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Source:  Philadelphia Tribune

Date: March 22, 2009

Byline: Bobbi Booker

Racial identity of ‘Black Sam’ debated

When the Continental Congress passed a resolution barring Black men from serving in the American army, one of the first heroes of the Revolution was an African-American, Crispus Attucks, who died in the 1770 Boston Massacre.

Surprised by the large number of slaves who responded to a British offer of freedom for all slaves who joined their forces, George Washington approved Black enlistments.

After the war, General Washington came to New York City to say farewell to his officers at a restaurant owned and run by Samuel Fraunces, a successful Black businessman from the French West Indies. When Washington moved to New York and then Philadelphia as the nation’s first president, he chose Fraunces to be his chief steward.

“Black Sam” Fraunces (1734-1795), who was renowned for his good food and business savvy, was also a spy and loyal friend to Washington, who lauded him as a patriot.

“You have, invariably through the most trying times, maintained a constant friendship, an attention to the cause of our country and its independence and freedom,” wrote Washington to Fraunces of their relationship.

Today, nearly 214 years since Frances’ death here in Philadelphia, he lies buried in an unmarked grave in St. Peter’s Episcopal Church cemetery located at Third and Pine streets in the heart of Society Hill.

Around the corner, a Pennsylvania state historical marker at Second and Dock streets marks the location of last tavern Fraunces operated following his retirement from the presidential household.

Frances ran the business for about a year until his death at age 61.

For over 30 years, Charles Blockson, historian and curator emeritus of the Blockson Collection at Temple University, has been documenting the story of Fraunces, his personal relationship with one of America’s most powerful men and the legacy that has continued with some of his over 500 descendents.

Blockson, author of “The Liberty Bell Era: The African American Story (Insight, $19.99),” along with the help of genealogist C. R. Cole have confirmed that Fraunces was born in the West Indies of African and French ancestry.

Cole, author of “Samuel Fraunces ‘Black Sam’ (Xlibris, $19.99),” has been researching the free Blacks living within the boundaries of Pennsylvania before the Civil War for the last 20 years.

Both the historian and the genealogist are of the opinion that Fraunces and his descendents are long overdue their acknowledgement as celebrated African Americans.

While the 1790 New York Census lists Fraunces (who until 1776 called himself Francis) as having been white and a slaveholder, other historians have claimed that references to “Black Sam’s” racial identity may instead refer to his temper or appearance from working in the kitchen.

“He should be given his due, so to speak,” said Cole. “Even within his family, I think the thing I noticed the most that you can explain a lot, but that’s not saying he’s not African in origins. And when you say it does not matter, what you’re saying is that it’s all going away. It dismisses a whole part of colonial America, at the same time because then you dismiss the fact that most of the skilled labor was African American.”

One of the oldest colonial structures in New York City today is the Fraunces Tavern, near Wall Street, which still serves as a restaurant and revolutionary era museum.

According to Cole, early in the museum’s history, a reporter wrote of a portrait that used to depict Frances at his namesake tavern and “described him with curly brown hair, a slight double chin and dark black eyes.

That’s missing now. What they have in its place is some guy in a white powder wig and a blue velvet coat with green eyes and no hint of a double chin. And that’s their biggest piece of proof that he’s not African American.”

While some historians have cited that there are no 18th-century references of Fraunces’ African descent, Blockson notes that “many fair-skinned persons of African descent were presumed as white from appearance unless their racial identity is known.

“While researching the story of his life, it was discovered that Fraunces’ racial identity was recorded as Negro, colored, Haitian Negro, Mulatto, ‘fastidious old Negro’ and swarthy. Fraunces was immortalized in Philip Freneau’s 1786 book of poems as ‘Black Sam.’ He was familiarly called by his nick name because of his tan complexion and his tight, curly hair. Keeping with the time, he often wore a white, powdered wig.”

The Fraunces family history includes the heroic act of “Black Sam’s” daughter, Elizabeth “Phoebe” Fraunces, whose beauty helped unravel the treachery of a British double agent’s plot to murder Washington and several military officers by adding a poison to a dish of peas placed before Washington.

