music, so it doesn’t really affect me.
LWC: The former Recording Academy (Grammys) President Neil Portnow’s comment on Jan. 30, 2018, about the lack of female representation at the Grammy Awards generated backlash from some of the most powerful women in music and led to his resignation. What were your feelings on that comment and how did it impact the Grammy making decisions?
GMS: Neil was both right and wrong. He complained that women were often underrepresented in the music business, which is true. But then he said that it was the women’s fault and that they needed to step up. He was wrong to blame them for a situation that they did not cause.
LWC: Do you have any thoughts on the recent statements made by Kanye West and Beyoncé regarding their lack of recognition for top awards at the Grammys? It's an issue that has been a topic of much debate and discussion, and I'm curious to hear your perspective on the matter.
GMS: They are adults and they can say whatever they like, but I don’t think it’s a good look to complain when you’re rich and famous.
LWC: As a member of the Grammy decision-making process, I cannot help but notice the misunderstanding surrounding the true nature of this prestigious award. People often assume that a Grammy is merely a reflection of mainstream popularity - a mere extension of the latest trends and fads. However, this is not the case. The Grammy Awards are a serious competition, judged by experienced and dedicated musicians who prioritize actual music and musicality over fleeting trends. That is why it is not uncommon for the winners to be those who are not necessarily the most popular, but those who truly excel in their craft. So let us not be misled by popular opinion and remember the true essence of the Grammy Awards - a celebration of true musical talent and excellence. What are your thoughts on this matter?
GMS: The purpose of all of the Oscars is to get more people to the movies. The purpose of the Tony’s is to fill more seats on Broadway and off-Broadway. In the late 1950s, the record labels saw what a huge effect the glitz and glamor of the Academy Awards were having on movie attendance, so they started the Grammy Awards to generate excitement and sell more records. They are promotional tools for their respective industries. I would say that all of these awards are primarily about the business. Quality matters, of course, but it’s not the only thing at play with these big awards.
LWC: Can we discuss the backlash against Beyoncé's recent foray into Country music? Furthermore, do you think that this was a calculated move to earn her the Song of the Year win? From my perspective, it seems like a shrewd decision. However, I'm curious about your own thoughts on the matter. Let's delve into this intriguing topic together.
GMS: I don’t know Beyoncé so don’t know what her motivations were for making this shift. She is a truly gifted singer who goes far beyond pop music. I’ve heard her sing opera and it was stunning. I am aware of the backlash, but I am not on that train.
LWC: Grant, we have been friends for years meeting one another as Grammy members and we are mutually supportive of one another as artists should be. Please share with our readers where you are now, of your Billboard success and where to find you, and also the community that we are both a member of Indie Collaborative of which you are the co-founder my friend please share.
GMS: I am just wrapping up the recording of my third album in the AMERICAN STORIES series. These are theme albums that are about major events or aspects of our culture. The first one was DUST BOWL: AMERICAN STORIES. That’s the one that was on Billboard charts for four months, including 11 weeks in the top 10 on the Americana/Folk album sales chart, #12 on the Country album sales chart, and even hit #1 on several of the Heatseekers charts. I achieved that by lots of advertising with Google to sell digital downloads. Each of these records takes me 3-4 years because of all the research that I do to determine what songs to write and to find the essence of the story. The second one was APPALACHIA: AMERICAN STORIES and the one that will be released this summer is MISSISSIPPI: AMERICAN STORIES. I think this is the best one yet, and I can’t wait to share it with everyone. You can get a sneak peek here:
MISSISSIPPI: AMERICAN STORIES is an amazing album from Billboard top 10 songwriter Grant Maloy Smith. The third in this thematic series, it
On my website you can hear music, watch my videos, and learn more about everything that I do. It also has links to all of my social media and streaming links on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, YouTube, etc.
If you’re an independent musician, I invite you to join the Indie Collaborative. Emmy-winning writer and Broadway librettist Eileen Sherman and I co-founded the IC in 2015 in New York City. Since then, we have grown to more than 2000 members from all around the world. We are all about fostering musical collaborations among our members. There is no cost to be a member and to have your profile on our website. There are about 1200 profiles on there already – including yours! Your readers can learn more about the IC and join for free at:
The Indie Collaborative's mission is to connecting independent musicians together so that they can collaborate creatively and form lasting b
LWC: Thank you so much, Grant. See you next year at the Grammy festivities God willing.
Join The Movement And Be Inspired By The Artistry of Kenny Fame
by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 3
Harlem, NY - 1/3/2024 Kenny Fame is not just another singer-songwriter; he’s a force of nature in the world of music and poetry. With a schedule packed with performances across New York City, Kenny captivates audiences by seamlessly blending music and poetry in his unique, transparent style. His relatable lyrics and infectious hooks resonate with fans from all walks of life, transcending genres and breaking down barriers of race and culture. Kenny’s discography showcases a rich tapestry that weaves together elements of classic soul, 90’s Neo-soul, and contemporary urban sounds, creating something truly special. His literary talents have been recognized globally, with his poetry featured in esteemed publications such as African-American Review, Steel Toe Review, Wilde Magazine, The Hollins Critic, and Assisi: An Online Journal of Arts & Letters, among others. With multiple albums under his belt, including his latest release on Bandcamp, titled "Just Press Play," as a FREE DOWNLOAD
which includes his current release “Ain’t No Biggie”; which is also a FREE DOWNLOAD
so as the title states just press play; but Kenny is far from slowing down. He’s currently focused on creating a new play and his next EP, all while eagerly anticipating the drop of his much-anticipated future releases in 2025. So don’t miss out on his current single, "Ain’t No Biggie" a taste of the magic to come! Join the movement and experience the artistry of Kenny Fame—where every note and word is crafted to connect and inspire; just read some of his reviews below:
"The track ‘Ain’t No Biggie’ is a combination reggae and soul, yet with a contemporary blues twist." - Glitter & Stilettos
"Time” has stunning lyrics and arrangements. The vibrant single has wonderful vocals by Kenny Fame aka Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr. The melodic structure is riveting and powerful too." - Just Fame
"The sublime musical arrangement captivates listeners with a masterful amalgamation of R&B, soul, and reggae music." - Daily Music Roll
"Time is a new single from New York-based poet and singer-songwriter, Kenny Fame. This song is delightfully catchy with its light, modest pace and colorful, summertime beat." - Stepkid.com
"Kenny Fame is an artist based out of Brooklyn New York. His latest single entitled "Time" is a reggae soul jam." - Artists Central
"Time” revels in Kenny Fame’s powerful message with a stately groove that lingers in the mind long after the track has ended." - Beach Sloth
"Gorgeous, addictive and lyrically slightly profound." - Dancing About Architecture
" ‘Time’ is an anthem for the romantic. It pours out an optimism with each hook and that is why we love Kenny Fame so much." - Skope Magazine
"Time has a smooth, impactful sound, courtesy of a well-crafted production that’s designed to sound great while also exploring the depths of Kenny Fame’s creativity." - Bandcamp Diaries
"“Time” brings some strong reggae vibes to the forefront through its guitar progression and this approach absolutely serves the lyrics and Kenny Fame’s vocal performance in a positive way. This track’s lyrics contain a powerful meaning; Kenny Fame is able to tactfully describe the duality of time and how it feels in relation to our relationships, mentioning how it “waits for no one” and “drags on and on” - Whichcoast.com
"Kenny Fame sings profound lyrics about the passage of time with an absolutely fantastic vocal performance. If the verse is already perfect, the chorus of Time is finally fantastic and a really catchy tune. Kenny Fame shows his lyrical skills and his vocal talent, organ synthesizer and bluesy guitar solos round off the arrangement of Time and makes it a song that every reggae fan should definitely have listened to." - Excess Magazine
Time is a subtle and supple slice of ska-pop. It leans into many other genres, sure, it is soulful and understated, it is as addictive as any great pop song but it is the dance between Kenny‘s gorgeous and intimate vocals and that choppy guitar riff that really grounds things firmly in ska traditions - dancing-about-architecture.com/time-kenny-fame-reviewed-by-dave-franklin/
Video link
youtu.be/dk5IcOSasmE
Awards & Honors: “Time”
WINNER of (15) Film Festival Awards - 2023:
• Sundarban International Film Festival: (Best Film Video Poster & Performing Arts)
• Beyond Border International Film Festival: (Best Music Video)
• Sundarban International Film Festival: (Best Music Video)
• Virgin Spring Cinefest: (Best Music Video)
• Black Swan International Film Festival: (Best Film Score – Soundtrack)
• Royal Society of Television & Motion Picture Awards: (Best Music Video)
• Gangtok International Film Festival: (Best Music Video)
• Knight of the Reel Awards: (Best Music Video)
• Druk International Film Festival: (Best Music Video)
• Golden Fern Film Awards: (Best Music Video)
• White Unicorn International Film Festival: (Best Music Video)
• World Film Carnival – Singapore: (Best Music Video)
• Hollywood Blvd. Film: (Best Male Director – Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.)
• Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival: (Best Music Video)
• New York Movie Awards: (Best Music Video + Original Song)
FINALIST in (4) Film Festivals - 2023:
• Chambal International Film Festival - Season 7: (Best Short Film, Documentary Film, Music Video, Animation Film, Experimental, Student, Virtual Reality, Television, Other)
• Aphrodite Film Awards: (Best Music Video)
NOMINEE in (2) Film Festivals - 2023:
• Screaming Ostrich International Film Festival: (Best Music Video)
• Swedish International Film Festival: (Best Music Video)
SELECTED in Film Festivals - 2023:
• Baliwood Bali - World Independent Short Film Awards (WISFA)
• Bali Indie Film Planet - Global Awards
• New York Istanbul Short Film Festival
• Red Moon Film Festival
• World Record Film Festival - Jaipur (by JIFF Trust for All Type Shorts)
• Roma Short Film Festival
• Cinematic European Film Festival
• Eastern Europe Film Festival
• Asia Film Festival
• Iconic Images Film Festival
• Bridge Fest
• Symbiotic Film Festival
• 9th Pambujan International Film Festival
• Greece Film Festival Awards
Awards & Honors: “Ain’t No Biggie”
WINNER of (5) Film Festival Awards - 2023:
• Paris Film Awards: (Music Video + Original Song)
• Gangtok International Film Festival: (LGBT Film - Any length)
• Ganges International Film Festival: (Music Video - Any length)
• Cuckoo International Film Awards: (BEST MUSIC VIDEO) - [ ALL CATEGORY]
• Virgin Spring Cinefest: (Music Video - Any length)
FINALIST in (4) Film Festivals - 2023:
• Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival: (BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY)
• JAISALMER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: (Short Films / less than 30 minutes)
• Kookai International Film Festival: (Best Short film)
• Birsamunda International Film Awards: (BEST DIRECTOR / Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.)
