00:00:10.940 - 00:01:02.960

the Buffalo Rue Err Aereo Whoa! Canyon label Hey, Larry Fun batty Wasow a bow Ready, buddy? Whoa, yeah Whoa! Yeah Cuello Rojo e or me lately Oh, room e distances Separate bodies, not people Ask those who have known sadness or joy. The bone of

00:01:02.960 - 00:01:35.820

feeling is pried open by a song The elegance of color A familiar smell this flower are the approach of an evening All this is now the elegance of memory Deeper than the grave Larger than the distance between my country and i things more solid than the

00:01:35.820 - 00:02:03.920

rocks with which those sinister thieves tried to break our back. There are memories between us deeper than grief. There are feelings between us much stronger than the cold enemy machine that breaks the back. Sister. There are places between us deeper than the ocean. No distances. Pry

00:02:03.920 - 00:02:37.450

your heart opened, brother. Mine too. Learn to love the clear voice. The music in the memory pried open to the bone of feeling no distances The elegance of memory No distances the elegance of memory. Hello. My name is Maya. Angelo. I'm going to speak to you

00:02:37.460 - 00:03:02.100

now about African history. There's a Kikuyu story that's told in Kenya. It is said that a child asked his mother why he saw photos of men killing lions. The child said, Mother, I also know. Rather, it's in my experience that lions kill men. Why don't I

00:03:02.100 - 00:03:26.800

see any photos of that? And the mother told the child, Wait, my child, until the lion takes the photo. Now, today the lion is taking the photo again. Yeah, A historian of questionable reputation, as far as I'm concerned, said that sell the continent. I freaked my

00:03:26.800 - 00:03:51.950

party Squire alone. Of all the continents, Africa has no history. Well, on the same for the same reason that when a fool tells you you're wise, you look to your laurels. When a man a European who has taken the evidences of your history tells you you

00:03:51.950 - 00:04:17.520

have no history, then you you're supposed to take that with a maximum of disbelief. Uh, not a grain of salt Lake of salt. The five ironic tones the results of the archaeological diggings in Africa tell us that great civilizations, uh, lasted had that day in the

00:04:17.520 - 00:04:44.440

sun and moved on and finally, uh, became victim to external agreed internal neglect and time. Every black American should own a map of Africa. I would suggest that every every person who would like to consider himself or herself knowledgeable should own a map of Africa. This

00:04:44.440 - 00:05:11.550

map is the modern one. This has all the new countries. But if we look at this same physical layout without the boundaries, and consider that until about 10 years ago, many of these lines were not here. Now, about 1000 years ago, in the country of Mali,

00:05:12.040 - 00:05:35.320

there was a city Timbuktu. Timbuktu is still there. But 1000 years ago, there was a university in Timbuktu. Scholars from all over the world, scholars from Asia, from Europe, everywhere I came there to study. It was said by Leo Afrikaners in the 14 hundreds that the

00:05:35.320 - 00:05:59.010

king of Timber to of that area gave monies to scholars. Now, maybe we were seeing a case of the first scholarships that I don't know. But it was also said by Ibn Battuta, uh, an Arab explorer, that more moneys were spent on manuscripts coming from the

00:05:59.020 - 00:06:16.200

Barbary manuscripts from Spain, and about more moneys were spent there in that in that kind of trade than on anything else in Timbuktu, we hear the word timber to and think immediately that it's a word made up to explain the difference or the distance between the

00:06:16.200 - 00:06:36.140

known and the unknown. Timbuktu is still there today. Uh, unfortunately, the biting sands of the Sahara have covered those walls of the old university, nearly covered them and cover the streets where scholars used to go. But you can still go if you take your time and

00:06:36.140 - 00:06:59.850

your money to go to Miley at Ouagadougou. Here in Upper Volta, it's the capital of Upper Volta. Uh, many people think the sounds are so on a new Western. They hit our ears with a kind of strange, uh, strange feeling. Well, that's true. But the sounds