She whispered to Washington the nature of the contents. Washington, according to tradition, threw the peas out of the window where some chickens were feeding. The chickens picked the peas and fell dead.

Thomas Hickey later confessed to the assassination plot and on June 28, 1776, was hung before a crowd of 20,000 people.

In 2003, the rediscovery of The President’s House at Fifth and Market streets further highlighted the role Fraunces played in the nation’s past and future into the 21st century, as Blockson explained. “One of Samuel Fraunces grandsons, William D. Kelly (1814-1890), whom they called ‘Pig Iron,’ was one of the founders of the Republican Party supporting Lincoln and also founded the Union League. He was a friend of African people. He also helped organize the U.S. colored troops at Camp William Penn.”

So, does the controversy over the racial identity of Fraunces continue to deny him his proper place in American history as a person of African descent?

The anonymous Society Hill gravesite of an acknowledged American patriot who was a right-hand man to the father of this country serves as a sour reminder of this nation’s conflicted stance on race.

“There was no question of his origin because certainly the daughter was still in the area,” stated Cole. “Phoebe and her husband had a large successful boarding house for years in Philadelphia. I’d go out on a limb and say the grave is probably not marked intentionally.”

By Bobbi Booker, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com

R&B singer Eric Roberson has had over 137,000 MySpace.com profile views, and over 5,000 visitors have listened to or downloaded the several tunes he posts at the site from his CD, “Left.” As vocalist N’dambi prepares for her third album release, over 8,600 guests have listened to her song, “If We Were Alone.” You might not be able to score eight-time ASCAP winner Gordon Chambers at your local record store, yet he is a heralded star on CDBaby.com. And while the soulful sounds of Lady Alma have been in the air for years, hearing her on the air is quite another matter.

All of the above independent artists are bonafide stars in their own right, often selling out venues as they tour the nation or world. Their success stems from their affiliation with online music distribution, which has given independent artists new prospects for production, marketing and circulation on a global level, in an instantaneous fashion.

“When people hear of Lady Alma and a lot of other artists who have created a buzz nationally and internationally, the first thing they do is go to the Internet and find more history and music on these people. And if you’ve got music for sale online, that’s the fastest way people can get a hold of the music,” according to Tony Allen, Alma’s former manager. “It’s faster selling online, as far as reaching out to the masses internationally. People all over the world can buy your music, and you don’t have to worry about going to a retail store in Berlin trying to meet a storeowner and educate him on the artist. The community is right there on the Web.”

The Okayplayer.com form of Internet promotion inspired Collins, he says. In 1999, The Roots’ co-founder and drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson established Okayplayer as the official website for the innovative Philadelphia-based hip-hop band. Okayplayer has since evolved into an influential online community that not only nurtures its artists and encourages fan interaction, but also hosts an independent record label and sponsors a series of concert tours. Collins also credits his label’s success to online independent retailers, such as Dusty Grooves and CDBaby, which offer artists 75 percent of sales on a consignment basis, as well as additional promotion.

“Everyone and anyone can do it,” said CDBaby spokesperson Sean Croughon from its Portland, Oregon headquarters. “The world’s changed a lot. It used to be that you used have to jump through the hoops of a few people in order to have your music made available. Before that, there were tons of tiny little labels all over the country that would put out records, but that was destroyed in the 50s and 60s, and now we are kind of returning to that. Everyone can be their own label.”

Online music distribution has given independent artists new prospects for production, marketing and circulation. The Internet has allowed individuals the ability to call their own shots by bypassing “the middleman,” taking control from both record companies and management. Technology has eased the chore of music production and CD duplication. Additionally, online record stores help artists tailor their tunes for music download entities like iTunes and Rhapsody.

“So now, those independent artists can be on the Web site alongside all other major label artists,” explained Croughon. “You can find music from any part of the world online, whether it’s through CDBaby, iTunes or any of the hundreds of independent record labels that sell online. It’s great. It’s just a golden age.”

New York hip-hop artist Count Coolout (born James Minor) recalls the initial street buzz that propelled his 1980 hit, “Rhythm Rap Rock.” Minor, now a music marketing consultant, runs his business online via JaThom Records.