SEMI-FINALIST in (2) Film Festivals - 2023:
• Los Angeles Cinematography AWARDS (LACA): (BEST MUSIC VIDEO CINEMATOGRAPHY)
• Canadian Cinematography Awards (CaCA): BEST ART DIRECTOR
SELECTED in Film Festivals - 2023:
• The Tylerman International Film Festival Sponsored by Cantigny Park
• Crown Wood International Film Festival
• Cassette
• Onyko Films Awards
Remembering Bayard Rustin: The Unsung Hero of the Civil Rights Movement
written by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
August 1, 2024 - Growing up as a Black boy in Paterson, NJ, and attending Roman and Irish Catholic Parochial schools, Black history was not very familiar to me. I grew up in a religious Southern Baptist family and participated in the church choir. In this context, Martin Luther King, Jr., was all that I knew about Black history until I became a teenage Madonna fanatic. Ironically, Madonna made me aware of Black activists and radicals such as Nina Simone, Jean-Michel Basquiat, James Baldwin, and Bayard Rustin. Bayard Rustin was an African American activist who believed in civil disobedience. Rustin felt that Black people should deliberately break unjust laws but do it non-violently to bring about change and this would play a key role in the Civil Rights movement. He also advocated for LGBTQ rights. Rustin moved to Harlem in 1937 and began studying at City College of New York. It’s interesting to note that at the time CCNY was an all-male college once regarded as ‘Jewish Harvard’ which did not accept Black men—Rustin was an unusual exception. While Rustin was at CCNY he became involved in efforts to defend and free the Scottsboro Boys, nine young black men in Alabama who were accused of raping two white women. Activism for Rustin was something that came naturally. He later became a mentor to Martin Luther King.
Rustin is one of my all-time idols. I have been enamored of him since I learned about him, so I was excited to attend an event dedicated to his life and legacy at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, “Between the Lines: Bayard Rustin, A Legacy of Protest and Politics.” The event was a conversation between Michael G. Long and Jafari Allen, who edited the book of the same name. Their exchange sparked many revelations and I left the event more aware than when I entered. I felt so much pity for the life that Rustin had to live, including the attack on his character that was rallied against him by other Black people and the distance that Martin Luther King placed between himself and Rustin out of fear of people assuming that he was also gay. I also learned that it was Coretta Scott King who introduced King to Rustin. Scott-King met Rustin during her college years as a fellow activist who practiced civil disobedience. She would ultimately introduce her husband King to civil disobedience tactics. Rustin recalled that his first time meeting King he was strapped with a handgun and that he never traveled without his gun. It was Rustin who told King that if he represented civil disobedience he would have to be willing to put away his firearm, which eventually he did. Nevertheless, this raises the question, who was King really? The “I Have A Dream” pacifist or the “Beyond Vietnam” radical? We will never truly know.
All in all what I did learn was that according to Rustin, King had no idea how to organize an event. Instead, it was Rustin who developed the blueprint for King’s early Civil Rights movement, at least until the day that King removed Rustin from his inner circle.
Nevertheless, Rustin returned to organize the March on Washington, despite everything leveled against him by Adam Clayton Powel and Roy Wilkins. Someone noted during the discussion that “it’s funny how karma works given the fact that nobody remembers Wilkins's legacy in comparison to the sudden interest in Rustin.'' If I remember correctly, the comment was made by the moderator, NYU professor Dr. Jarafi Allen, based on the fact that the venue was standing room only, or that the Hollywood lens is now fixated on Rustin’s story, with an Academy Award-nominated movie based upon his life currently in theaters. Wilkins has not received the same interest from Hollywood, perhaps indicating that he is less marketable in the mainstream. Meanwhile, Rustin’s role as an activist for the LGTBQ community is also important for newer generations. Until recently, this legacy and all that he accomplished was invisible, but he has since become a symbol of the “others” and most notably the “forgotten others”. While in his lifetime he was shunned, rallied against, and betrayed by those that he benefitted, history has allowed his legacy the final word.
Media Manipulation Through the Lens of Tupac Shakur: Reflections by Former Black Panther Bro Shep Shakur
by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
The media has always negatively depicted the iconic Black Panther party, so I had to figure out who the Black Panthers were. On February 21, 2024, I attended the event “Coöperism 10/13: The Black Panther Party and Cooperation” at Columbia University. The event featured speakers Flores Forbes, Jamal Joseph, Suzanne Cope, and Bernard E. Harcourt, among others. In my opinion, the conversation was taking place to raise the question: who is the future activist in America? And what must future activists in America do to challenge the status quo?
During the conversation, the speakers traced the historical origins of the Panther Party, which began in Oakland, California, in 1966 under the leadership of Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. But more importantly, the conversation focused on the blueprint that the party followed, such as the 10-Point Black Panther Program, a set of guidelines for the Black Panther Party that states their ideals and ways of operating, a combination of the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. The speakers pointed out this information as a means of stating what the next generation should consider when challenging the government and political hierarchy in the United States
The conversation also centered on the survival programs that the Black Panther Party developed: the Breakfast Program, the Free Clinic Program, the Ambulance Program, and the Prison Pipeline Program. As much as I felt I discovered, I also believed I needed to learn more. In 2010, I interviewed Bro. Shep Shakur [pronounced Bruh Shep Shakur], a former Black Panther Party member or, as he would say, current comrade. Bro Shep educated me further while also giving me a firsthand account of prolific cultural and political figures such as Tupac Shakur and Reverend Al Sharpton, both of whom have a history with the Black Panther Party. I expected to learn one thing in this interview, but I wound up learning so much about being Black, and about myself being a New Jersey-born, Black, “whitewashed” man in America. Bro Shep insisted on a closed-door interview at City College in the Assata Shakur Room in the NAC Building, which is where the Black Panthers would gather during Assata Shakur’s college days (Assata was a student at CCNY). Once inside the room, I was checked for wiring and forced to watch hours of VCR tapes and view archival documents and photos.
I read the rules and was shown Mao’s Red Book to read from the Marxist doctrine of the Black Panther Party. It was an initiation and I passed.
It is interesting to me now to consider how Shakur’s mission was to inspire me to consider ways of activism and student activism, while at the time I was more interested in landing this interview. At the time, CCNY was launching a Black Student Union (BSU) but received resistance from the campus and needed all of the supporters that they could get. I was a student at Medgar Evers College, a PBI (Predominantly Black Institution), which made me the perfect ally, but in actuality, I knew nothing about the Black experience. I was raised as an Afro-Native, and my mother’s mother was born on an Indian Reservation in Cherokee Nation, North Carolina, delivered by the sister of my maternal grandfather, my Aunt Tessie (an Indian Reservation midwife). My mom is named after my grandfather’s mother, Mellie. That was my history; it was focused less on Black culture, and more on being Native American. The year 2014-2015 was a very interesting period of my life, where I would discover that I could be more than a creative writer and was moving towards becoming more journalistic. At the time, I found a sense of belonging among other socially conscious African Diasporic people at City College. Again, I had no knowledge at the time about being Black, but I knew what being a writer was. The Black student body at City College was looking for a student writer who could be a liaison through CUNY. I was soon introduced to a future Black filmmaker named Naheem Adios, and together through his filming and my writing, we launched a Black Student Union that also included Lehman College. I hadn’t studied Black history beyond what I was required to study at Medgar Evers College, which was solely to meet course requirements and not for interest.
So Shakur taught me about myself that day in a way in which I needed to be told, and maybe that was what he saw in me, and I am forever grateful. He spoke of how the Black Panthers had to read for three hours every day, how the Panthers had to always walk with their Red Book in their back pocket at all times, and how important it was to be wary of fake prophets and cults of personalities and to never place anyone on a pedestal. All of these things made sense to me later on: consider pop music today and how social media builds up artists into cult-like figures and their followers live by their every word. I was sweating profusely. I wanted to leave, but I couldn’t. I was being taught by an expert on student activism and based on what I see going on today in America and abroad I now know why Shakur was preparing me. I knew that I was learning something, and I knew that Shakur saw me as a worthy student who would pass on this knowledge, so, therefore, I am sharing chosen excerpts from our meeting.
Levi Wise-Catoe: Hi, can you tell our audience who you are and where you are from?
Bro Shep Shakur: I am Bro Shep Shakur. I am a Black Panther Party comrade, and I was born and grew up in the Bronx.
LWC: Who did you look up to growing up in NYC? Who were your role models?
BSS: Malcolm X was my role model as a kid.
LWC: Let’s talk about the Black Panthers and what you learned from the party.
BSS: Well the Black Panther's colors were black and blue—sky is the limit, black is the panther. Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland California. If a Panther is cornered and he can’t turn left or right, he’ll go straight for the aggressors.
LWC: That’s interesting I never knew that but it puts the panther association in a different context for me. What did the BPP represent for you?
BSS: For me, it represented a revolution, and also change: the constitution, the political system, the economic system, the whole country’s social structure—everything in America.
LWC: Was there anyone else in America that you felt was representing any sort of change at the time other than Malcolm X?
BSS: Fannie Lou Hamer was an influence on me.
LWC: How did you feel about Martin Luther King and the American representation of peace and justice?
BSS: Well, Martin Luther King’s views were beginning to change in 1968. He began attacking the war in Vietnam and standing up for the job unions in the U.S. and his last speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” spoke of that change and he was killed soon after.