00:06:59.860 - 00:07:29.030

sound like the languages of Africa, which are always rhythmic and certainly tonal. Now. The It would be interesting, I think, for a student of African history to trace the Benin sculpture. The Benin sculpture in Nigeria has influenced European art. Modigliani, Braque, Picasso have admitted. I don't

00:07:29.040 - 00:07:47.500

mean to imply that they had to admit, but they have said in fact, that their art that the the new art that they devised in the early 19 hundreds was influenced by the Benin and the Euro by sculpture. The Uraba are also in Nigeria. We went

00:07:47.500 - 00:08:09.230

to the Lowy Museum the other day and talked with Dr Bascomb there, who is a professor of a professor there at the University of California. We saw some beautiful Europa pieces, the representation of a page or and a messenger of the king of oil, the elephant

00:08:09.230 - 00:08:32.520

of oil. These messengers are served as attendance in the palace running messages. And they were also stationed in the outlying cities in the kingdom where they collected taxes and did other things to see that the Alaskans interests were represented. The headdress is particularly interesting. There is

00:08:32.520 - 00:08:49.060

a rated top, not at the top, and you will notice that half of the head has been shaved and the other half is not. This was done in each half was shaped alternately every fourth day. And if you read in the early explorers of the 17th

00:08:49.060 - 00:09:07.580

and 18th century, particularly in the neighborhood of Dahomey, you will find them. Speaking of the half heads, Yeah, this is what they were speaking. Oh, how old would you say that pieces? I would guess. Perhaps 50 years. It's very hard to tell with wood best because

00:09:07.580 - 00:09:22.080

of termites. If we could pick this up, I could show you the back has been eaten away with termites, and several of the pieces have been termite infested. Anything that isn't taken good care of will disappear in a year. Of course, of course. May I ask

00:09:22.080 - 00:09:40.410

you one last thing? The dress. The tunic looks very European. It's a very typical Yoruba tunic, and I might say now that all of the pieces we're going to be seeing today are from the Yoruba, who live in southwestern Nigeria and in the eastern part of

00:09:40.420 - 00:09:58.680

Dahomey. The facial marks, which you see on the face, are typical of the Yoruba and one of the things by which it's often possible to recognize their carving. But these are the tunic is short type of gown, which was has kind of gone out of style

00:09:58.680 - 00:10:23.430

in recent years. They tend to wear longer gowns at today, this figure holding a bowl, what does it signify? Well, this is a container that is used for the 16 palm nuts that are used by the designers. The Bobble Roo, the Arab most important type of

00:10:23.430 - 00:10:46.010

designers in what is known as the far divination. The head of the back of the rooster is removable, and there is a bowl underneath it, and it is simply kept on the shrine to store the palm nuts in what do the figure is holding up the

00:10:46.010 - 00:11:07.110

bowl and, in fact, holding the These are simply the attendance of the main woman there, the main worshipper and one of the shows, one of the distinctive features of the Yoruba art style and the style of many other African people. That is the giving of emphasis

00:11:07.190 - 00:11:23.570

to the major figures, in this case, the Woman and the Cock. By reducing the size of the subordinate figures in this case, the artist has not even bothered to finish carving the subordinate figures carefully. But you can see that he has devoted a great deal of

00:11:23.570 - 00:11:39.260

attention to the face of the woman and to the decorations on the back and on the body of the rooster and to her headdress. Yes, to her headdress. I see a similarity in that headdress on some of the phone headdresses. Yes, well, the phone and the

00:11:39.260 - 00:12:12.160

R, but we're, of course, neighbors. Very much influence from one to another. In fact, this whole divination cult, FIFA has spread from the orbit to the domain, and it's known in form as far, whereas in your But if I see among many Africans tribes there there

00:12:12.640 - 00:12:34.470

superstitions or beliefs about twins, some people believe they're very lucky and show a particular kind of virility. And other people feel that that they are unlucky and are in fact an insult to God or to the particular God. What is the case with these twins were

