AFAM NEWSLETTER

AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES African & African American Studies East Tennessee State University Vol. II Fall 2006 No. 3

AFAM Graduate’s History-Making Faculty News Term of Office Ends Mary Alexander, an ETSU graduate with a concentration in history and African American Studies, became the first African American to be elected to the Washington County Commission. As County Commissioner, she Marcia Songer Elwood Watson represented the 4th District, from 2002 to 2006. When she was Marcia Songer, Assistant Pro- Mary Alexander elected in 2002, she said that she fessor of English and Associate had “no long-term plans for politics.” She added that she would Director of the University Hon- “take it as it comes.” Although Ms. Alexander decided not to ors Program, teaches African run for reelection in 2006, she said that she had not ruled out running for political office in the future. Ms. Alexander Literature in the AFAM Pro- served on many committees during her tenure on the County gram. Her article, “The Ultimate Commission, including her chairmanship of the Education Penance of Brother Cadfael,” Committee and membership on the Rules Committee and appeared in Clues 23-4 (2005), Library Board. Her work on the Education Committee was 63-68. especially important to her because she believes that education is the key to making progress in every field. She said that Elwood Watson, Associate the attraction of new businesses and the retention of existing Professor of History, co-edited businesses in the Northeast Tennessee region are examples of the importance of education, because businesses depend on a with Darcy Martin, There She well educated and qualified workforce. Ms. Alexander’s work Is, Miss America, published by in improving the County’s educational system will continue Palgrave Macmillan in August under her leadership of the Langston Heritage Group in 2004. Watson teaches various Washington County and through her role as a history teacher courses in the AFAM minor, at ETSU and area institutions. Ms. Alexander earned her M.A. including African American degree in history, with an emphasis on African American Studies in December 2001. Culture Since World War II. Faculty News A Scholarship to be Added to the AFAM Program In 2005 a scholarship committee, consisting of community leaders, former AFAM graduates, and ETSU faculty, was formed. At its last meeting, in the spring of 2006, the committee voted to name the AFAM scholarship in honor of the late Mrs. Betty Hill Goah. Although she was born in Laurens, South Carolina, Mrs. Goah was a lifetime resident of Johnson City. She dedicated her life to improving the quality of life for others in her immediate community and the region. Her many contributions to the community included her service on the Johnson City Development Authority; Johnson City Downtown Clinic; Drinkard was one of several speakers Appalachian Community Fund, Knoxville, Tennessee; Tennessee who addressed residents assembled at Regional Health Department; Washington County Health Department; Austin’s new City Hall on January 12, Greater Kingsport Ministerial Alliance; and the Commission on 2005, to honor James L. Farmer, Jr. Religion in Appalachia. The following article by Adam G. Dickson provides a fuller appreciation of Mrs. Goah’s life and work. A Tribute to Betty Hill Goah Dorothy Drinkard-Hawk- By Adam G. Dickson shawe, Director of AFAM and The death of Mrs. Betty Hill Goah stunned many Professor of History, was one in the Johnson City community. From a spiritual of the speakers at Austin, perspective one understands that death is an inevi- Texas City Hall, where Mayor table fact of life. But what was so hurtful was that Wynn declared January 12, Mrs. Betty had open heart surgery, and many subse- 2005 James L. Farmer, Jr. quent surgeries, and through it all it seemed as if she Day. Farmer lived in Austin, would slowly but surely recover. But on Wednesday from age 5 to age 13. Farmer Adam G. Dickson morning, 8, 2006, at 6 A.M. while on a busi- was the principal founder ness trip in Dallas, I received a phone call from NAACP president and good friend Ralph Davis telling me the sad news. Since that moment, I have found myself thinking about her strength, determination, and how privileged I was to know her as a colleague, mentor, and friend. Betty Hill Goah was a unique character who deserves some anal- ysis. One unique characteristic that Mrs. Betty possessed was that from a young woman up to her passing, she was a committed public servant. She was a principal planner of a demonstration where stu- dents of the “colored” Langston High School marched to Science Hill High