LWC: Yes, on April 4th, 1968. 1968 was a turbulent year in America. Some might argue as turbulent as 2020—following the assassination of King, the country was on fire with activism.
BSS: 1968 was a year of social change. There were snipers set up on rooftops all across Harlem during the King riots.
[Note: Shakur allowed me to view secret tapes of the Black Panther Party from its library of VH1 Tapes. I noticed Black snipers set up on my apartment building rooftop in Harlem, the Manhattanville Housing Projects, aiming guns towards the police below from 1968.]
LWC: This is interesting because that’s where I live. Can you tell me something that might surprise me to learn about the Panther Party?
BSS: Well you realize that Martin Luther King was being blackmailed by J. Edgar Hoover.
LWC: Really?
BSS: J. Edgar Hoover’s whole agenda was to neutralize and destroy anything or anyone fighting for Black equality. The American government began a relationship with the southern sharecroppers to put LSD in their fruit/crops through pesticides. It sold those fruits in the supermarkets up north because Black southern sharecroppers could only sell to other Blacks, never whites, and all this to turn Black people against one another mentally through drugs.*
LWC: That’s an interesting assertion. Do you think that the government found other ways to carry this out?
BSS: The white FBI was investigating the Panthers. It was the U.S. government vs. the Panthers. The FBI would utilize whatever they had by—phone tapping, mail opening, offices bugged, informant ranks, police rank and provocateurs would testify.**
LWC: Wow, it’s horrible what went on back then, and possibly today we are just not being informed.
BSS: Did you know that Tupac Shakur's biological father was an informant who was hired by the FBI to infiltrate the Black Panther Party?***
LWC: No, I’ve never heard that.
BSS: Yeah and once he turned state evidence against the party he went into the witness protection program. I never trusted Tupac’s biological dad and knew that he was up to something; which is how Afeni Shakur was imprisoned while pregnant with Tupac who was born actually born in prison.
LWC: I never knew that either can you please tell me more?
BSS: Tupac’s mom Afeni gave him another name at birth and changed his name once released because Tupac was a target of the government from the day he was born for being the child of Black Panthers. Tupac was raised by Panthers. His step-father Mutulu Shakur was an acupuncturist until he got locked up after being set up by the CIA. His biological dad is living upstate somewhere under a whole new identity and a whole new face. His biological father did all that just to assist the government in neutralizing the Black Panther Party.
LWC: Do you believe all of this plays a part in Tupac’s death?
BSS: I’m not sure but wouldn’t be surprised. Tupac was a pawn for the media. Think about it a thug was always considered to be a negative in the press until Tupac tattooed ‘Thug’ across his chest and then all of sudden ‘Thug’ became the blueprint for every young Black male rapper that has ever followed. Imagine the impact that would have been made if he had tattooed Black Pride of Black Excellence or something or anything other than thug?
LWC: That’s a good point and one that I never considered.
BSS: Tupac wasn’t raised that way. He was the product of two Black Panther’s. He was raised on education, knowledge, pride Black History and art; but unfortunately Hollywood created that image of the young Black thug that he played as Bishop in the 90s movie Juice and slowly but surely Tupac began to believe his own hype. The more Hollywood sold him on that image then came the branding with the thug tattoo across his chest and then they had him and it was only a matter of time until he was no longer useful to them and then he was gone.
LWC: That’s such a tragedy.
BCC: But the way it works once the Black pawn is of no use just like Tupac’s biological dad the informant where he is now? Nobody knows.
LWC: The plight of the Black man in America. Who else tried to infiltrate that Black Panther Party I’m sure there were others?
BCC: The Action Network’s founder Al Sharpton was another person that was hired to set up the Black Panthers.
LWC: Really?
BSS: Yeah they (Government) had him come to one of our meeting wiretapped but we caught him while he was here had him stripped then threw him out of our meetings. I call Black folks like Sharpton an ‘ambulance’, meaning he always comes around with his loud sirens whenever he sniffs out blood(s) {note: bloods is slang term for Black people}; and he only comes around to draw attention to himself. They the government sent him to one of our meetings wearing a wire to find out information regarding Assata Shakur’s whereabouts to set us up; but we caught him then threw him out. Sharpton is one of them. Don’t like him never did. He only comes around Black community when headlines generate ask yourself what cases has he ever won? His whole purpose for the government and white media is to send angry Negroes out in the streets protesting. All they are angry Black people marching: Diallo, Michael Stewart, but where is our Anti-crime Bill? Even after George Floyd where’s our Anti-Crime Bill? Asians got there’s with no protest?
LWC: And that is another great point but one that I cannot answer. Today we have attorney Ben Crump same purpose but he actually does win cases. Moving on what else can you tell me about the Black Panther Party?
BSS: Through the Black Panthers Breakfast Program we fed more hungry kids than the government but that’s not shown in the media. I always felt as though the worse thing the Panthers ever did was to brandish a gun because that’s the only image of the Black Panthers that the media actually does show.
LWC: So do you feel that the Black community is moving forward or backwards?
BSS: We (Black community) are definitely moving backwards. These days Black people have this “I got mine. You go get yours attitude.” We can’t we rely on our enemies to save us (note: white establishment). We need our own preparation. Back in the 70’s ever college campus had a BSU (Black Student Union) the BSU’s came out of the Black Panther Party there were over 600 Black Student Unions on college campuses back in the 70’s and today there are less than 60 that might still exist.
LWC: So how do we as a community protect and prepare in the social consciousness is no longer there? Black studies is under attack, woke culture is under attack, CRT (Critical Race Theory) is under attack, Reparations for the descendants of the formerly Enslaved is under attack and who are the gatekeepers of this new woke movement and who are they being sent by? How can we protect and prepare in 2024?
BSS: By not listening to white news/media, we must prepare by organizing, spreading the word, by learning Marshall Law, and survival and emergency tactics. The Black Panthers set up Free Clothes Program, Free Shoes, Free Ambulance in Winston Alabama because white ambulance companies wouldn’t pick up Black people and take us to the hospital. The Panthers had Free clinics, set up Sickle Cell Anemia programs that nobody knew about, Lead Poison programs, Tuberculosis program, program for teenage illiterate program, we took over Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx help out the Black community, set up free bussing prison program so that Black inmates could have visitors, set up a police program, The Black Panthers newspaper sold over a million copies at .25 cents a copy. What we were doing was never told and it was unheard of because we were Black independently owned taking care of our own community. I was the papers last regional manager. We were the only newspaper that the white owned media could never corrupt.
LWC: I think today’s young activists could learn a lot from the methods and community created by the Black Panthers.
BSS: Indeed there are several misconceptions regarding the party. We have been demonized by today’s media when in fact a lot of governmental programs credited to the government were founded by the Black Panther Party. Again, yes we were wrong to brandish guns, but it made the white man or the U.S. government fear us.
LWC: How do you feel about a Black man being president such as President Obama? What do you think of him?
BSS: I don’t think of him. He’s doing what they want him to do. He can’t change anything. He got money from the internet to launch his grassroots campaign; but big corporate money too, he owes the government what it needs through large investments. He’s not the first Black president, he's one of them, he's not one of us.
LWC: How do you feel about social media today and its impact on the youth?
BSS: Technology today controls society. Kids can’t tell time anymore unless it's digital. The concept of the video is to create misconceptions through images that brainwash kids: sex, money, and bling. I enjoyed Hip-Hop until it became rap; NWA brought in the gangster mentality which was all negative with no balance. If you look at clothes today everybody wears the same thing like robots and they must be told what to wear like robots… no individuality, everything is the same. In the ‘60s we wore tailor-made suits, shark skin suits, no sagging jeans—that’s prison culture, thug culture, and brainwashing. That’s how they used Tupac, the product of the Black Panthers, in the same ways they exploited the image of Black Panthers brandishing guns.
[Note: the Crips were formed out of the Black Panthers and the Bloods were formed out of the Crips. Which is interesting considering Bloods and Crip members developed Gangster Rap which Tupac became its cultural figure.]
LWC: What made you become an activist?
BSS: I was pissed off, that's what helped me decide to become a Panther. I discovered the being when I was at Hunter College and then I learned even more once I joined the Black Panthers. People think that it was the men that controlled the Panthers but it was the women that kept the Panthers together. Once the women left, the party fell apart because the men began to turn against one another; Huey and Bobby were both trained by female comrades.
LWC: Really?
BSS: Yeah I was as well, it was a woman who trained me to lock and load and how to clean out my gun. If I was in the military during wartime I would feel safer in combat with women by my side than to have men by my side because with men it’s always going to be an ego against the other man.
LWC: But going back to what you just said about the government—they turned against each other in what way?
BSS: By placing certain members of the party on pedestals, as I warned you about previously. Once Huey got locked up, Bobby Seale took more leadership within the party in Huey’s absence. Then when Huey returned back home the party became divided because Huey felt that he was the face of the Black Panther party. The government got Huey addicted to crack and Huey became paranoid and didn’t trust anybody anymore. The Panthers started killing each other.
LWC: This was definitely not what I expected to learn during this interview.
BSS: Dr. Huey P. Newton, PhD, became a crackhead and was assassinated by the Black Guerrilla movement that wanted to make a name for themselves, so they went after the Black Panthers founding member.
LWC: Wow I’m not sure how to respond to that. How did you respond to that upon learning of it?
BSS: Keep in mind Huey thought that the New York Panthers were against him as well. Huey wanted to take over the party nationally once he returned from prison. He was no longer interested in working together with other comrades; he wanted to be its sole leader. His ego took over once he returned back home and paranoia also took over him. There were infiltrators within the party and we became split in two (east vs. west). Huey began receiving phony letters with fake signatures that New York comrades were out to kill Huey so he was convinced that the East Coast were out to kill him. He received death threats to Huey by mail coming from the East Coast and the Panthers became divided, East Coast vs. West Coast, and both coasts began to believe that we were out to kill the other Coast.
[Note: this was the same tactic that was used to divide rap music in the 90’s. East Coast vs. West Coast wars which led to the death of both Tupac and Biggie. After a while, I thought what I was hearing began to make sense.]