00:12:34.470 - 00:12:53.990

looking at? Well, the or of a belief is mainly, the twins are very dangerous. In fact, they felt that the first of all, that the mother could not suckle. One mother could not suckle two twins at once. And when twins were born, one of them was

00:12:53.990 - 00:13:14.300

simply neglected and allowed to die. The other one was kept and hope in hopes that it would live to maturity. In the case. When one Quinn died, the parents would go to a carver and have him fashion a figure such as these. What are it? Would

00:13:14.300 - 00:13:31.240

represent the sex accurately, and it would be carved with the facial marks of the lineage in which the twin was born and it would be dressed and given the same decorations as the living twin. If the second twin should die And infant mortality, of course, was

00:13:31.240 - 00:13:46.490

high, then the second figure would be carved, and we would have to. In this case here we have a male and female twin pair, but there are some Paris which are too females and some which are two males. Where do they? Where do they keep these

00:13:46.490 - 00:14:07.070

figures? In the house, in a corner of a room near the religious other religious objects and they would be fed regularly. I think this is something we should talk about a minute. How how statues or pieces of, uh, important works of art are fed often with

00:14:07.080 - 00:14:25.300

the blood of a chicken or other sacrificial animal, but also with cooked foods of various types. Each of the Yoruba gods had certain sacrifices that it was specially found of, and there were things which the twins were found of. Two. You'll note the beads on the

00:14:25.310 - 00:14:47.010

neck. Long blue beads are the famous Segi beads, which are no longer manufactured but are undoubtedly of African origin, supposedly there glass, but I'm not positive of this. At least they have found places, uh, sites in the city of F where they were making glass beads

00:14:47.020 - 00:15:06.670

of this type and they were traded quite widely in West Africa. Does this headdress stress have any particular significance? I have never seen one like that in life, and it's the only pair of twin figures that I've seen with that representation on it. It perhaps has

00:15:06.670 - 00:15:26.310

some religious significance because there were special headdresses for the various cults. But I cannot identify this one. The eyes Can you tell me that is that metal? That's a piece of iron except to represent the people Very interesting. And the beads around the waist are miniatures

00:15:26.320 - 00:15:52.170

of the waste they use, which were born only by women, of course. But here they have given it to the male twin. Also Well, maybe because they know he's he can't ever be accused of anything. And he's a twin. This is a Gilady mask from a

00:15:52.170 - 00:16:11.490

Yoruba town. In data May. The holiday is a cult which propitiate witches. And here we see the mask itself is that represents the head of a woman with her cloth head tie and above it is a man with his axe climbing a palm tree, either to

00:16:11.500 - 00:16:28.010

collect palm nuts or to tap palm wine. This top part of the mask is removable and is fastened in with a wooden peg. And this is not the complete mask yet, either, because each of these holes here, a palm frond was cut and set in so

00:16:28.010 - 00:17:06.040

that the whole mask stood up another four or 5 ft taller when it was warned. Africa has no history, really, Mr Kenyatta shame. 1000 years ago, people could go by Camel Caravan from this area across to this area, some 4000 miles. It would take them 6

00:17:06.040 - 00:17:27.780

to 8 months to make this journey from the old Songhai kingdom to the are from the old Ghana Kingdom or Molly Kingdom to Kush, which is now Ethiopia called Ethio, called Ethiopia and Somali sort of Somali tube. They could take that trip, and upon reaching their

00:17:27.780 - 00:17:48.300

destination, the traveler could give a banker a talent and be given currency of his of this new country. Now there's instruction in that what it tells us is that both areas, then the government of both areas were so stable, the societies were so stable that the

00:17:48.300 - 00:18:11.620

banker at this end of the trip well, sure he had time to make that eight months trip back across the continent to get his money back. No. No history, huh? Out the importance? No, not the importance. I need a stronger word. It is imperative that black

00:18:11.620 - 00:18:38.740

American Children learn their history. Obviously, the school systems do not include African history or even black American history comprehensively in their system in their curriculum. I'm told now that some universities are including the teaching of African history. However, if if if we're being taught history in