School to protest the segregation in the Johnson City school system. She and my father, Fred Dickson, worked for the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) during the Lyndon B. Johnson adminis- Speakers who received signed copies tration. Her service work continued with the Neighborhood Service of Mayor Will Wynn’s Proclamation, Center and the Tennessee Hunger Coalition. Mrs. Betty’s legacy, honoring James L. Farmer, Jr., were however, will be her role as founder and coordinator of the North- Texas Representative Dawnna Dukes; Dr. Detine Bowers, leader of the east Tennessee Minority Health Community Development Coalition. Day Movement; Dr. She took an issue of such importance and reality and demanded that Don Carlton, Director of The Center the black Tri-Cities community realize the state of our health and for American History, University take proactive, preventive measures to improve our health. She and of Texas, Austin where the official her colleague, now successor, Margaret Davis, traveled extensively Farmer Papers are housed; and Dr. to receive training so that they could educate the black communi- Dorothy Drinkard-Hawkshawe, ty through the churches on issues such as heart disease, diabetes, Farmer’s biographer (back row). and stroke. Not every church in the community has accepted the

 African & African American Studies health training, but that never deterred Mrs. Betty. And because of her persistence, many black church congregations understand the THE 2005-2006 importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Another unique characteristic of Mrs. Betty was her position as AFAM PROGRAM a strong woman. Mrs. Betty was an outspoken woman whom I re- spected deeply. Having a mother and sister who are both strong IN REVIEW women, I had no problem with Mrs. Betty’s strong-at-times tone. But I am sure that some men, especially the fraternal, machismo- Courses entrenched male, could not accept her administrative, take-charge The 2005-2006 academic year demeanor. Some men have notions that women are to live silent was a great success. Twenty-four lives and only speak when spoken to. Mrs. Betty never aligned with hours of coursework were offered this notion. She, along with compatriot Mrs. Ann McConnell, played during the fall 2005 semester and a landmark role in addressing a wide variety of community develop- an additional twenty-four hours ment issues in Johnson City and the East Tennessee region. These of coursework were offered dur- women deserve recognition because they are local examples of many ing the spring 2006 semester, nationally-known black women such as , Ella Bak- making a total of forty-eight se- er, and Mary Church Terrell, who led with courage and conviction. mester hours and sixteen courses Because we tend to focus solely on Martin Luther King, , offered through the departments and other outstanding male leaders of the , of history, geography, criminal we seem to forget the mothers and housewives who made many sac- justice, English, political science, rifices to create a truly inclusive community. music, and foreign languages. Since Mrs. Betty’s passing, many have speculated about the fu- ture of the black community in the region. As a new generation of Lectures black leadership develops in the area, it is hoped that the follow- ing principles exemplified by Mrs. Betty Hill Goah will be followed. First, develop and sustain a commitment to public service. Second, as a public servant, always maintain a standard of character and integrity in dealing with the public. Third, – and probably most im- portant for our time – in dealing with the many racial disparities that exist in our country (housing, health status, wealth accumulation, etc.), the new leadership must research, present, and enact positive and proactive solutions that ultimately unite all factions within the community toward constructive change. Mrs. Betty’s funeral was Wesley, Drinkard-Harkshawe, with three hours long and jam-packed, standing room only. If we truly Sullivan County Middle School want to honor Mrs. Betty’s memory, let us take these principles and students and faculty her legacy and get to work. Distinguished speakers from Dickson is an ETSU graduate. He teaches Black American myriad walks of life graced the Political Thought in the Political Science Department. ETSU campus during the 2005- 2006 academic year, and their The first Betty Hill Goah AFAM Scholarship will be awarded messages were also taken into the in the fall of 2006. Students who wish to apply for the scholarship community. John Milton Wesley, should send a letter of interest to: Mississippi-born writer and poet, read his poetry to a large