“In the old days, (the major labels) didn’t want to touch us because we weren’t what they considered to be music at one point. A lot of guys were selling on independent labels,” said Minor. “It might be the neighborhood number man, the dealer who lent the money to actually make a label to put a record out. When the labels started to see how this music was being sold, they decided to start signing us and start giving distribution deals as well. Now, it’s come full circle.”

Today, major labels are even more reluctant to accept unsolicited material, forcing potential acts to rely on high-end intermediaries such as entertainment lawyers. Those artists who are signed are often submitted to a formulaic process that leads to similarity in the tunes that do receive airplay.

“What happens today, as opposed to yesteryear when I first started out, is there was no Internet. Back then, if the ‘net existed, there probably never would have been a brother on a major label,” explained Minor. “Today’s artists are selling the CDs from the Internet. They’re on the underground, but they’re still getting fame. The money coming from the ‘net may not be as great as if they were on a major label, but how much of that major money do they keep?”

On average, an artist signed to a major label deals gets about 8 percent of the wholesale selling price of the CD single (about $5) or CD album (approximately $7-$8 each). Depending on the deal the artist signed, they could receive mere pennies on a chart-topping hit song. It was this kind of formula that led to the financial downfall of such artists such as TLC and spurred other artists like Prince to trendsetting online music dominance.

“If a major outfit sells 100,000 CDs, it’s considered a total flop. If an independent person or label sells 10,000 CDs, they’re breaking out the champagne,” says Minor. “Do the math: 10,000 at $10 a pop is $100,000. So the majors, being who they are and doing business the way they’ve been taught to do it, have pushed themselves to the side. And people are just going forward.”

By Bobbi Booker

Black Entertainment Television (BET) is once again embroiled in controversy regarding a music video entitled “Read A Book.” When the video first aired on BET’s “106th and Park” in July, the network invited viewers to join an online discussion about it. Since then the debate has escalated into an exceptionally heated online dialogue on various blogs concerning language and the negative stereotypes of African Americans. The controversial video has become a surprise viral hit for BET as several unedited versions of “Read a Book” recently surfaced on YouTube and drawn over 800,000 viewers.

The “Read a Book” video was developed by BET Animation, a new division established by the network’s president of entertainment, Reginald Hudlin, who made news in July as the executive who green lighted the “Hot Ghetto Mess” (HGM) series. Viewers, angry at BET lack of regard to their complains, took matters into their own hands by starting internet petitions and blogs. Nervous advertisers dropped out, television critics slammed the show and even BET sudden name change from HGM to “We Got To Do Better” could not save the programming from dismal ratings.

However, the “Read a Book” video has spiraled from an innocuous introduction to become an Internet sensation. The pro and con of this debate also highlights the generational—and digital—divide with older viewers saying they feel denigrated and younger ones saying the video is nothing more than a crude joke.

Bomani Ahmer, who says he’s “not a rapper but a poet with a hip-hop style,” wrote and performed “Read a Book.” The catchy video starts with a Lil Jon-like rapper screaming “Read a book, read a book, read a [expletive expletive] book!” In one scene, a woman shaking her rear with “BOOK” printed on her low-riding pants. The video also refers to “Niggas” and reprimands Blacks to raise “your . . . kids,” drink more water instead of alcohol, buy land, “wash your . . . teeth” and “use deodorant.”

“It is a satirical observation of the current ridiculous, offensive, and embarrassing state of the once noble art of Hip Hop,” writes Tcphilosopher , the primary poster of the video on YouTube. BET has not requested the popular video be pulled from YouTube.com. BET, is part of Viacom, the owner of CBS which earlier this year fired radio shock jock Don Imus for using what he called hip-hop-flavored humor in his comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.

Jesse Jackson, among others, recently denounced the video, on his radio show. The “video ‘Read A Book’ on YouTube takes us into the abyss,” read Jackson ’s statement. “Billed as a satirical look at popular culture, a viewer is left with the distinct impression that nothing matters, that life is futile, knowledge fruitless, manners meaningless.

