p
tune . "The e freedom ong
popular ne p per of
the d y," ollin y, "bec e
in m ny p rt of the country,
coverage of ovement ctlvi tie
limited."
HO lZO S· ob erv nee of
Blac Hi tory Month conclude
with "Song Tell the Story: 1965-
ture 1990, " a fe ture on the diversity
ong bout World W r II, St lin, of the Afric n-Americ n e -
nd the droppm of the tomic perience over the pa t 25 ye rs, .
bomb, orded by popul r including r ce riot, the Vietn m
go pel qu rtet nd blue rti t . r, Watergate, the Re gan
During the e rly '40 , there wa ye r , the AIDS epidemic, and
a econd ma migration from the the anti-apartheid movement in
rur I South to the indus tri I thi country.
northern center. Much of the Thi diversity show up in
mu ic recorded after that period many ong - contempor ry
documented African-Americans' blue, jazz, gospel, oul, rhythm
hopes of finding a better life in nd blues, disco, rock, rap; and
the citie . In tead, they met with - world-beai from Lati America,
racism nd di crimination. - Africa, nd the Caribbe n.
As discrimination intensified On the .heel of the Civil
in the schools, the workplace, Rights Movement, African-
and the voting booth, the Civil Americans continued to u e
Rights Movement t ched off a' musie and other art form to i
wave of protest that pread across
the South. This in tallment also
includes civil right freedom
songs, some of which were
refashioned spirituals; others
were adapted f om popular R4B
up north.
In the
third
mo e-
o m ny
from the
ern ,t e
nd the
y th t working on
ha heightened her
awarene s of the central role
music plays in African-American'
culture" ... not ju t in form but in
content. It al 0 re ffirm the f t
that from acred mu ic to the
blue to protest on , jazz, and
rap, African-A ic n expres
sion .h been at the heart of the
development of American music,
offering oci 1 commentary,
rhythm, and structure."
ir on claim d
o ent ry erie HORIZON .
T # progr m fe ture on
ere d nd performed by orccd
Afr C D- meric n , from th Spi n tual II
pre- vii War era through 19 "Didn't M
Ic ing off the pecial is Daniel," and "Sometimes I Feel
"Songs Tell the Story: 19th Cen- Like a Motherle Child" have
wry," featuring an array of the been pa ed on for generation,
, pirituals, field "hollers," shout, and "today pea to many oth r
nd or songs that accorn- _ forms of economic and octal In-
p nied lavery and Recon true- Justice African-Amen an have
tion through the end of the 19th experienced mcc the on et of
.century. Since that time, the, lavery,'! Rollin ay.
strain of "Swing Low, Sweet In the econd documentar ,
Chariot" and "Joshua Fit de Bat- "Song T II the St or ': 190 -
. tie of Jericho" have been heard 1940," IfORIZON '
"BUT lTD OF singing
about God, the musicians often
ang bout the landiord, or the
bo man, or that man or woman
who did them wrong, n Rollins
ay . During the fir t wave of the
Great Migration in the early '20s,
the blue al 0 de cribed riding
the train to better opportuni ties
P er DOllS,. Real Women,
'Tr, 'e Beauty ... all at the Bonstelle
By Der lc 'ewi (Spenccr-Muke ) through the the movie industry, she is told by
embarra. i ng event of their a Hollywood dir ctor to learn
Staff Writer live, In i tant on changing the how to tap dan if she wants a
What's happernng at the ending. The two move freely film career.
Bonstelle Theatre? "Pape r between the real and' imagined, Throughout the play, images
Doll." i making a statement on the pa l and the present. of tereotypical Black men and
the' portrayal of the Black woman women in old movies are dis-
inA� CM '�. �;;I�D��lP�la�y�e�d�'�O,r�p�o�n���.����I�
Thc ��-��Mrlc�-���_'�� al
women's ' iii mp lqd ov i�,�1ht.