00:18:38.740 - 00:18:58.010

the in the higher education on higher education level, what good does that do for the drop out? And this is the person we're seriously talking about about influencing and the pre drop out all over the states. Now there are new little groups giving classes in African

00:18:58.010 - 00:19:16.210

history, and it reminds me of the small Jewish schools are, uh, the Chinese Oriental schools where Children go to high school or go to proper school public school in the day and either later in the afternoon, on Saturdays they go to, uh to a school where

00:19:16.210 - 00:19:40.300

they can learn their own history. If if a child a black child particularly, does not totally believe that black is beautiful, he's not going to believe that White is beautiful. That follows. It is logical. One hand washes the other before I can concern myself with seriously,

00:19:40.310 - 00:20:01.740

with the history of of Robinson Crusoe, the legends, the fiction, the myths, the facts of of, uh, Christopher Columbus. And so I really must be concerned about myself, charity and every other thing that's good starts at home. We went to, uh, the Negro Historical Society in

00:20:01.740 - 00:20:30.900

San Francisco and watched the people teach very, very small Children from two years to well, to 18 something about their past so that they could realize they had a future. They moved away a cooler. So by eating different fruits and and getting in a cooler climate,

00:20:30.910 - 00:20:48.540

their color changes that we were all black at first. Pamela, what are you going to say? I guess because since they moved further and it was cooler, um, different things grew and they ate different things, and some of these things had more melanin or whatever. Melon

00:20:48.540 - 00:21:10.410

and character, well, different foods had more melon, melon and others had more parenting. I think that if all of these people, I don't think all of them moved in one direction, they went like maybe different tribes went this way. Others moved out because maybe someone took

00:21:10.410 - 00:21:27.700

their land or something. Another tribe, they had a fight or something, and they had to move to other lands. You know, in Africa, I've mentioned very often that in some villages, after the work has been done all day, each child, each member of the family performing

00:21:27.700 - 00:21:46.620

ashore, helping the family that in the evening everybody might get together in one of the huts of maybe the person who tells stories in the village. This is the way in Africa that the history of the people is transmitted from one generation to the oven. Sometimes

00:21:46.620 - 00:21:57.630

in the village there's a man called a talky talk man, and you remember, we've talked about how the talking talk man might sit down at the end of the day. As I said, after all the work has been done and we'll listen to stories. He will

00:21:57.630 - 00:22:11.680

tell stories to the people in the village. Sometimes he might tell stories and he might have a drum and he might play on this drum, and the people will sit and listen also with little babies. This is the way that education starts with Children in Africa.

00:22:11.820 - 00:22:27.030

I read a book recently by Joma Kenyatta called Facing Mount Kenya, and in that book he tells how in America. Now we begin our education. Maybe your mother might read nursery rhymes to you when you're a little baby or your mother might sing a lullaby to

00:22:27.030 - 00:22:42.000

you. But in Africa now, when the baby is very tiny, the mother sings to this baby songs about the history of the people of Africa. The mother can tell the child all about what happened to the child, about what happened to his grandparents and his great

00:22:42.000 - 00:22:55.880

grandparents many, many years ago, through the songs that she sings, so that by the time the child gets to be about three or four years old, he knows the history of his people. And then when this child grows up, he in turn tells this history to

00:22:55.880 - 00:23:12.330

his Children. Let's see now what else we can talk about from Africa that we might know. Did you know where Aaron came from. Okay? That's right. Iron came from Africa. Can you think of Africa is rich in many minerals? There are many, uh, minerals and things

00:23:12.330 - 00:23:25.940

found under the ground in Africa. Can you tell me some of the other things that come from Africa? Okay, that's right. Diamonds are in Africa. Does anyone know where the diamonds are found in Africa? That's right. Gold is in Africa. Where do you think the diamonds

00:23:25.940 - 00:23:42.840

are found most of all of that curry. That's right. They're found in Africa. Where inactive. Do you think they are found? You know, part of Africa. What? Here? That's right. They dig down in the ground and they get the diamonds. Now what else is found in