“A common definition of satire is witty language used to convey insults or scorn. The video is plenteously scornful and insulting, but not of crassness. The video insults reading, personal hygiene, family values and frugality. “Read a Book” heaps scorn on positive values and (un)intentionally celebrates ignorance. The simplistic repetitive rhyme and tune made it clear that the creator had not taken his own advice, i.e. to ‘Read a Book’”

BET continues to support the video and issued press release praising the video’s positive message: ” ‘Read A Book’ uses an irresistible beat on which to place the catchy, overly repeated lyrics. But instead of exhorting the listener to dance as much of current hip-hop does, he takes the opportunity to suggest ways through which people can better their lives.”

Last month, the home of BET president Debra Lee was targeted by online protesters in an Internet-based plea to urge viewers to boycott the network and to get BET to change its programming. Reverend Delman L. Coates of Clinton , Maryland’s Mt. Ennon Baptist Church and founder of the blog, “Enough Is Enough: Campaign for Corporate Responsibility in Entertainment” reports over 600 people from the northeast corridor had registered for the Saturday protest.

“This campaign does not go after the individual artist because they have the constitutional right to produce whatever music they desire,” This campaign is not debating artistic freedom or individual artists’ rights. This campaign is about corporate responsibility and government responsibility,” said Coates to EUR.com.

“I do think that Black executives have a responsibility to be accountable to the community. There were people before us who suffered, bled, died so that we can have our broadcast licenses. There are people who struggled so that African American executives could benefit from these positions,” Coates added. “Dr. King didn’t die so that we could present ourselves before the world stage in a negative way.”

By Bobbi Booker

For the past dozen years or so, there has been resurgence in African American interest in natural hairstyles and care. Natural hair has been prominently featured with sports and entertainment stars and the general public has reflected the increased in popularity of styles such as cornrows, locks, braiding, twists, cropped and locked –most of which originated in Ancient Africa. The recent 13th Annual International Locks Conference: Natural Hair, Health & Beauty Expo in Philadelphia celebrated the splendor of Black culture through classes on overall wellness. The Expo, traditionally held during the first weekend of October, has expanded to two days of education, healthy food options, informative workshops, soothing healing circles, music, fashions, and a stunning hair show and competition.

Sakinah Ali-Sabree started as a conference volunteer and now serves as the operations manager. “The conference is about more than hair,” explained Ali-Sabree. “It also promotes Black businesses and have different vendors offer their products to the community and have workshops to educate the people in the community. It was an outlet for Black business that didn’t have a store.”

Although there has been a reemergence of natural hair, African Americans–and Black women in particular–still face an underlying tone that straightened hair is a more acceptable or professional hairstyle. As recently as August 2007, controversy erupted when “Glamour” magazine apologized for a staffer who called Black women’s natural hairstyles in the workplace “shocking,” “inappropriate” and “political.”

“People feel like ‘locks’ are just a hairdo, but it comes with a little responsibility,” noted Ali-Sabree who accents her hair with elaborate ‘Gele’ head wraps. “That’s why I always stress the importance of education and learning about your hair, culture and your heritage, and basically the background on locks and where it comes from. I’ll have Asians or Caucasians say to me, ‘Oh that’s a nice hairstyle’ or ‘Maybe I should try that,’ and tell them it’s a history behind it. It’s not just a hairstyle for me; it’s a cultural statement.”

Expo presenter and natural hair pioneer, Yvette Smalls, has long used the slogan “Braid It-Don’t Burn It” to promote a Pan-African appreciation of Afro-textured hair.

“Our hair is our crown and glory and we must embrace that standard,” said Smalls. “The standards of beauty that we’ve been taught are not necessarily beneficial for our people. I help Black women create our own standards.”

According to Smalls, natural hairstyles draw African Americans closer to their roots.

“I believe that a lot of the empowerment lies in self-definition and shared experiences,” expands Smalls. “I encourage hair harmony because the essence of beauty is in the soul, not in or of the body. My quest of self-discovery was beyond image and that’s what made me feel as though it were important to bond and share my experience with women so that we would have to go through some of the things we go through with issue called hair.”

The Expo also featured Hollywood newspaper columnist Rych McCain and his new book, “Black Afrikan Hair and The Insanity Of The Black Blonde Psych! (Why EVERY Black Afrikan “MUST” Wear Their Spiritually Divine, Nappy Hair Natural)!” ($25, Valley of Maat Publication). For over 20 years, McCain has researched the critical medial and social effects that have arisen from the poor self-esteem issues that African Americans have over their hair. “Hair is 75 percent of our personality,” said McCain, who has conducted education workshops for over 16,000 community youth and college students.