audience AFAM Program; c/o Dr. Drinkard-Hawkshawe in the Carroll Reece Museum on East Tennessee State University; Box 70672 September 15, 2005, and shared Johnson City, Tennessee 37614 with them his memories of Em- Interested persons may also call 423-439-6688 for more information. mett Till’s Money, Mississippi, lynching, which took place fifty To make a tax-deductible contribution to the Goah AFAM years ago. Wesley spoke of how Scholarship Fund, write checks payable to: The ETSU Foundation/ his life, and that of his hometown AFAM Program. Mail checks to: The ETSU Foundation; East of Ruleville, Mississippi, changed Tennessee State University; Box 70732; Johnson City, Tennessee 37614 after the horrific event. After his Lectures Cont. on Page 4 African & African American Studies  THE 2005-2006 AFAM PROGRAM IN REVIEW Lectures Cont. hotels in three states and several ETSU campus lecture, Wesley restaurants, with business stu- Concert and the AFAM Director were the dents in classroom discussions featured Constitution Day speak- at ETSU and with the wid- ers at Sullivan County Middle er community. Among other School. Dorothy Drinkard-Hawk- things, Thomas was interviewed shawe discussed the historical by Fred Sauceman, Executive significance of the U.S. Consti- Assistant to the President. The tution, and Milton followed up interview was aired on public with a discussion on how Consti- radio around the Northeast Ten- tutional principles had worked in nessee region. his life. He told the students that Friendship Baptist Church Following is the article writ- Mass Choir the U.S. Constitution was a living ten by Thomas for distribution. document that should be used to (See page 5.) AFAM’s last extracurricular protect our liberties and preserve event for the 2005-2006 academ- our democracy. Art Exhibit ic year was a concert entitled, Two weeks later, Wesley’s “A History of Gospel Music,” September lecture was followed performed by the Friendship by Hank Thomas’ talk on his Baptist Mass Choir and its as- personal experiences with the sociate members. The history Freedom Rides of 1961. In 1961, of gospel music was written Thomas was a Howard Univer- by an ETSU graduate, Margaret sity student who chose to make Davis; and the music director history, although he did not was Phedelma Turner. The con- know it at the time, by becoming cert took place at 6:00 P.M. in one of the original thirteen rid- the Martha Culp Auditorium ers who left Washington, D.C., on February 13, 2006. Approxi- on a Greyhound bus and a Trail- mately two hundred individuals way bus on May 4 to test a 1960 attended on this cold Monday Supreme Court decision (Boyn- The W.C. Handy Memorial evening. Many of the attend- ton v. Virginia) that outlawed photo in Hardin’s Beale ees were from the community; segregated seating on interstate Street Collection but ETSU students and faculty buses and segregated facilities in also came out in large numbers bus terminals. Thomas was on The AFAM Program, with the support of the Sherrod to enjoy the magnificent mu- the Southbound Greyhound bus sic that traced the history of that was set afire outside of An- Library and the History Depart- Gospel music from the African niston, Alabama, where he and ment, sponsored a month-long “Call and Response” pattern, fellow riders were attacked and exhibit of George Hardin’s photo- graph collection of , barely escaped with their lives. through the slavery era and ear- Memphis, Tennessee. The photo- ly days of Gospel, to the Golden Thomas also discussed his in- graphs of Beale Street, taken over volvement in voter registration Ages of the 1940s and , to a period of forty years, could be the present time. The music of drives in Tennessee. His article seen in the main lobby and the on Somerville in Fayette County, Gospel greats such as Maha- third floor of Sherrod Library. lia Jackson, James Cleveland, Tennessee, was written for dis- The staff of Sherrod Library also tribution at his ETSU lecture. It composed a book list for further Thomas Dorsey, Kirk Franklin, is printed in this Newsletter for reading on Beale Street and the and many more was performed. our readers. Thomas shared his , along with a schedule of The concert was a treat that life experiences as a civil rights related events throughout the left the audience hungry for leader, who was nearly killed; a state of Tennessee. Because of more—an educational, spiritu- Vietnam soldier, who received the excellent work performed by al, and inspirational experience the Purple Heart; and a very suc- the Sherrod Library staff, the ex- that will not be soon forgotten cessful business man, who owns hibit was a great success. by those in attendance.