LWC: But was that a good thing or a bad thing?
BSS: You decide.
In closing, I found it interesting when 17th National Black Writers Conference Honoree Paul Coates stated that the Black Panther Party talked too much, and he further argued that the rhetoric made the Panthers rather than its movement. Whereas in the beginning, I felt his opinion was off, I now understand what he was saying. It's about the 'powers that be' and how they have used media and manipulation to give life to the professional agitators and instigators that create negative misconceptions to divide and conquer organizations such as BBP and others that are put in place to divide and conquer the powers that be. But I did leave with a deeper understanding of the ways in which media functions.
Editor’s Notes:
*The editor has been unable to verify the existence of a conspiracy to contaminate crops destined for Black households with LSD. However, the CIA ran a program for decades, called MKUltra, that experimented with the use of LSD and a range of other drugs for the purposes of mind control, brainwashing, and psychological torture. MKUltra frequently used nonconsensual, illegal methods.
**The FBI did indeed investigate the Panthers. Through a counterintelligence program named COINTELPRO, the FBI actively surveilled and sabotaged the BPP. All of the methods described by Bro Shep—phone tapping, opening mail, bugging offices, seeding informants, writing fake letters that would sow division between members and chapters of the BPP—are known to have been used extensively as part of COINTELPRO’s attack on the Panthers. Many of the Party’s internal conflicts can be traced to these illegal interventions. COINTELPRO also directly targeted leaders through assassination, imprisonment, and the construction of false charges. Martin Luther King, Jr., Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Fred Hampton, and many many others were targeted by the program. To this day, Assata Shakur remains the FBI’s most wanted woman.
***The editor has been unable to verify whether or not Tupac’s father, Billy Garland, was an informant who was placed in the witness protection program. He was largely absent from Tupac’s life.
****By his own admission, Sharpton has cooperated with the FBI. It is alleged that he pursued information relating to the whereabouts of Assata Shakur in the 1980s.
Founder/CEO
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
Exploring the Intersection of Ethnography, Anthropology, and Black Literature: An Interview with Dr. David Orenstein
written by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
June 17, 2024 - The theme of the 17th National Black Writers Conference was All That We Carry: Where Do We Go From Here? A writers conference that took place from March 20 - 23, 2024 at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, NY. During the conference, conversations centered on the question of unpacking the history of the African Diaspora through slave narratives, the griot, and Black writer's texts and the use of archaeological research to chronicle the history of America from the perspective of what Toni Morrison calls a “Black gaze.” Black writers, including Zora Neale Hurston, have often
studied the field of anthropology in order to create context for their narratives. I sat down with Dr. David Orenstein, who is an anthropologist and former provost (formally dean of academic affairs) at Warren County Community College, as well as an author and professor at Medgar Evers College since 2013.
Dr. Orenstein is the co-author of two books, the 2015 Godless Grace: How Non-Believers are Making the World Safer Richer and Kinder, and the November 2019 publication of Darwin’s Apostles: The Men Who Fought to Have Evolution Accepted, Their Times, and How the Battle Continues. A primatologist by early training, he has written for numerous national and international freethinker and science publications.
Dr. Orenstein is also a noted civil and human rights activist and a sought-after speaker on human rights, science education, and evolution acceptance. I chose to speak with Dr. Orenstein after attending the 17th National Black Writers Conference to get a deeper understanding of Anthropology and how it can benefit an author/ writer's writing process.
Levi W. K. Catoe Jr.: Hi Dr. David Orenstein, thank you for sitting and talking to me and our readers. I wanted to begin this conversation by discussing anthropology. Can you explain to the readers of Musings exactly what Anthropology is, in case they are unaware?
Dr. David Orenstein: Of course and first, I want to thank you for offering me this opportunity to talk with you and through you, speak to your readers. It is humbling. The formal and basic definition of anthropology is essentially the study of human beings. Here at the college though, I think we need to look at it more deeply. So for me and the other anthropology faculty, we’re more interested in answering the question, “what makes us human” and that takes place by having the most holistic and open worldview of humanity, from culture to biology, to past and present civilizations, to how we treat one another, how we interact with the planet and how, as activists, we can see the underlying reality that there is much MORE that binds us together than pulls us apart.
LWC: During the 17th National Black Writers Conference there was a roundtable discussion regarding “Black Writers’ Letters To America,” which centered on forms such as archival slave narratives, oral histories, the Griot, and the history of America from the perspective of what Toni Morrison calls a Black gaze. How can ethnography be used to uncover Black histories in America in this day and age, as we are witnessing DEI, Critical Race Theory, and “Woke” agendas under attack, and in many cases young uninformed African Americans who say they are tired of hearing about slavery? How can writers use this research in fiction telling to inspire young readers to reconsider this Black gaze through ethnography?
D.O.: I think that all cultural stories are powerful. History of our past, collectively and within ethnic groups is not just about what happened years ago. They are often cautionary tales about loss, survival, justice, power, and perseverance. Their importance to family and community is clear. So, it’s as much about how you capture, share, and acknowledge, and that last part is not monolithic. There will always be people who will discard or not care about the past. The important thing is for us to show its value to the other two-thirds of people who will listen and will wish to carry it forward. In this way, literature and anthropology are very much linked. It’s about carrying forward our ancestors and their experience while at the same time not living in the past, but also creating our own truths and lived experiences.
LWC: If someone were interested in the field of Anthropology what would their career options be as a trained anthropologist?
DO: Wow! That’s a great question. Anthropologists work everywhere! Many people think you have to be Indiana Jones or work as a stuffy academic, but in reality, a degree in anthropology opens doors to working in public service, healthcare, the media and entertainment, law and diplomacy, working for social and environmental justice, ensuring people’s cultural memories and artifacts are secured…really the list is endless. Plus, usually, anthropology graduates make between 60k-80k upon graduation.
LWC: Personally, as a writer, I was drawn to anthropology due to its ability to draw you into cultures. I was also drawn to how the field focuses on building observational skills that not only benefit writers but also actors. Can you explain what Ethnography, the fieldwork of Anthropology, is and how to go about obtaining this information in Anthropology?
DO: Sure, essentially ethnography is the study of human culture. We may think that when anthropologists are doing this type of work it’s done in some exotic place. But in reality, you can do ethnographic fieldwork anywhere humans gather. So that means studying how people act and react to one another, sometimes it’s about power relationships or gender, but it can also be looked at through other connections like ethnicity, language, and kinship. Then you look at rituals and see how people act within groups to verify their lifeways. It’s usually best to spend a great deal of time to get the best information, but it’s not fully necessary. Plus there are so many techniques, like indirect or direct observation, participatory research, and surveys, really there are so many tools in the anthropologist’s toolbox to gauge human interaction.
LWC: What are the various methods in Anthropology?
DO: Perhaps in cultural anthropology or ethnography, the two main methods are observation and interview. With observation, you try to look unbiasedly at how people interact within the context of culture, language, and geography. Interviews usually give you answers regarding self-perception. You see how the interviews and observations intersect, which gives you in real time a kind of “truth” regarding how people think, act, and produce culture. This also works in linguistic anthropology since language and culture exist to build on each other. You can’t have language without culture, and vice versa. In archaeology, you’re dealing with material artifacts created and left behind by current and past humans and their civilizations. It’s a fascinating area that helps tell the story of how humans for thousands of years created the simplest to the most complex technologies, which help tell the story of their civilization. In biological anthropology, you’re going deeper and further back into time, exploring our fossil past and the fossil and biological past of all species on the planet since life began. But this area also includes forensics, like the show “Bones,” and primate behavior, paleontology, hominid evolution, paleobotany, and so many other fields.
LWC: What anthropological methods would most benefit writers who are interested in following in the shoes of a writer like the Black Harlem Renaissance author Zora Neale Hurston?
DO: Great question and another example of an important writer who took her anthropological training to fulfill her intellectual interests. Zora Neale Hurston really used her worldview to help document and understand the African American experience in so many deep and consuming ways both through ethnography but also through fiction and other literature. She studied at Howard and Bernard and was a supporter of other black writers in the 1930s. Her work gave meaning and connection to the lives of Southern Blacks both pre- and post-slavery and well into the latter half of the 20th Century. It's hard to know if anthropology made Zora Neale Hurston or vice versa but the combination has given millions of her readers new life and understanding and isn’t that really what matters most?
LWC: Zora Neale Hurston's fieldwork became 100 pages of research in the 1931 Journal of American Folklore, under the title “Hoodoo in America, and her autoethnography Mules and Men, a book of Hurston's detailed, first-hand research, infused with her reflections. Are these good examples of viewing literature from the Black gaze in your opinion?
D.O.: Of course! Zora Neale Hurston’s ethnographic work as well as her other research is memorable on so many levels. In a way, it connects issues of identity to the way W.E.B. Du Bois contemplated double consciousness. So, scholars and activists across generations from various disciplines are coming to the research and issues that the Society of Black Anthropologists and the American Anthropological Association are STILL observing and gathering data to this day. It’s because culture doesn’t have an expiration date, although cultures can and do go extinct. Hurston’s work stimulates and ensures we remember and witness those who came before.
LWC: Zora Neale Hurston's role as an anthropologist is reflected in her work as a fiction writer through her incorporation of different cultures and societies, her exploration of Black American and Caribbean folklore, and her use of first-hand storytelling experience. Another example from the musical theater is “Westside Story” (1957), which began as “Eastside Story”, which chronicled the Lower East Side’s Jewish and Catholic Irish conflicts during the turn of the century NYC. Later, it became Westside Story, about the now-demolished San Juan Hill, a lost Black and Jazz community that was removed during the urban renewal in the 1950s, leading to creating historical erasure. The story shows how ethnology can be used to creatively re-envision and re-imagine lost communities through theater and writing. How do you feel about this process of using ethnography in the way in which Michael Bennett, for example, created the play “A Chorus Line” (1975) from audition slates?