"right look," which e�poses them beauty foreign to her own, Mar
to easy exptoitation. It takes a garet j determined to change the
bite out of the standard HoI- rules for the modern Black
lywood assumptions of beauty, woman.
one that does not accornodate the A cene tn the play, takes you
natural beauty of the Black b ck to a beauty contest of years
female. g ne by, "Mi International
Wayne' State students Angela S . 196." (actually 1930, but
Spencer-Mukes and Stacey Her- Margaret doesn't like to reveal
ring give an up t performance her age) where the winner (Mar
as two aging b auty queens, garet) receives many "coveted
"Miss Emanoipati n 1930" .and prize ." uch a � gift certificate
her first runner-up, ho return 50 (�om Marianne' Steak and Chop
years later to judge n interna- House, a Iull-throated singing ca-
tional beauty contest. nary from Lace y' s Pet Shop, a
Herring, who plays brass ring from Avery' Five and
Elizabeth, the more fla oyant Dime ... and so on. Thinking that
of the two heroines, dra a winning a beauty contest will
rei uctanr and morbid Lizzie open up opportunities for her in
and unenlightened.
OUTRAGEOUS, CAN best
describe the ending of the show,
where the beauty contest finalists
are presented. The presentation
turns into a minstrel show, where
y
on
. rg"IjWiMiIi."� •• IIiIi_IIiI."", ... ed parody.
ist portrayal of the "real" Black "Paper Dolls" is the creation
woman a an Aunt Jemima, of 1969 Wayne State graduate
"rewrites" the ending of the scene Elaine Jackson. tn 1979 she won
and angrily tells the painter she is
missi ng the rhythm, vitality, and'
color inten it y of the Black
model. that she Iai led to give the
Black woman' legs and hips
their artistic due.
"You sec, the color Black has
withinit elf many colors. It is a
very complex color and at the
same time simple and delicate. It
can be made to appear formidable
and mysterious in the dark, unlit
cave, or can appear as bright and
inviting as the twinkling eyes of
a child." -Margaret finally' dis
'missed the painter as primitive
J
ngela Spe ace r-Mukes (Lizzie) and cey Herrlnl
(Margar�t-Ellzabeth) give an outstanding performance In Elaine
Jackson's "Paper Doll."
the Rockefcller Award for
Playwriting, the, Langston. for the Arts Award for Playwrit-
Hughes Playwriting Award, and ing in 1983.
earned a National Endowment "Paper Dolls" will be playing
at the Bonstelle Theatre until
Feb. 3.
Surfa�e Se'rves'lj,p A
Sweet Slice of R&B Succes
-... ,
In a musical world populated
by hard core rap and thumpin'
funk beats, Surface has managed
to stake out their own slice of the
pie, making a career from a series
of sweet-sounding baJlads whose
tender sentiments sound like
they're better suited to the fifties
than the nineties. But that doesn't
bother Bernard Jackson, David
Pic Conley and David Townsend.
Tbey'Il-be the first ones to say
"Happy", "Shower Me With Your
Love" and "Closer Than Friends"
are cut from the same cloth as
their new single off their "3
Deep" album, "The First Time".
The thing that-really makes Sur
face different is that for a group
of men. they make remarkably
tender. music-and audiences
can't seem to get enough of it.
"The First Time" conquered
the R&B charts and, like
Surface's previous hit, caused
quite a stir in the pop world as
well. Bernard Jackson says, the
trio isn't afraid to express what a
lot of guys feel, but are too
mac 0 to own up to. And their
popularity isn't limited to R&B
fans, bur other recording artists
as well. So much so that David
Pic Coniey and Bernard Jackson
have become one of 'the busiest
songwriter/producer teams in the
business.
They've worked with Levert,
Alexander a 'Neal, the Force
M.D. 's-even pop princess Deb
bie Gibson. But the demand for
their services increased once
they became a group and other
arti ts started covering their
• songs. Recording artists are often
surprised at the impact their
music can have on their fans.
One 14-year old girl came out of
a menengitis-induced coma after
hearing "Shower Me With Your
Love", tier favorite Surface song.