 African & African American Studies The Fight for the Vote in Somerville, Tennessee (1961-1962)

Germans and protected America the vote. To serve those blacks from Germany’s tyranny, could who had either lost their jobs or not vote or enjoy equal treat- could not buy groceries in town, Hank Thomas ment in public facilities. a hero stepped forward. The In the winter of 1962, I was Each black American who only African American-owned a student at . dared to go to the Somerville grocery store in the county was Like thousands of other students courthouse to register to vote had owned by a World War II veter- on southern college campuses, to line up and go through a gaunt- an, John McFerren. He allowed I had already earned some bat- let of armed white men. Further, the disfranchised people to pur- tle ribbons in the Civil Rights each black American who at- chase food on credit. When Movement. I had been arrest- tempted to register had his or her whites learned of this, McFerren ed several times. The battle for name posted at the courthouse suffered the consequences of his human rights was spreading and listed in the local newspaper. actions. His wholesaler would throughout the South. Students The often made no longer sell food and supplies like me were arrested and were night rides to the listed persons’ to him. In the face of this op- physically brutalized by white homes. Many of their homes position, McFerren organized a terrorists and the police. were riddled with bullets and/or trucking pool in order to get food from out of state. As expected, But what happened to us, as firebombed. There was an orga- the drivers ran into roadblocks. students, was quite mild com- nized reign of terror by the police One of the most serious of the pared to what happened to and Christian extremists. How- drivers’ obstacles was constant black adults who tried to reg- ever, blacks were not deterred. police harassment. ister to vote in many states in As the terrorists stepped up their the South. Among other things, campaign of horror, blacks be- Fayette County officials also they were humiliated by reg- came even more determined to tried to close McFerren’s grocery istrars who asked ridiculous win the battle for the vote. store for alleged back taxes. The questions that could never be When the physical violence NAACP came to his rescue and answered to the satisfaction of didn’t succeed in keeping African fought relentlessly in court on the voting officials. Americans from trying to regis- his behalf. Finally, after many court battles and after many In Somerville, Tennessee, the ter to vote, the terrorists went a blacks had been evicted from treatment of African Americans step further—economic violence. their homes, beaten, and arrest- could be compared to the treat- White employers started termi- ed, a federal judge intervened. ment of Jews in Germany during nating employees who registered The wholesaler was ordered to the 1930s. Blacks, like German to vote. One of the first persons sell to McFerren, the black gro- Jews, were denied basic citizen- to lose his job was an African cery store owner. ship rights and lived in fear. American World War II veteran. In spite of the aforemen- As a group, blacks could not The next form of econom- tioned victory, many blacks, vote, and even World War II Af- ic violence was the refusal by who had been fired from their rican American veterans were white-owned grocery stores to jobs because of their determina- shabbily treated. Former Ger- sell food to blacks whose names tion to vote, were evicted from man POWs, who later became were posted. Needless to say, their homes and had to live in American citizens, were ac- some blacks asked that their tents during the winter of 1962, corded the same rights as white names be removed from the vot- which was one of the cold- Americans, including the right er’s registration list. est winters in decades. I was to vote, while African American Nevertheless, most blacks veterans, who had fought the persisted in their fight to win Somerville Cont. on Page 6 African & African American Studies  Beale Street: and Documentary Photography By George E. Hardin It’s great to be on the ETSU campus. hate ignorance may strive to know, They will give to the young in their This is my second visit here and again Where those who perceive truth impressionable years, the bond of a the hospitality I’ve received has been may strive to make others see; lofty purpose shared, gracious. There is always something Where seekers and learners alike, Of a great corporate life