D.O.: Great question and I’ll answer it as holistically as possible because that’s the way I see things as an anthropologist. I think anthropology is all about not only documenting the past and present to increase our knowledge, but it is very much about creating allies in the social sciences, physical sciences, and certainly in the fine and performing arts. It’s an “all in” effort to develop and maintain history and cultural meaning. When we do this, we create new entrepreneurial ways to connect to people, places, and ideas. We’re all so different, so some people might be turned off by an academic article, but get excited to read literature about a culture, or they may see a play or artwork, and it can change their lives. Just as there’s not one right way to be a “human” there’s no one right way to discover our human connections, which are many and so diverse. Even though some people would like us to think differently. A child’s story about growing up in the Caribbean is my story. An immigrant’s story about the hardships of leaving home is equally my story. Every person and community has value and worth. The challenge specifically in ethnography and cultural anthropology is to collect, share, and inspire others to see us as connected and one human family.
LWC: Can you explain some of your research and experiences in Anthropology? What cultures have you encountered, and what countries have you traveled to? How many years have you been in the field?
DO: I have been very fortunate in that my love of anthropology has connected me to many different people in places. My first book was an international ethnography, really an ethnology, looking at how people from across the globe work for social justice, human rights, and environmental justice as non-believers or atheists/agnostics in every country and continent. The idea is, can we be “good without god” and if so, who is attempting to heal the world not for the motivation of faith but non-faith. Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with helping others if your faith and spirituality ask that of you, but it was great research to see what motivates millions of people without faith to live with The Golden Rule. My actual research isn’t in ethnography, though. I study human evolution, paleontology, primate behavior, and science acceptance. So I’ve really been all over this planet doing research, presenting my findings, and working in these areas. For instance, this summer, I’m speaking in Helsinki and London, all on anthropology. I’ve also researched in Romania and other parts of Europe and spoken in Manilla, really it's a long list. In 2018, I was the faculty advisor and took MEC and CUNY students to Ecuador where we worked with indigenous peoples, and assisted in doing environmental research in the Amazon Rainforest and on the Galapagos Islands.
LWC: What inspired you to study Anthropology?
DO: Well, I’ll be honest. It was my father who took me to see Planet of the Apes in 1968 when I was a child of maybe six or seven. I was hooked on the idea of inter-species communication and that got me interested in studying the primates. Fast forward and when I was an undergraduate at CUNY, I spent time working with the Bronx Zoo gorillas, interning at the Brooklyn Museum, and also spent time in California meeting with Koko, the sign-language gorilla.
LWC: Of the many cultures that you have met, what custom, if any, inspired or changed your way of thinking in terms of traditions that you may have been accustomed to previously?
DO: Well, I tend not to be too accustomed to many traditions and really try to keep a holistic open mind, heart, and imagination when I meet all people. I’m an optimist by perception, so I come from a humanistic point of view seeing the good in all people, even if all people aren’t good to each other all the time.
I do see how the connections and rituals are connected to the past and I like to bring that out in class when we celebrate holidays like Valentine's Day, Christmas, or other secular and religious holidays.
LWC: New York is a large city, but a small place once you leave because many of its traditions and peculiarities are unlike anywhere else. Most places do not have a 24-hour rail system (subway), 24-hour stores, and multicultural neighborhoods. I had relatives who came to New York to visit and said they had never seen an open fire hydrant and had to take pictures; these are little things that New Yorkers take for granted. Did that affect your view as you entered into other community spaces outside of New York City?
DO: Well, I think the benefit of being born in a diverse city like New York really lays the groundwork for understanding other people. I was born in Brooklyn in the early 1960s and lived the first 12 years of my life in the Marlboro Houses, a housing project on 86th Street. So, I was kind of born into diversity and never left. My friends then, like now, really came from everywhere. I grew up believing and seeing the truth of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s quote about living one day in a nation where we don’t judge anyone by the color of their skin but rather by the content of their character.
LWC: What thoughts would you like to leave our readers with in terms of Anthropology?
DO: Sure, I’ll be happy to share. To me, anthropology is more than just a discipline with research interests and methodology. It is a perceptual way of living an open and humble way of life. Seeing the connections of people, culture, biology, and language is a daily event and a ticket to the best show on Earth! Of course, we also have to be mindful of the damage and dangers our species has done and continues to do related to how we care for each other and the planet. But, as noted before, as an optimist humanistic anthropologist, I conclude that we can get past the noise and build a loving world if we can be less tribal or at least see the “tribe” as all of us rather than just some of us.
LWC: Thank you so much for speaking with me. Cheers and thanks for sharing.
DO: You are very welcome, and I thank you for your time and attention. Thank you for offering me a platform to share. This is exactly what we should be doing, coming from so many different disciplines and perspectives to build a community. If your readers ever want to reach out to me, my office is on the first floor of the Bedford Building (1650 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn N.Y., at CUNY/Medgar Evers College).
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Journalist, Editor, BOSS, NYC
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
Celebrating Black Culture: The Annual Double Dutch Competition in Paterson NJ
written by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
June 13, 2024 - Experience the heart of Paterson, New Jersey at an annual event that celebrates the art of Double Dutch rope jumping. Join us as we showcase the exceptional skills of talented jumpers and witness an exhilarating display of agility, coordination, and unyielding passion. Don't miss out on this highly anticipated Double Dutch event!
The Double Dutch event in Paterson, NJ, is a significant annual founded by an emerging community leader Kamar Davis gathering that brings together individuals from all walks of life to celebrate and participate in the rich tradition of Double Dutch rope jumping. This event serves as a cornerstone in building a strong community, fostering a sense of unity, and preserving the cultural heritage of Black communities. Each year, people from near and far converge in Paterson to partake in this beloved tradition, creating lasting memories and forming new connections along the way. Participants enjoy and continue the legacy of Double Dutch, creating a vibrant and inclusive atmosphere in the heart of Paterson.
Double Dutch is still a welcome sight on sidewalks and playgrounds in Black communities throughout America. But where did Double Dutch rope jumping come from, and how did it become the nationally competitive sport it is today?
Double Dutch is a forgotten Black community staple that goes back thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and eventually Europeans performed the sport of 'rope skipping.' Its name derived from the Dutch colonists that brought the two-rope version to America in the 1600s, which is why it was called 'Double Dutch.'
Double Dutch took off in New York in the 1930s. When David A. Walker of the NYPD saw that girls in his neighborhood had fewer opportunities to play sports but had perfected double Dutch with their rhymes and creative moves, he envisioned the game’s full potential. In 1973, he developed a set of rules, and competitive double Dutch was born.
The main point of this editorial is that there is an annual Double Dutch rope jumping competition held in Paterson, NJ, during the Juneteenth weekend events in the Black community at Eastside Park. Don’t miss it.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Journalist, Editor, BOSS, NYC
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
Walking for a Cause: MECPS High School's Sickle Cell Awareness Event
May 13, 2024 - In the bustling heart of Brooklyn, MECPS High School stands as a beacon of hope and resilience for the community it serves. As the sun rises on a crisp autumn day, the school grounds transform into a vibrant hub of activity, where students, faculty, and community members gather for a cause that resonates deeply within their hearts: Sickle Cell Awareness.
Sickle cell disease, a debilitating inherited blood disorder, affects millions worldwide. In communities like Brooklyn, where the African American population is disproportionately impacted, raising awareness and providing support for those living with the condition is paramount. With unwavering determination, Medgar Ever College Preparatory School High School in Brooklyn, NY has taken the initiative to organize an event that will shine a light on this often-overlooked disease. I sat down with student James Baker to discuss the upcoming event and why he chose to take part in the event.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.: Hello James, my name is Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr. Would you kindly share some information regarding your event, including its purpose and intent? Thank you.
James Baker: The event is a sickle cell awareness walk where we will be meeting in front of the MECPS High School building at 1186 Carroll st. on June 1st which is a Saturday. The purpose is to raise awareness about the disease, education on treatment and research, and donations for research. The intent of the walk is to bring people together and organize our voices to be heard by not just the community but the city that we are in support of the survivors and fighters of the disease and to raise donations for research to help give adults and children a chance at a better life, and we will do this by coming together at the school then taking to the streets on a route around crown heights, which we have gotten the permit to do, and make our voices heard. We will have t-shirts for the walk and other amenities just like the breast cancer walk might have, in addition we will be providing food and refreshments. Guest speakers will be there to speak on the issues and bring our community together.
LWC: Your involvement in sickle cell is important to us. Can you please share with us how long you've been participating in these events, or is this your first event for this charitable cause?
JB: I have been involved for around a year now for general planning or coming up with community ideas and activities, however, I have been taking part in community activities for quite some time now.
LWC: Please understand that your contribution is vital in supporting individuals and families affected by this condition. Has Sickle Cell affected you and if so in what way? If not, how has it motivated, you to be a part of this event and its cause?
JB: I have quite a few close friends that have the gene and sometimes even the disease. It is very difficult for those who have the disease to deal with the pain and possible health ramifications for their entire life. The fact that the disease is so prevalent within the black community and not well informed or discussed by people is seriously a problem, so to educate and raise funds for research is critical to the prosperity of the community; therefore I am not just motivated I must bring change and energy to this issue, which I am doing by running this event.
LWC: May I ask why it would be beneficial for individuals to partake in this Sickle Cell event?
JB: Everyone, survivors to carriers, undiagnosed people to strangers, everyone, should take part in this event. The disease of sickle cell anemia affects over 100,000 people in the United States and 20 million people worldwide, yet so many people either do not know what it is or do not pay enough attention to it. The disease's mortality rate, which is how many people die from the disease, is 68% at age 0 through 3 years, 39% at age 4 through 9 years, and 24% at age 10 through 14 years. As you can see, this disease is one worth bringing awareness about. Who knows what those babies, children, and adolescents could have achieved in their lives that were unfairly taken early by this cruel disease.
LWC: Thank you for sharing the details. Could you please provide your contact information, along with the date, time, and any promotional details about the upcoming event? This will help others to join you on June 1st and participate in the event.