“The ladies know that,” stresses McCain. “They are not going to go out into the public unless their hair is together. I remember when my mother use to make sure that my sister’s hair was pressed.”

McCain research underscores the “spiritual divinity and physiological functions that natural nappy, kinky, and divine hair performs.”

“Our hair is the only hair that spirals out of the scalp and that’s because of the shape of the follicles but also because of our melanin,” maintains McCain.

“When you look at the spiral it is the most profound motion in the universe. Everything on earth spirals. Blood spirals through your vains. Flowers and all plants spiral out of the ground. When you flush or take a shower and look at the water, the water spirals down the drain because of how the earth moves. The same force that creates the spiral of water going down a drain is the same force that creates the same spiral that makes our hair comes out of our head in a spiral form. No other hair in the human family does that.”

The 13th Annual International Locks Conference: Natural Hair, Health & Beauty Expo2007 took place on October 6th & 7th from 11AM – 8PM at the Walter D. Palmer LLP Charter School 910 North 6th Street. Philadelphia, PA.
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Escalating backlash against Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) decision to broadcast a six-week series entitled “Hot Ghetto Mess,” or HGM, has led two major sponsors to pull their ads from both the program and the channel’s website last week.

As the controversy swirled through cyberspace and the airwaves, there were unconfirmed reports late Friday night from a blogger who claimed to be close to the show’s host Charlie Murphy that BET had decided to pull the plug on the show.

While BET, owned by communications giant Viacom since 2004, continues to be tight lipped about the details of its lost sponsors or HGM, it’s website continues to promote the July 25 debut while tauting a blackface character with a red slash through its face, along with the tagline, “We Got To Do Better.”

HGM is culled from the website of the same name and features photos and video footage of random African Americans engaged in behavior or dressed in attire considered embarrassing and socially unacceptable. Several requests made to BET’s corporate headquarters to speak with the station’s press liaison and HGM founder Jamilla Donaldson were not returned at press time.

However, a little-know blog called “What About Our Daughters” (WAOD) is striking at the heart of the media conglomerate. In April, Gina McCauley answered the call to make a difference after viewing Oprah Winfrey’s two-day town hall meeting following Don Imus’ demeaning comments and debating hip hop lyrics and the use of the n-word.

A guest suggested that Black women were going to have to make their complaints known, and with that McCauley started her blog. She is now at the head of a blogasphere movement that is comprised of 20 and 30-somethings on the Internet–the same demographic BET has targeted with HGM. What started out as an informal think tank about the images that are absorbed by Black youths with a mere 200 weekly views has exploded to 18,000 daily views and now features a weekly podcast.

On July 1st, McCauley contacted State Farm Insurance Co with her concerns over their sponsorship of HGM. By day’s end, the company had pulled the advertisements. Soon, Home Depot also pulled their ads. McCauley, a 31-year old Austin-based attorney, charges that BET cares only about its income stream and does not about the community they claim to represent.

“First of all, our position has been to stop funding the foolishness,” explained McCauley. “BET can put ‘Hot Ghetto Mess’ up without commercial interruption if it wants to, but I am not going to subsidize it and they should ask Black women who go to work everyday to purchase these products and goods and services of these corporations to subsidize something that demeans them. If these corporations know anything about exhibiting people of color for entertainment and amusement, they wouldn’t be doing this. If they knew anything about the history of blackface and how that affected perceptions of African Americans around the world for centuries they would not do this. I think it’s intellectually dishonest to think that people outside the community who view this aren’t going to use it to either create stereotypes or cement stereotypes that they have. I have a problem with BET looking for the very worse, in their opinion, that the African American community has to offer and beam it around the world.”

The channel calls the 6-week series “a blend of tough love and social commentary.” On the HGM site, Donaldson, a Black lawyer who’s also an executive producer on the BET show, calls for a “new era of self-examination.”