00:23:42.840 - 00:24:00.820

Africa that someone can tell me about? Yes, I suppose there's a little bit of silver found in Africa. Two years. Panels. That's right. Gold. That's right. There's gold in Africa. Do you know there's something that we drink in the morning that comes from Africa? Something else

00:24:00.820 - 00:24:20.220

We drink it after that tastes real good. One. You think it might be? Yeah, that's right. What? No, it's a bean. And from this being something that's made powder ground. Yes, coffee, beans and also cocoa beans. There was a very famous Greek historian. Herodotus, in the

00:24:20.230 - 00:24:39.120

fifth century, spoke about the Egyptians. Hi. How are you, date? And did you know that he wanted just refer to these Egyptians as being black? Woolly hair? Beautiful. All kinds of hair is beautiful. We've said this before. Straight hair is beautiful. Kinky hair is beautiful. Kinky

00:24:39.120 - 00:25:08.440

hair is pretty. Yeah, that's beautiful. Kinky hair, too. I think it's lovely. Yeah, What kind of hair did you say? Yes, Cool. Well, I think I think it's very pretty. Mhm. The history of Africa has been written for the most part in European languages, except for

00:25:08.440 - 00:25:37.180

the VAY people of Liberia, the Ethiopians who developed the Amharic script and the Arabs. The only history we find is the European history. Of course they may. Roy and the Kush societies had their their scripts, but they haven't been deciphered yet. The languages of Africa would

00:25:37.180 - 00:26:01.120

make a glorious study for any serious student. There's a language in South Africa that is spoken by the closer people. Miriam Makeba has made it quite popular in the States. It's called a click language. It's Tosa the language has three sounds that are not tonal, that

00:26:01.120 - 00:26:21.760

is to say, don't come from the vocal box the X, which is lateral. It's the Q, which is palatable, and the C, which is labial. There's a language in Senegal called Hillary, and it's just a plain language to accept that there is in it, um, the

00:26:21.760 - 00:26:44.520

sweet language Lang do. And in the Lang, do you speak to royalty or to family by pre fixing every sentence with? So you said, mm area. Mm hmm. Now, obviously that tells us it would be difficult to have an argument with a person if you had

00:26:44.520 - 00:27:07.690

to say in front of everything after, uh, in Ethiopia, one of the languages that is not used very much. It's almost. It's an archaic language. The Bible is written in it. It's called Give That's spelled G e apostrophe e Z gives, and I'm going to sing

00:27:07.690 - 00:27:27.370

you a song in Give Now I'd better tell you what the song says. First, the song says, Don't tell me how lucky you are, how beautiful you are, how rich you are, how anything you are. Don't brag to me about yourself. If you do you will

00:27:27.370 - 00:27:43.090

make me take you to the edge of the world and show you where people much better off than you have willingly jumped overboard. And don't Don't think that the Earth holds you on top of her because she loves you. The Earth is minding her business. She's

00:27:43.090 - 00:28:03.210

spinning. And if she stops spending ever once for a second, you'll slip right off the side. Damn! And don't feel that. Then she holds you. She loves you. She holds you. You are a prisoner. And even when you die, you're going inside her. And the song

00:28:03.210 - 00:28:37.780

is What bodies? Minya, Krakow, the suitors! Minya ball to be for us. We grow all on saw along Saw Zumba and your daily towel. Seem to me nostrils. Girl, you're about to go to the other row. What about this Minya crowd? The suitors Minya, Baltar, Sasa!