JB: The date of the walk is June 1st, 2024. It will be taking place at 10am in front of Medgar Ever College Preparatory School High school at 1186 Carroll St in Brooklyn, NY. The flyer, which I welcome you spreading to as many people as you can, is attached as a PDF document to this email. On another note, I just want to thank you for reaching out and helping me through this process. It has been consuming and I appreciate the helping hand. I also want to ask that if there is any other person that might be a head of a community group, please put me in contact with them because I want to make this event as successful as possible. Also, please send around the sickle cell walk flyer to as many people as possible. That would be greatly appreciated.
LWC: You’re welcome.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Editor, BOSS, NYC
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
Unveiling the Passion: A Dialogue between a Composer and Conductor on their Journey to Julliard and the World of Classical Music
by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
May 1, 2024. (NYC) In the realm of classical music, where melodies soar and harmonies intertwine, the name Julliard evokes an unparalleled legacy of artistry and excellence. This esteemed institution has nurtured countless musical prodigies, shaping their talents and inspiring them to leave an indelible mark on the world of music. Among these luminaries is a Julliard-trained composer whose extraordinary journey is a testament to the transformative power of classical music. From humble beginnings to the grandest concert halls, this composer's story is an enchanting symphony of passion, perseverance, and unwavering dedication to the art form.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.: What is your background in music, Alex, and if you can explain to our audience a little bit about your classical musical training would be greatly appreciated?
Alex Marrero: I am a private teacher of classical piano lessons, and I have studied with Mary Stein, Morris Borenstein, Vladimir Feltsman, Evelyn Chen, and Jeanne Golan.
LWC: That’s great Alex. How long have you been studying?
AM: I started taking piano lessons at age 5.
LWC: Wow that is wonderful Alex. What would you say is a good age to begin studying classical music, and is there an ‘age’ at which people might become too stuck in their ways to adapt to the rigors of classical musical training over a course of a lifetime?
AM: I think that parents can introduce music to a child once they know they are having one (a baby); even for the 9 months before the child is born (in utero), the music that the mother may sing to the child shares the same chemistry as the future child to be born. {Note: Personally, I do believe that when we are younger, it is easier to adapt to the rigors of performing arts training, but as people grow older, our minds become less malleable regarding the arts, so accepting certain disciplines becomes tougher.}
LWC: Great point and oh I do so agree. You must expose a child to classical music in utero. Can you please explain your Julliard training, simply because Julliard is regarded as the premier institution for the arts, but I have heard some say it’s out of touch as well as too demanding? What are your feelings regarding the Juilliard training?
AM: When I finished my bachelor's degree in music history from SUNY-New Paltz, I wanted to "test the waters" at Juilliard, so I took a couple of "survey-style" music history courses between the autumn of 2003 and the spring of 2004. I knew for a fact that there would be sons and daughters of United Nations diplomats who could blow me away with my level of piano technique, but I continued and soon persevered. I believe that Juilliard is becoming a lot more progressive while maintaining its standards. However, since Juilliard is a school of music, dance, and drama, the institution is surely asking itself, how are we providing foundations for the performing artists of the future?
LWC: As they should be. I had private vocal classes at Juilliard for Broadway Voice lessons and I am an alumnus of AMDA (American Musical & Dramatic Academy) so there is definitely a reputation to uphold but also a changing young artist of today that now sees celebrity as an influencer of Tik-Tok or IG which may not be necessarily disciplined professionally in art (performance, vocal, acting, or dance). As a conductor of music explain to the readers what that requires and also if you can the importance of the conductor to an orchestra.
AM: My opinions are certainly subjective, so I think it is very important to keep in mind that performers around the world, whether playing, singing, or doing both, perform the great majority of music without sheet music and may average 5 minutes in length. If someone decides to become the conductor of a large ensemble, such as a chorus or a band, or an orchestra, it is really important to be an all-around musician. They must know Solfege {note: Solfege, also called “solfeggio” or “solfa,” is a system where every note of a scale is given its own unique syllable, which is used to sing that note every time it appears.} Harmony, Ear training, Score Reading, and Composition; and these are some of the skills that they’ll need along with knowledge of historical performance practice, including contemporary special effects. They will need to have a great voice with great vocal skills, great keyboard skills, and a great understanding of how all instruments work with their ranges and strengths. As a conductor, you should be able to perform as a soloist with your major ensemble, your right-hand technique should be impeccable with changing meter, whether or not you use a baton and your left hand should also be excellent with entrances, releases, and dynamics. Ensembles that intentionally rehearse and perform concerts without a conductor, such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, may use open-ended questions when reaching collective decisions on the compositions they are working on.
LWC: Oh wow, thank you for your considerate response to the question. So for anyone of our readers who is interested, there is everything that you should be considering above. Alex, who is your favorite composer, and why is this person your favorite composer(s)?
AM: While (Johann Sebastian) Bach is my favorite composer, I am being very open-minded about listening to as many different composers as possible. My Composer Advocation Project (CAP) involving the Committee on Cultural Inclusion (CCI) for the College Music Society (CMS) features contemporary works by contemporary musicians in the USA and around the world.
LWC: What composer inspired you to become a musician? Was it a classical or mainstream musician?
AM: I believe that in the USA, Leonard Bernstein made a tremendous impact on the classical music world as a composer, conductor, pianist, educator, and author. I really like the fact that he knew what was happening in the worlds of ballet, drama, musical theater, and pop music of the 1950s through the 1980s.
LWC: What mainstream artists do you listen to, if any?
AM: Although I do not do enough of this, I really enjoy listening to jazz, Latin, and electronic dance music.
LWC: Really? You’ve just given some flashbacks with the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) association because now I’m thinking of the Lee Curreri ‘1980s character from Fame (movie and TV show) Bruno, who was classically trained but alternately inspired by the use and experimentation of synthesizers. But alas, I grew up loving theater; my favorite musical scores are Man of La Mancha and West Side Story. Do you have a favorite musical theater soundtrack?
AM: Going back to Leonard Bernstein, I believe West Side Story is a great combination of the classical, jazz, and Latin styles of the 1950s.
LWC: Thank you so much. Now please promote yourself to the readers, and where can I find you for private piano instruction?
AM: Although I prefer to drive to the homes of my students in Orange County, New York State to have piano lessons with them, I also offer instruction remotely online. I can be reached via LinkedIn at Alex Marrero/Private Teacher/Classical Piano Lessons I teach students music through the piano and in that order. I will close with my own quote:
"The more creative we are, the more human we will be..."
I send my best wishes to everyone. With great hope, Alex Marrero Thank you, Levi!
LWC: Bravo, my friend, bravo. Thank you very much for that and all of your shared wisdom. And there you go, all of you future musical enthusiasts. Please link up with and follow musician, Mr. Alex Marrero and tell them that BOSS (Black Owners Seeking Success) sent you. J
Editor, Journalist
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
pw.org/directory/writers/levi_kenny_fame_catoe_jr
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
The Resurgence of Cult Jam: Why Their Comeback Is Worth Celebrating
by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Step back in time with me to the 1980s, when New York City's art scene was bursting with vibrancy and color. From the underground Hip Hop culture to the iconic Paradise Garage and Funhouse, the city was a haven for creatives of all kinds. Whether you were into New Wave, CBGB's Punk Rock, Graffiti art, or Breakdancing in Times Square, NYC was the place to be.
Amid all this creative energy emerged the musical group that would take the city by storm: Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam featuring Full Force. "I Wonder If I Take You Home" sold out in record stores as the soulful voice of Lisa Velez and the group's unique sound made them an instant success.
But with fame came a price, and it was a steep one. Recently, I had the chance to sit down with Michael Hughes, one of the founding members of Cult Jam, and discuss the challenges that come with success in the music industry. From the highs of topping the pop, R&B, and dance charts to the struggles of navigating the industry's demands, We spoke in-depth regarding the price of fame. I was fortunate enough to have musician Michael Hughes share his insights on making it in the music business in the 1980s and today
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.: How are you, Mr. Mike Hughes? You came out of a very vibrant art scene in NYC that pretty much centered around “you had to be there to understand” How would you describe those days in the early 1980's on W. 26th Street in NYC at the Funhouse?
Michael Hughes: At that time in New York City, at that age was phenomenal. Music and dance were so experimental then. We had such a great variety of music. Not just House music, R&B, or just Funk and Disco if it had a great rhythm or said something special, it got played; mixed crowds, straight or gay, we danced all night.
LWC: Back in those days you had innovators like Keith Haring, Basquiat, Jellybean Benitez, Madonna, Africa Bambata, Shep Pettibone, Mister Magic, Funky Four Plus One More, and on and on and on; even Sade once worked at the Danceteria what was it about that period in a time in which none of the useful tools that young people now have easily at their disposal is made available; but yet so much creativity came out of that scene of music artist, graffiti artist, makeup artist, DJ, dancers, etc.?
MH: When you appreciate and respect all that came before you. And feed on the creativity of those around you. It's impossible for the seeds of growth not to enter your soul.
LWC: Cult Jam was the first Street/Urban act that came out of Columbia Records which is now Sony take me through that from A&R to executive decisions it was apparent that they were jumping on a bandwagon by opening the door to an act that had street-cred yet were still musically accomplished to be a gateway for the Hip-Hop that followed once you guys opened the door with two #1 smash hits on the Pop charts Head To Toe which also topped R&B and Dance Charts as well, and Lost In Emotions which to me aged better than Head To Toe and that music video was amazing; especially given the time of cheap urban videos. What was your take on that?
MH: Cult Jam came out following in the footsteps of groups like "Secret Weapon ", Unlimited Touch, GQ, and Shannon; other groups and artists came behind us continuing the music flow. Labels and the so-called powers that like to put music in boxes/categories so they can control what they usually don't even understand.
LWC: CBS/Columbia Records {note: CBS/Columbia records is now SONY} did a poor job promoting the group the name was too long ‘Lisa, Lisa & Cult Jam featuring Full Force’ I feel it was a marketing strategy that was also being used with Miami Sound Machine to breakup the act and create a solo space for Lisa Lisa (Lisa Velez) do you agree?