“If it happens to be controversial, that’s fine,” she told the Hollywood Reporter. “If it makes it more marketable, that’s fine, too. ‘Fahrenheit 9/11′ was controversial, too, but (Michael Moore’s) message got out there.”

Donaldson believes people have misinterpreted the intention of her website. “It’s long-standing among African-Americans that we don’t criticize each other in public, you don’t air the laundry,” Donaldson said. “But I don’t buy into it.”

“Whose laundry and for what purpose?” retorts McCauley.” That’s a charade. It has never been about airing dirty laundry until (BET) got criticized. It was always about finding people who looked ‘funny’ and let’s mock and laugh at them. Part of this is Jam being very elitist in trying to imply somehow that because these people are poor and uneducated that it’s okay for us to mock and scorn them. I don’t disagree with her that people shouldn’t be conducting themselves in that way, but I think it’s a big leap from going from the Internet to international broadcast television and I think that BET is a certain stamp of approval because they’re called Black Entertainment Television.”

More disturbing than the proposed airing of HGM is the recent media coverage of the HGM website that has lead to the discovery of photos of African American youngsters posed in provocative ways. McCauley believes these images represent abuse and neglect and that HGM founder has an ethical obligation as a lawyer to report these exploitive images to law enforcement officials.

“There’s pictures of little Black children with cigars in their mouths,” said McCauley. “The LA Times article mentioned (seeing images) of toddlers drinking beer or whatever. I have not clicked on it because I heard a description that some of it could qualify as child pornography and I don’t want that on my hard drive. I just think it’s morally repugnant and disgusting to have photos of African American toddlers in situations where they are being abused and neglected and put that up for entertainment purposes.”

The success that BET may claim for existing for 27 years has increasing been overshadowed by the criticism it has drawn for what many view as demeaning programming. Some people have even referred to the BET acronym as standing for “Black Exploitation Television”.

“They may think of it as some sort of free publicity campaign for the program,” noted pop culture critic and journalist Richard Torres. “You have a network that’s supposedly Black Entertainment Television which is white-owned. And it’s funny because BET keeps trying to explain itself saying its catering to the 18-34 demographic, the same demographic that by the way is losing it’s life in Iraq and is at risk from various forces, yet they don’t address those issues. You have a Black man running for president, who by all accounts is a credible candidate, and they don’t cover that. Instead you get ‘Hot Ghetto Mess.’”

“The problem is that there are always going to be sellouts in our community who are going to look for the quick dollar or the quick 15 minutes of fame,” said Lawrence Otis Graham, one of the nation’s leading experts on race, politics and class in America. “The problem is that because the white media allows so few Black voice to come through that they often pick the most provocative and shocking person or voice to tell our stories.”

As a way to circumvent broadcasting regulations several years ago, BET created a late-night segment called “Uncut” to air uncensored videos. Perhaps the most notorious video to air, which for many came to exemplify BET’s program choices, was “Tip Drill” by Nelly that depicted him swiping a credit card between a stripper’s buttocks. The video spurred such outrage that Spelman University students teamed up with Essence magazine’s “Take Back the Music” campaign and forced the last-minute cancellation of a Nelly concert scheduled at the Atlanta-based school.

Much in the spirit of Dr. C. Delores Tucker’s epic battle with Warner Records over the depiction of Black women in hip-hop lyrics, there are a handful of Black women who are leading the charge against BET’s insistence on airing HGM. Latrice Janine, a 25-year-old college student out of Chicago, has obtained over 4,200 signatures since January in her online petition against HGM.

McCauley says she finds similarities to the potential airing of HGM and the exploitation of Saartjie Baartman, a 19th century European sideshow known as the “Hottentut Venus.” “Because she looked different they would take her to parties wearing nothing but feathers and just looking at her was entertainment,” said McCauley. “This to me is the exact same thing. For BET, who has made its money on perpetuating stereotypes to now turn around and say that they’re trying to combat the thing that they promoted is like a crack dealer suddenly opening up a rehab.”

Originally published in The Philadelphia Tribune, Sunday, March 25, 2007

The generation of child bearing women who are now in their twenties and thirties are faced with a myriad of choices as they contemplate pregnancy. Many young women are faced with uncertainty as they juggle the demand of their personal and professional lives. Like other women in her generation, bestselling author Rebecca Walker’s was at a crossroads when making her life altering decision to experience pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood and she share her concerns in her latest memoir, “Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence” (Riverhead Books, $24.95).