00:28:40.140 - 00:29:17.590

Or else we could all island Sao Alonso Zerman Yours Any towel seem tune! Enough struggles! Good of the other ball. Good of the other ball! What about this Menina Menina? Do we go about Theresa's Ubben? For else we grow. Yeah, The Zulus of South Africa have

00:29:17.590 - 00:29:46.900

made a great contribution to great Britain and to many other military societies. When we look at the creative genius of the British war machines, we are obliged to see the genius of a general. A Zulu general, Shaka Chaka created a a tactic called the horn, sometimes

00:29:46.900 - 00:30:09.250

called the W formation. He it looked like a crescent with a large body of men in the center. He would send his small groups of men up that horn and then in to attack the enemy from the enemy's flanks. Then he would take the large body

00:30:09.250 - 00:30:27.170

of men and throw them against the center of the enemy's forces. Mr. John A. Williams in a book called Africa. Her Lands and People, who is also the author of a book called The Man Who Cried, I am a very important book. I would urge every

00:30:27.170 - 00:30:48.010

black American to read it today as soon as you stop watching this program, Mr Williams said of the flying of this of this horn of the W formation that it was the most important breakthrough in in fighting for the people who had only arrows. Uh, hey,

00:30:48.010 - 00:31:12.890

guys, swords, long swords and short swords and their bodies. It was very successful for many, many years while we're talking about a rather while I'm talking about war machine. I'm reminded of an incident some years ago. Many years ago I was in Tunis, and Arabic is

00:31:12.890 - 00:31:34.150

one language I trying to deal with. So meeting some Tunisians, I asked to be shown some of the city, and they took me to old Roman ruins and began to tell me about Hannibal. Well, I had read about Hannibal, but I never knew that Hannibal had

00:31:34.150 - 00:32:07.580

anything to do with me. I find that Tunisia that tune is the city is built on the on the ruins of Carthage or Carthage, as it's called in the States. Hannibal was a Carthaginian. Hannibal took a group, his army, 90,000 infantry, 30,000 calvary and 40 elephants

00:32:07.770 - 00:32:29.370

over the Alps and fought Rome. He took the city of Turin. He had already taken. They were all Carthage, had already controlled Spain, and he was doing very well in Italy. Although he lost some over half of his forces crossing the Alps, he was repelled at

00:32:29.370 - 00:32:54.760

the gates of Rome and defeated there. But I think it's important to know that the African history includes not only the art, the songs, the dance. But we are human beings. That is to say, we have all the failures, all the foibles, all the strengths of

00:32:54.760 - 00:33:13.910

the beauty that other human beings have. If we don't admit that we put ourselves at a disadvantage, the black American has been told. In fact, the African has been treated always as a sub, human or superhuman. Never as a human, we have to be either, uh,

00:33:13.920 - 00:33:38.920

Martin Luther Kings or were thugs in the street. There's no in between now we must indulge for ourselves and in between. We have done all things, and we will do all things in In South Africa, the Zulu people hold a great a great position. The Zulu

00:33:38.920 - 00:33:58.070

Zulu Shaka sent away a group of people to to fight the hot and tots. It is said they got lost or they were defeated. And they knew better than to come back because Shaka had a policy. He killed anyone that was defeated and their families. So

00:33:58.070 - 00:34:17.950

the people stayed and, uh and married into the hot and tots. And that's how the language got the closer language. It really is Zulu, but that's how it. Uh, it included those three non tonal sounds. The X, the Q and the C. The program today started

00:34:17.960 - 00:34:38.250

with a poem called The Elegance of Memory. That's a poem by a very great South African poet. Mr. Willy could set sail. Mr. Coates, it's silly, is here in the studio, and I would like very much for him to come and for you to meet him

00:34:38.640 - 00:35:02.130

and just be charmed by him. Hi, my brother. How about you? We were I'd like to talk with you. I'd like you to talk a bit about the way African history is carried down through the years. That was the oral tradition. Yeah, the the quarrel tradition

00:35:02.140 - 00:35:27.790

was one of the most significant methods, Uh, through which or by which, uh, knowledge and information about that, where we had been and where we were going was passed through the ages. Uh, it still is to a very significant degree. Ah, done even in South Africa

00:35:27.800 - 00:35:56.160

today, with all the Western influences there for instance, the way that as we grow up, we learned pretty early about the distortions that have been made by European historians is bye weight of mouth. It's passed from generation to generation. Is it only done in, uh, in