MH: The add-on to our name ‘Cult Jam’ was merely a shot in the dark at marketing something catchy. You never really know about that stuff. We used to say what's in a name. It's a stupid name until you have a hit.
LWC: How has the music industry changed since those early years?
MH: The industry is different now, but what remains the same is money makes promotion make success.
LWC: Do you guys, Cult Jam {note: founding member drummer/keyboardist Michael (Cultjam)Hughes, guitarist/bassist Alex (Spanador) Mosely, and their latest female vocalist/soultress, Long Island native Mystina Sol} feel more empowered today, or was the industry machine better than the social media and internet freedoms of today?
MH: We as a lot of indie artists are empowered. We can create something we love 100% with no interference or someone looking over our shoulder. Those creations can feel like your children. But the company machine can be very helpful. There is a give and take in every situation. Life is full of compromise.
LWC: Talk a bit about where you are now and Cult Jam in its current form and describe your music genre. Are you still under the umbrella of Hip Hop and freestyle? What is the evolution?
MH: Cult Jam music can be best described then and now as feel-good-good. You dance and sing we supply the ambiance.
LWC: I represent a Black Literature space as well as a college student base that often is unaware of music beyond the same mainstream artist that’s constantly being streamed if there was one song of Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam to introduce them to your music what would that one song be?
MH: I wonder if I take you home our first puts you into the feel of what comes in the colors of Cult Jam. Celebrate what love can do from our current creations and keep that sexy feel essence.
LWC: So now my question is how would you introduce someone unfamiliar with your previous music to who you are as Cult Jam today?
MH: Seeing Cult Jam live has always been what represents us best. We were a touring band from day one.
LWC: Thank you so much for speaking with our audience today. You are a boss.
MH: Much love and appreciation - Mike "Cult Jam" Hughes.
*New Music* Holding Back The Years - Cult Jam / 2024
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Editor, BOSS NYC
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
The Inspiring Story of a Mother's Championship Basketball Legacy Passed Down to Her Daughters
by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
April 9, 2024 - Years ago, the only way that a young Black man could fathom himself receiving a free ride through a top (PWI) college or even an (HBCU) was in the hopes of receiving a sports scholarship, which offered him far more financial backing than an academic-based scholarship, meaning that he or his Black family would have to stress coming out of pocket, leading to financial debt that he would be straddled with for the bulk of his adult life. But those days have come and gone because nowadays young Black ladies are also vying for that free ride and breaking every college’s glass ceiling doing it—not that this is a competition, but what it is becomes an opportunity for everyone involved, which leads me to Tynisha Sims. Sims is a former high school championship basketball player herself who made it to St. John’s University, which fields 17 NCAA Division I teams, with many scholar-athletes going on to compete on professional and Olympic teams. But that wasn’t enough for Mrs. Sims; basketball became about family, tradition, community, and Black love. I sat down to speak with Sims and learn more about the origins behind her and her two daughters and ‘this league of their own’.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.: Hi, Tynisha Sims can you please tell my audience a little bit about yourself and your championship career in basketball both high school and collegiate, and how you're passing the tradition of basketball on through your own daughters?
Tynisha Sims: Hello, yes, I’d love to too. I began playing basketball in middle school. I had an advantage with my height, but then I began to grow more and more in love with the sport. By the time I was in high school, I was invited to play in elite basketball showcases and camps and eventually ended up on a top AAU (Amateur Athletic United League) team. On that team, we won the Northeast region championship and played for the national championship. I also played for my high school’s basketball team, Paterson Catholic High School, and in my senior year, we were the Passaic County Champions. My high school years helped me be awarded a full D-1 athletic scholarship to St. John’s University, where I played against some of the most competitive schools. While at St. John's, I was named team captain in my junior and senior years. I was also selected and played on the Big East Conference All-Star team. After college, I continued my basketball career by switching to coaching. I started coaching the Passaic County Community College's (PCCC) women’s basketball team. While at (PCCC), the women’s basketball team made it to the junior college championships three times; two of the three times we won the junior college championship, leading me to be on the sidelines for my own two girls. I have coached both of my daughters since they were in the 2nd grade. I love coaching our youth. My mission is always to help make them a better version of themselves, to inspire and empower girls to be leaders in their own right, and also to not fear anything!
LWC: How did you feel as a young athlete? And what would you say to your younger self?
TS: I felt blessed as a young athlete because my parents knew nothing about basketball, and I was blessed with coaches who saw fit to invest their time and energy in helping me be the best I could be. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am now. What I would say to my younger self is that you are doing an amazing job! You will be a role model for the next generation.
LWC: Are the things that you would say to your younger self the same things that you now pass on to your daughters and the young ladies that you coach?
TS: Absolutely! Lift each other up and speak positivity into all you do! You got this!
LWC: What are the ages of the players that you coach?
TS: Right now, I coach 12–13-year-olds.
LWC: I have always considered sports to be very disciplined, similar to my training in theater. How did the discipline and the rigors of sports training affect your discipline as an adult?
TS: It helped me tremendously. Especially as a mom, wife, finance professional, and coach, it requires a lot of scheduling, early mornings and late nights, accountability, and overall discipline. In college, we would have 5 a.m. practices, then classes, mandatory 2-hour study halls, media training, and evening practice, and we would finish the day with film study. I remember, as an accounting major, being the only one on the bus or airplane (traveling to an opponent’s school for a game) studying or completing an assignment. It was definitely a very intense time of my life that has helped me prepare for adulthood and the many challenges that I face daily.
LWC: How did sports inspire your decisions as a parent of two daughters? Did you want them to play as well, or was it something that they chose for themselves?
TS: I am a firm believer that sports or anything outside of the classroom will teach you life skills, mainly accountability and responsibility. It helps you to advocate for yourself as well as deal with adversity. I had my girls in gymnastics, soccer, and swimming as toddlers. They were swimming before walking. I wanted them to experience everything they could, and later in life, I knew they would pick the one that they liked the most. Basketball is something that seems natural to them but is not necessarily their favorite. Ultimately, they can choose which activity they wish to focus on when they are ready.
LWC: Do you see your younger self coaching your daughters? And if so, how does it make you feel now, looking at it through parental vision?
TS: I currently coach one of my daughters, and for the other, I am just there for support. I love both. One is less vocal than the other, but I like the vantage point.
LWC: What are some of the ways in which sports have influenced you as a parent? Does it make you more of a compassionate parent, an inspired parent, a relentless parent, an impatient parent, or a more patient parent?
TS: It definitely makes me more relentless and patient. From experience, I know that hard work doesn’t last forever; you become more receptive to it. You learn how to deal with hard things better, and that’s what I feel as a parent.
LWC: Growing up, your parents were very supportive of you while you were playing as well, and now that you’re on the other side as the parent of young basketball players, does that put things in another perspective now that you’re the parent, creating a whole new level of appreciation for yourself now that you have put yourself in their former shoes?
TS: Of course, the only difference is that I played the sport, whereas my parents did not. But the experiences they loved about me playing the sport are the same that I feel for my girls. The travel, the bond, the highs, the lows, and everything in between is worth it.
LWC: Let’s talk about coaching girls’ basketball. How is it? Just in case some readers are not into high school, college, or the (WNBA) Women’s Basketball League.
TS: Coaching basketball is exhilarating! You become family to the players and the families of the players you coach. To see the practice and strategies that you teach executed on the basketball court and end in success is the best feeling in the world. But what’s most amazing and impactful are the lives you are changing by inspiring and empowering them to be their best.
LWC: Do you still enjoy the game of basketball, or has it become just a job?
TS: I love the game! I do it because I love it and not because I have to. I am a volunteer coach.
LWC: And that makes it even more commendable. What was the biggest difference between high school basketball and collegiate basketball at St. Johns?
TS: College basketball is where you transform from a girl to a woman. In college, you are playing at the highest level, traveling all over, and meeting so many new people. The networking I was afforded and the connections I’ve made are endless.
LWC: Is there something that you can share about girls’ basketball that a lot of people may not already know?
TS: Women’s sports in general are on the rise, and finally, people like me who played during a time when it wasn’t as popular as men’s basketball or sports. It is really special to see.
LWC: Thank you so much for sharing your knowledgeable experience from both sides of the court. Now please promote your girl's basketball team.
TS: Thank you for interviewing me. I Coach for the Team Sharp Basketball program. I coach the 7th grade Blue team. We will be traveling to Pittsburgh, Manheim, Atlantic City, Wildwood, and Kentucky to compete amongst the elite. Their website is www.teamsharpbasketball.com or you can find the program on Instagram or Twitter @Team_Sharp_Basketball
LWC: And there you go, so now that you know of its origins, follow and support these young athletes.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Editor, Journalist, BOSS, NY
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
Reflections on 30 Years: The Ongoing Struggle to Define Blackness in America
by L. W. K. Catoe Jr.
On February 23, 2024, The Forum at Columbia University honored Black History Month with a free screening of the film Black Is... Black Ain't (1995), by Marlon Riggs. Black Is... Black Ain't explores the theme of Black identity through performances by choreographer Bill T. Jones, poet Essex Hemphill, and commentary from noted cultural critics Angela Davis, bell hooks, Dr. Cornel West, and others. The screening was followed by a conversation between the attendees and the event organizers, Columbia University Professor Jafari Allen and Novella Ford, Associate Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Riggs made Black Is… Black Ain’t as he was dying from AIDS. Death is a major theme throughout the film as it chronicles Riggs's illness and how his illness affected his life. In addition, Riggs speaks of his love for the church, his family, and his community and how all of those elements played a part in who he was as a person. But I was more specifically struck by how loved Riggs was. During the time this film was being made, AIDS was a stigma in many communities, and in many cases, victims of the disease were ostracized or shunned from their communities. However, Riggs was wrapped in love by all those around him and it was heartwarming to see.
The film complicates reductive notions of race through the history of Creole people, who would sometimes separate themselves from Blacks or “pass” based on the light color of their skin. Riggs himself was from the New Orleans community of Creoles. In the film, he explores the loose definition of the term creole, which in reality refers to various communities including those who passed for white, those who did not, and also Native Americans who lived and intermarried amongst Blacks.