For fifteen years Walker recognized a persistent yearning to have a baby but feared actually choosing to do it. As a result, she almost missed what she now knows to be the single most meaningful experience of her life. “When I was writing the book I was thinking a lot about how important it is for young women to strategize and prioritize having a child if its something they want to do and not to let the very finite period of their fertility get past them because of their ambivalence, or because of fear or because of different relationships in their lives that haven’t been resolved. It is such a powerful experience that if you miss it, you miss. It’s a message I really diidn’t get when I was younger, and I wish I had, so I feel like it’s my responsibility having to come into that awareness to just put it out there.”

In Baby Love, Rebecca Walker tells the story of her pregnancy: not just the physical evolution, but also the emotional and intellectual transformation from ambivalence to certainty to unconditional love. It’s the story of the birth of her son, Tenzin, the development of her relationship with her partner, Glen, and the demise of her relationship with her mother and fellow author, Alice Walker.

This older Walker opposes her daughter’s decision to have a baby and challenges Rebecca’s account of their relationship in the memoir “Black, White and Jewish.” Alice ends their relationship and removes Rebecca from her will, and Rebecca endures a tumultuous pregnancy, estranged from her mother as she prepares to become one herself. Tenzin, now 2, has yet to meet his grandmother.

“I think it’s the best thing for everyone’s mental and emotional health,” Walker says. “I support the decisions that I have made to make a better life for my child. I’ve always been open to reconciliation and I always will be, but it has to be in such a way that healing will take place and not harm.”

Like her mother, Walker has received numerous awards and accolades for her writing and activism. The elder Walker is one of the most prolific and important writers of our times, known for her literary fiction, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Color Purple (now a major Broadway play).

Walker acknowledges the sacrifice that her mother made to become one of America’s most recognized African American authors. “In many ways, it’s much easier for me than it was my mother,” explained Walker. “There are some differences in terms of the pressures and the arduousness of the task of being an African American woman writer at that time. She had to break ground that I don’t have to. The pressures and the resistance were tremendous in a lot of ways and so the impact on our home life was more intense. I clearly have obstacles that I have to negotiate, but it’s a different time so I think the extreme of the experience won’t be the same for Tenzin.”

As we speak, the sound of birds chirping emanate in the background of the Hawaiian home she’s made with her son and partner. Walker says she has found a secure place, within her self, to enjoy her life and her decisions. Today, Walker draws strength and serenity from the realization that her unconditional love for her son is vastly different from her mother’s love for her.

“I think (motherhood) makes me more appreciative of this journey to have realized that I could have missed it allows to embrace it even more every day,” reflects Walker. “I could just stare at my son for hours. I have to stop myself because I’m just so in awe of the experience. I definitely think that coming close to missing it has made it a more precious experience for me.”

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First appear in Sunday, March 18th edition of the Philadelphia Tribune.

The power of music was clearly demonstrated in the late 1960’s when a simple song recorded in a church basement became an unlikely social phenomenon. An old gospel song had been revamped by Edwin Hawkins and recorded live with the Northern California State Youth Choir as two-track-recording of 500 copies. Street buzz in the Bay Area lead to the track being picked up by a local DJ and subsequently released commercially. The initially humble recording of “Oh Happy Day” would within months transform the worldwide definition of gospel music, soar into the US Top 5, win a Grammy and secure massive sales worldwide. On an international level, you can guarantee that audiences know the lyrics to “Oh Happy Day” just as well as other merry sing-alongs like “Happy Birthday” and “Jingle Bells.

The funky, soulful and R&B infused gospel sound of “Oh Happy Day” single-handedly ushered in the Contemporary Gospel sound that resonate four decades later. The song also introduced us to the vocals of Tramaine Hawkins, the then-16 year old granddaughter of Bishop E.E. Cleveland, one of the founders of the Church of God in Christ. “When they took it underground and they started playing it on secular radio and it caught on, we went on our first tour to New York,” recalled Hawkins. “It was about 60 of us. And we had chaperones, baby! Some of us had never been out of Oakland. We’d never been out of Berkeley.”