Indeed, Surface has found a
niche that's given them musical
success in a quiet way.' Although
these guys can jam with the best
of them, it is their metlow and
sweet ballads that have put them
over the top. Arid you can bet
"The First Time" won't be the
last for this talented tr
YSB, targeted at ages 11 to 19,
will have regular features on
"Personal Best", about a teen
who's done something good for
his communi ty or excelled
despite some great obstacle, and
"Career Day" stories bout suc
cessful black men an omen.
Look for YSB to h'it the St
July.
Eeedback. Line: Recently, we
did an' update on the Time
. Reunion album and some of our
listeners didrr'tlike what we had
to say, particularly the ladies.
But ladies, listen up. We're
aren't out to crucify the Time or
Prince, but there comes a point in
life where we've all got to face
facts-ugly as these facts may
be. And the fact of the matter is
that the Time's subsequent
single, "Chocolate", off the Pan
demonium album wasn't a suc
cess and nei ther was Prince's
movie "Graffiti Bridge".
And it's nice of you to believe
that sales aren't important and
tha,t all Prince needs is another
chance. But music and movies
are money making ventures so
you shouldn't count on eeing
another Prince movie anytime
soon, As for the Time, hey
what's the big deal. They got a
gold album out of it.
Got a question or a comment
on any RadioScope story, just
call the Feedback Line at (213)
257-2354.
From the PP&' T (People,
Places & Things) File: 2 Live
Crew leader Luther Campbell
might have to remove the title of
,"nightclub owner" from his
resume. Hialeah, Florida offi
cials are trying to shut dawn a
nightclub owned by the rapper.
The' club, "Strawberry'seToo",
has a history of violence. ,
Recently one man was' killed
and another was wounded in a
weekend gunfight. Two others
were wounded in a fight last
July. The city council says police
have been called to the club 128
times in the past year and they've
got the city attorney getting an
inj unction to close it .... Robert
Johnson started Black Entertain
ment Television in 19� with a
S15,000 bank loa� "1tftd a
S500,000 dollar investment from
a cable company.
Over the years, BET has ex
panded from a late night video
show available only on Fridays to
a limited audience to a cable net
work wi th 30 million subscribers
and a slate of programs. With that
type of success under his belt,
Johnson is ready to tackle a new
venture: He's jumping into the
world Of .. magazine publishing
with "Young Sisters and
Brothers" or YSB, a glossy teen
magazine.
, Freedom 'Fund Dinner
-
essay Contest
Art-Contest
DEADLINE: Art Office R�om 842
Feb. 28, 1991 by 3:30
Dr. Carol Alexander '
DEADLINE: Oornrnunlcations Arts Room 922
Feb. 20, 1991 by 3:30
. 'Dr.' Barbara C�ulter
THEME:
.What the Civil Rights Struggl� Means To Me
SIZE: ·
22" x 14" or 18" x 24" ,__"'-"-S'Z�J1nD "/2�_.11"
, .. • '\),t t� V}�,
Optional (cra�on.. c�iI!.\n�)o.be �Sedl;_rf (. ;:
Upper rfg�t' ��'_'d comer ENTRY: 1 or 2' �ge essay typed
reverse , 1� ,." . - o'r ..neatly handwritten,
. namJ f:�.. �.
,
age: .. ,
grad c.
SChoOe·teacher 'I
'\'� .; ,', ..... I ? :
.' . ..
Copyrfg�ed�aracters'not to be used.
MEDIUM:
ENTRY:
RULES:
AWARDS:
One Elemenuiry,tMiddle an High School Winner in Art and Essay categories
will receive a S200.tteket (for two) to the Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner and a
$300 Savings Bond. THe'Six winning entries (3 Art; 3 Essay) will appear in
Souvenir Boo·klet. WinnerS: parents and teachers will be hosted at a Reception .
by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Michigan.
Send your reclpes to:
Michigan Citizen .
P.O. Box 03560
Highland Park, MI 48203