00:35:56.160 - 00:36:23.070

songs? I mean, is the oral tradition passed only down in songs or in myths? Or it is passed down in songs in meds, in poetry. Uh, also hear stories. Mhm. Uh, where How about that or through dance to? In fact, African dances do are not just

00:36:23.080 - 00:36:49.640

entertainment, As you know, the, uh, in terms of storytelling, for instance, the complementary with whatever is being told and, uh, descriptive of very specific things. We'll see. Uh, Willie, my brother, actually, Willie's proper name is Caleb Repp, etc. Uh huh. Because it's silly, but I didn't

00:36:49.640 - 00:37:07.930

think I'd put that on your right away. I do that bit by bit. Uh, Willie said when he was, I asked him to come on this program. He said, Well, at last, my name will be pronounced correctly once on American television. Well, uh, would I see

00:37:07.930 - 00:37:31.080

you have this? Would you read a poem to us in Tijuana? Wiliest. Wanna, uh, the swan a czar into. But what's up? That's one. The bad sign, people. It's a beautiful language. Listen, how how melodic it is. I'll read the poem and Jonah and then read

00:37:31.080 - 00:38:09.270

the translation to, uh, yeah, to Melbourne. The poem is dedicated to my wife Melbourne. Mhm. Moshe would uh huh. Jody Tone Terra Rosa feeling Hama Bonnie? Yeah, Got their money. Their money Kalombo tabbouleh key being added to 17. I kind of wanted to dance. Yeah, uh,

00:38:09.280 - 00:38:40.530

for milk. Morning smiles in your eye like a koi moment captured by an eternal noon And from yesterday's I imagine naked like a Kimberley diamond full like Limpopo after rain singing your unnumbered charms Oh, that's beautiful. You must be pleased. Yeah, I guess I just wanted

00:38:40.530 - 00:39:02.050

to say one more thing. Willie as a poet is a fine poet, Uh, as a person reading his poetry. Well, um I think of Ossie Davis when the late there was a memorial for the late Langston Hughes in June of last year, and we all went

00:39:02.060 - 00:39:21.800

because all of us worship Langston Hughes. That is to say, black writers have great respect for him and as he was a particular friend of Langston's. So he got up at the memorial and said he was a member of two of an organization of two people,

00:39:21.810 - 00:39:39.930

his wife and himself with the member with members of the organization, which was anti Langston Hughes ever reading his own poetry. Because one thing he's not dramatic when he reads it, he doesn't read it with heavy feeling that an actor can give to the reading. He

00:39:39.930 - 00:39:55.570

just sort of reads it, and he reads it free. So Ozzy Davis said, Well, that he must admit he was a member of that organization. I think I'm going to be a member of the organization that is anti Willie coaches silly reading his own portrait. Thank

00:39:55.570 - 00:40:24.960

you. Thank you. Kony, brah. Wow, That was nice. Yeah, the the I'm going to tell you a story. Soft, pretty story. A mouse was running through the forest once. He was feeling very good, jumping up and down, having a nice time, and he ran over the

00:40:24.960 - 00:40:46.040

foot of a of a lion. The lion was sleeping. So the lion just opened his mouth like that. And his pause like that you want and almost had the poor mouse in his mouth when the mouse begged so pitifully to please be let free, the Lyon

00:40:46.040 - 00:41:06.620

said, Well, all right, scram! A few weeks later, the lion was caught in a trap. Hunter's trap and the mouse was running through the bush, still feeling good. And he heard this noise. It's great roar, roar of pain. So he turned around and went and found

00:41:06.620 - 00:41:27.010

the lion, all trapped in ropes. So he just nibbled at the ropes. It took him all day and all night, but he freed the lion. There's a moral to the story. The moral is that one good turn deserves another. That story was written by Aesop, an

00:41:27.010 - 00:41:56.230

Aesop's fable. Aesop was a slave. He was born in Frigia or in Ethiopia and sold to Admin A in in in Europe. And in he became such so famous for his folktales for his his fables that he was freed. And it is said that he died