“Oh Happy Day” became an instant classic and propelled the Edwin Hawkins Singers to unexpected major cross over success. “That song opened the door for us,” Hawkins said. “We opened for Diana Ross. We were on with the Jackson 5 singing ” ‘Oh Happy Day.’”

By the 70’s Hawkins had become the lead singer for the best-selling “Love Alive” series (spearheaded by her former husband Walter Hawkins) and quickly became a popular solo artist. She would go on to be inducted into the International Gospel Hall of Fame, win two Grammy Awards, two Dove Awards, an NAACP Image Award and a Gospel Music Excellence Award. With 10 solo albums to her credit and a self-imposed hiatus behind her, Lady Tramaine, as she is now known, has just released her latest CD, “I Never Lost My Praise (Zomba Gospel, $17.95) to rave reviews. Many critics are heralding her reinterpretation of “Oh Happy Day,” which Hawkins recorded solo for the first time in her career. She says it was not only time to memorialize her version of the song, but it was also time to honor the creator of the masterpiece. “I felt it was time to give tribute to Edwin,” said Hawkins. “He started all of this before any of us. Edwin is the one who penned ‘Oh Happy Day’ and put the contemporary sound on the map. It’s time, I feel, to allow him to know how much I appreciated his walk with the Lord. Edwin is the same today as he was in 1968 when we all fell in love with the Edwin Hawkins sound.”

The Hawkins Sound allowed Tramaine to travel the world with her musical ministry. “I’m one of the busiest artists out there without having any material or a CD out there,” said Hawkins, who had in recent years lost both parents, suffered health crises and faced “life altering personal challenges.”

She said it was during the 2000 recording of her last CD, “Still Tramaine” that she “could sense that things were really changing in the music and recording industry. And that wasn’t so comfortable in feeling that I had the kind of passion and desire to deal with all that stuff. I come from a different era, so to speak. I’m grateful for the true pioneers: The Caravans, Mahalia Jackson and all of them. They really put Gospel on the map and they were my mentors. I grew up listening to those trailblazers.”

One of the challenges Hawkins faced was fitting into a new music marketing world where focus groups and chart position determines airtime, and ultimately overall recording income. “I been through some real rough places and had some major disappointment, even with this industry and my own record company,” Hawkins sighed. “After six or more years of not recording and becoming, honestly, real, real disenchanted–uninspired–with the industry. Feeling like there is so much now that is totally different from the heydays of the (“Oh Happy Day”) recording I was a part of, the ‘Love Alive’ series and even my earlier albums. It was about the real music. It was about relationships. Now, what I’m told it’s about, is the real business of it with focus groups, this that and the other, making decisions.”

Hawkins also knows that an underground DJ would stand little chance of revolutionizing music genre. Today, the focus is on branding, not cultivating. “Announcers that lived and breathe the music were responsible for some of the airplay that the Hawkins family has received down through the years. Songs that people even continue to sing now, they just continued to play and it didn’t matter if it wasn’t in the top 10 or 30.”

During her recording interim, her producer son Jamie Hawkins, introduced her to praise and worship material. Then the younger Hawkins and gospel hit maker Kurt Carr team up to produce “Praise.” For Lady Hawkins, the timing of her and Carr’s teamwork could not have been better. “He collaborated with my son and just did his thing.”

As the organist of the late Rev. James Cleveland and a skilled performer in is own right, Carr had been a longtime fan of Hawkins. Hawkins said she took one of Carr’s initial calls about the project while she was in the midst of a prayer service. “‘I got a song for you,’” Hawkins recalled Carr saying. “‘God told me to call you and sing it to you over the phone.’” Hawkins sheepishly acknowledged that while she shouldn’t have had the phone on during service she was glad it rang. On the other end, Carr sang what would eventually become the title song of the collection: “I lost some good friends along the way/Some loved ones departed in heaven to stay.”

“Tears began to stream down. I listen to the whole song and afterwards I was just about speechless because I was so emotionally in tune to the song because it was just what God had been allowing me to go through since my hiatus from the recording industry.”

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