In the discussion, an audience member pointed out how African Diasporic peoples have always found ways to share their stories, either through oral history and the figure of the Griot, or, in this case, by documenting their own lives. As moderator Novella Ford commented, these storytelling traditions work against “historical erasure”—when life goes undocumented, how can you prove that it happened? In this case, Riggs found a way by documenting his own experience, and he shows the ways in which his spirituality lifted him through this dark time of his life. But the tradition goes back to the beginnings of the history of the African Diaspora, which formed a strong connection to religion and culture, interconnecting religion with spirituality and leading Black people through their darkest periods. Black is... Black Ain't reflects on this history and shows how, despite the church vilifying AIDS due to its association with the LGTBQ community, the church still stood as the foundation of Riggs's strengths. Food was another source of strength for Riggs. In the film, you experience his joy of food, of Gumbo, of tradition, and of the memories of food in his life growing up.
Riggs does not portray himself as a victim. He expresses that being gay was never a regret in his life. This attitude transforms the stigma of being gay into a strength. It also raises the question of Black masculinity. Who are the gatekeepers of masculinity in the Black community, and how is this dynamic articulated geographically? At one point, an audience member questioned whether Riggs's experience as a gay Black man who was loved was based on where the film was located. But shooting took place nationwide, and at least 95% of the film was based outside of New York. Nevertheless, would the perspectives raised in the film have been different had the entire Black community in the United States been part of the conversation? By portraying Riggs’s personal history alongside the national Black community, the moderators suggested how the film reflected “linked fate,” an acute sense of awareness that what happens to the group will also affect the individual member.
During the conversation following the film, an audience member pointed out how the Black community traditionally gathers during birth and death. Both events mark milestones within the community, and the film remains true to the cultural celebration of the emergence of life and of the passing of lives lived. The film felt like a baptism, or as if Riggs were taking communion and self-cleansing, returning to the purity of birth. At the same time that it is a beginning, it is also an ending. Riggs is witness to the obituary that he is writing for himself, coming to terms with his life and accepting his death. Some of the most striking scenes were shot in the Louisiana Bayou, a return to Riggs’s origins. At the end of the film, Riggs runs naked through the swamp in New Orleans, calling to mind the innocence of birth, a time when nudity is void of any feelings of guilt or shame; and, instead, natural and next to God.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Editor, BOSS, NYC
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
and in all different shapes & sizes & textures with
just a sprinkle of salt & pepper my scalp is
NYC flavored - follow my journey: my strands
might form a circle ’round - Ludlow Street to
Christopher Street on a Saturday night but
these roots be all Harlem my tips fold in
to downtown Brooklyn — by way of the 2 or
the 3 train during the humid summer months
my curl pattern becomes tighter than a
sidewalk on Times Square the autumn
winds of October tend to leave my hair
wilder than a knife fight.
As the concrete
brick of winter build my hair up into
one immaculate lacquer finish
but only after I co-wash & then rinse
& then relax my head against my satin pillow
case during those cold winter nights leaving
hard brittle ends to shed its way into a new dawn...
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Editor, BOSS, NYC
A writer, vocalist, and songwriter, Kenny Fame is an award-winning poet/songwriter that’s a current Grammy Board member NYC Chapter, with a
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr. is an Undergraduate at CUNY/Medgar Evers College and currently is an intern at the Center for Black Literature, a Teaching Artist, a contributing writer at Musings (Student Blog), Indie Band Guru, and other sites as well. Wise-Catoe Jr. has won over 120 film festivals for screenwriting, composition, film score, screenwriting, director, choreographer, etc..
It's National Poetry Month discover a poet :)
*Naturally Mine was printed with permission by the author (self) from the upcoming release I Have The Nerve To Walk My Own Way by Kenny Fame a book of published works of poetry.
From Doubt to Hope: How Cornelius Eady's Play ‘Running Man’ Reignited Broadway's Spirit at Lincoln Center
by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
April 8, 2024 - If you haven't already figured it out in the year 2024 post-pandemic, Broadway seems to be in a peculiar place right now. From a rhetorical point of view, every time a play enters Broadway, the same play soon exits. Leaving many to ponder whether Broadway will ever regain its footing. The discourse surrounding Broadway existed in a universe long before Hollywood, and its stars rivaled the social clout of all the Hollywood luminaries of the day. Stars such as Tallulah Bankhead, Mary Martin, Ethel Mermen, and the Barrymore family were more than Drew’s ancestors; these were A-List stars with the most pop mainstream appeal, but nowadays people are more likely to know who Drake is than who Ben Platt is, and this is not to create rivalry but only to ask what’s become of Broadway. Last night, Lincoln Center found the solution.
During Broadway’s current busy revival scene, which includes the occasional lackluster "Jukebox Musical' or what's become a relic these days, the 'Black Theater' that typically fails to find its audience among post-pandemic attendees, this is further proof of the axiom that some plays simply need to find their time to succeed. Several of the most famous theater works of today stand on the shoulders of artists whose names aren’t cited, remembered, or compensated. Many of these missing musical masterworks are often the labor of BIPOC creators and women. To remedy this state of affairs, the Cast Album Project—helmed by the multiple Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home; Caroline, or Change; Kimberly Akimbo) and Obie and Drama League-winning director Anne Kauffman (Marvin’s Room, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window)—reconstructs the scores of lost musicals and records them in concert in the hopes of preserving them for future generations to rediscover.
One such reconstructed work is Running Man by composer Diedre Murray and poet Cornelius Eady. The disappearance of a young African American man is told through an explosive convergence of jazz, opera, and chamber music. This hauntingly beautiful story was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won an OBIE for composition. Join us for a two-night-only concert of Running Man—finally capturing, for eventual release, a long-belated, first-time cast album. The libretto is based on Cornelius Eady’s cycle of poetry of the same name, published in the book Brutal Imagination by Penguin Random House, and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Ms. Murray and Mr. Eady have also collaborated on the musical theater pieces You Don't Miss Your Water, Brutal Imagination, and Fangs.
But, for me, it was that Lincoln Center setting that only added to the ambiance of the score. The Running Man cast was staged in front of the glassed wall of the venue; the lights were dimmed with lavender lights, with huge high ceilings and tall windows, as if the cast were performing in the late-night sky of NYC. As the audience viewed the masterful performances of the orchestra, singers, and conductors, the NYC evening traffic below Columbus Circle kept pace with the music as the chorus harmonized among the clouds and skyline. It was truly a spellbinding and amazing experience. It was impossible to look away because every single one of the actor's vocals suited the musical arrangement perfectly, and even when a mistake was made, it was so effortless that had the performer not indicated that they wanted to do it over, the audience would have never caught the mistake that was made. Once the show was over, I was ready to see more, but unfortunately, that never happened. The performance lasted around 90 minutes, and after the actors took a few bows, they were whisked away with no encores. Maybe that’s the metaphor for the evening Broadway, which was once here to stay, now only gets whisked away too quickly, but I will always be grateful for last night.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Editor, BOSS, NY
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
*excerpts from this article were taken from DO NYC
(Cast Album Project: Running Man, Day 2 at Lincoln Center)
The Harsh Reality: The Never-Ending Mass Kidnappings in Northern Nigeria
by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Nine years after Boko Haram abducted 276 students from a girls school in Chibok, 98 girls are still being held by Boko Haram, and a slew of abductions have taken place since, revealing the utter failure of the Nigerian authorities to learn from the heartbreak of Chibok and, ultimately, to protect children, Amnesty International is saying. As part of the BOSS mission to uncover stories that impact the African Diaspora that go unreported, we chose to dive into this conversation, as well as how it’s been allowed to persist this long. I sat down with an inside source from Nigeria who chose anonymity.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.: Hello how are you?
Anonymous Source: I’m well.
LWC: I have a question for you.
AS: Ok.
LWC: Why are there mass kidnappings plaguing Nigeria currently?
AS: That’s over ten years now and it happens frequently in the Northern part of Nigeria.
LWC: What is it about I’m not familiar with?
AS: It's this terrorist group, disturbing Nigeria for years now. But they're camped in this desert in Nigeria. So they abducted over 400 Chibok school girls killed most of them and got the rest pregnant. The group is called the ‘Boko Haram’. [Note: Boko Haram is usually translated as "Western education is forbidden". "Haram" is from the Arabic حَرَام (ḥarām, "forbidden") and the Hausa word boko (the first vowel is long, the second pronounced in a low tone), meaning "fake", which is used to refer to secular Western education.]
LWC: Are people in your country scared? Are they Black or Middle Eastern Muslim groups? And why does it still plague Nigeria?
AS: They're probably from Chad or Somalia but they're Muslims though and some evil Nigerian politicians are the ones funding them. The government backs them up.
LWC: So, are you scared or are Nigerians living in fear of them?
AS: They're not in Lagos. They are in northern Nigeria and our troops have them under control.
LWC: Oh, ok good to know as far as Lagos.
AS: It got to a stage when they abducted some American tourists. And the American government sent some elite groups to carry out the rescue mission. It was successful though.
LWC: Oh ok, I wasn't familiar until I read about the abductions today; I was under the assumption that this was all recent.
AS: They mainly target the Hausas. It's really deeper than you imagine.
LWC: As far as what the government involvement?
A: Yes, they're protected by most of our corrupt government.
LWC: But the government in northern Nigeria is separate from Lagos, correct right?
AS: Yeah, but the northerners have the highest power in Nigeria.
LWC: OK now I see.
AS: That's one of our biggest problems in the country now. They feel like they own the country. And the Muslims so just imagine how brutal they'll be.
LWC: So the government feels they own the city or the Muslims?
AS: The Muslims do.
LWC: Oh, so in your opinion the Muslims own the country of Nigeria?
AS: Yes, it’s the Muslims that own the government and both Christians and Muslims are doing their very best to destroy the economy of Nigeria.
Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Editor, BOSS, NY
Biography and booking information for Kenny Fame, Poet, Lecturer, Writer & Singer and Activist & Spoken Word. Contact All American Speakers
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