00:41:56.230 - 00:42:18.520

in Del foes, uh, getting counsel from the Oracle, I suppose of Dell foes and that he was thrown off the precipice. It's important that black Children know that Aesop was a black man because they can then know something about Nancy and bruh rabbit stories and see

00:42:18.520 - 00:42:55.220

how there is a connection between the two. Now there's this, that game that I'm going to join us going on over here. It's the Children's game. What can you do? What you do. I can do that. To do that to a little girl. A little girl

00:42:55.500 - 00:43:53.460

who's here a little a little boy. What can you do? What can you do? I can do that to do that. But what can you do? What can you do? Hey, I can do that too. Okay,

00:43:53.470 - 00:44:17.060

here we are. Yeah. Ah, that was fun. That's one of the ways black Americans have a learning rhythm and melody from the games. Of course, there's a poem called Harlem Hopscotch. It says 1 ft down. Then hop. It's hot. Good things for the ones that's got

00:44:17.070 - 00:44:32.990

another jump. Not to the left. Everybody for himself on the air and I both feet down Since your black don't stick around, the food is gone. The rent is due custom cry and then jumped to everybody is out of work. Hold for three, not twist and

00:44:32.990 - 00:44:58.440

jerk across the line. They count you out, but that's what happens all about. Both feet down. The game is done. They think I lost. I think I want Can you dig it? Yeah, it's a point of mine. Now I would like to encourage black Americans to

00:44:58.440 - 00:45:28.040

read certain history books. I have said Basil Davidson. Certainly Dr Du Bois. First Basil Davidson, get Herbert APP data. Let me say that again. So you have time to get a pencil, get Dr Du Bois black folks then and now read Herbert Apthe. Documents of American

00:45:28.040 - 00:46:02.440

Negroes or the Myth of Herskovits. The Myth of the Negro past. Read Basil Davidson. Um, the last cities of Africa, uh, read armor told at Gannon Historian read D Graft Johnson, another dynamic historian. One of the one of our programs is going to deal with who

00:46:02.440 - 00:46:28.230

has researched African history. What were their motives and what are the results when you go to the library, it's important to understand that you have made a contribution not only to our development but to the development of man. Terence, the playwright says Homo soon, knee heel.

00:46:28.240 - 00:46:46.060

Um, alien. Um, Puto, I am a man. Nothing can be alien to me. I've been using that for 20 years. It was only when I researched Terrence that I found that his name is to guarantee us Al for, or rather, Terence the African. There are five

00:46:46.060 - 00:47:02.890

plays of his in the library today in your public library, you can go and find this seeming this man who has agreed, but who was also an African or primarily an African. It is necessary to get all the little bits and pieces to build up your

00:47:02.890 - 00:47:26.100

ego. After 300 years, we need all the ego building we can get, Charlie Brown says. I need all the friends I can get, even fair weather friends. Now I'm going to close with a poem. Bye, Jack remain a Caribbean poet. It's the long road to guinea.

00:47:26.980 - 00:47:56.310

Death will take you there. Here are the bows, the trees, the forest. Listen to the sound of the wind in its long hair of eternal night. It's the long road to guinea. Your father's wait for you without impatience along the road. They, Tom, they wait. This

00:47:56.320 - 00:48:25.990

is the hour when the streams sound like bones of B. It's the long road to guinea. No bright welcome will be made for you in the black land of the black man, under a smoky sky pierced by the cries of birds along the river bank. There,

00:48:27.570 - 00:49:07.660

there a quiet village, the huts of your father's and the hard ancestral stone where you can rest your head at last It's the long road to guinea Thank you. A baffle rew rew err aereo Oh, canyon LeBeau Larry Food batty Wasow a bow Ready, buddy? Whoa!

00:49:08.860 - 00:50:00.890

Yeah! Whoa! LaRue e or me lately? Oh, Room e or me lately? Oh, yeah, before Yeah, before their Oh, they mean ceramic bowl. Oh, your me lately Me, all rooms the Buffalo February Rio. Well, what can union?