whose inspiring about being on the campus banded together in the search for links will not be loosed until they of a university. I’m sure you students knowledge, die. realize what a grand opportunity you Will honor thought in all its finer They give young people that close have to be in such an academic set- ways, will welcome thinkers in dis- companionship for which youth ting as this. As John Masefield said: tress or in exile, longs, There are few earthly things more Will uphold ever the dignity of And that chance of the endless beautiful than a university. thought and learning and will exact discussion of the themes which are It is a place where those who standards in these things. endless, (Cont. on page 7)

Somerville Cont. After presentations by Wesley and Thomas, George Hardin and Wil- liam A. Coleman rounded out the AFAM lecture series for the fall 2005 one of the many students who semester. Hardin, as a former Tennessee newspaper reporter, covered took food and winter clothing some of the major events of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s to the brave men and women and 1960s. He discussed many of these events, including the Nashville who suffered the adverse con- student sit-ins, in his talk at ETSU on October 13, 2005. Like the first sequences of trying to vote. two speakers, he visited ETSU classes before and after his major talk. He shared his newspaper knowledge and experiences with students in two Fourteen years earlier, 1948, the copy editing classes. He also lectured at Northside Elementary School. communists had tried to use starvation as a weapon against On November 10, 2005, retired Navy Cap- tain William A. Coleman, Jr. spoke on the role the freedom-loving people of of African Americans in World War II. The lec- West Berlin. Like the commu- ture in Carroll Reece Museum was attended by nists, the 1962 terrorists tried members of the community, students, faculty, to starve freedom-loving blacks and reporters from the Johnson City Press. In in Somerville, Tennessee into an article that appeared in the November 11, submission. Neither attempt 2005, issue of the newspaper, Coleman is quot- ed as saying “The role of African Americans Hardin, retired from the succeeded in the long term. newspaper business, in the military.. .has often gone unrecognized. now resides in Ausin, Texas was our For decades, blacks weren’t considered equals with his wife. anthem in the 1960s as we battled in the military and weren’t even allowed to terrorists in the South. Nowhere fight beside white soldiers, much less become officers.” Coleman contin- was that song more meaningful ued, “But much of that changed during World War II. ‘I think the WWII period was the beginning of the greatest surge we had.’” than it was in Somerville, Tennes- see, 1961-1962. During the spring 2006 semester, George Hardin once again visited the campus to speak. In February Note: John McFerren, now he spoke on “Beale Street, Home of the Blues.” Over in his eighties, still owns his a period of forty years, Hardin took photographs of grocery store in Somerville, the famous Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. These which is part of Fayette County, photographs were on display in the Sherrod Library Tennessee. throughout the month of February in recognition of African Americans’ contributions to world culture. His lecture, which took place in the Sherrod Library on Coleman recently Hank Thomas is a Vietnam vet- February 16, was accompanied by a musical perfor- retired from ETSU where he served eran, recipient of the Purple mance by Saxophonist, Danny Williams, Jr. To the as Associate Vice Heart, and one of the Original delight of the audience, Williams played several of President for Human W.C. Handy’s compositions. Resources. 13 of May 1961. He resides in He is also a successful business Because of the wealth of information that Hardin Johnson City with man, residing in , Ga. provided in his lecture, the latter is printed in this his wife, Joy. Newsletter.

 African & African American Studies Without which youth would seem ASCAP reported that “The St. Louis began playing the blues on the corner a waste of time. Blues” was the second most-recorded for tips from passersby and started This evening our theme—the dis- song in the first half of the 20th centu- calling himself the Beale Street Blues cussion of which will not be end- ry, surpassed only by “Silent Night.” Boy. In time, that was shortened to less—is “Beale Street, the Blues and George Gershwin autographed a copy Blues Boy, and finally to B.B. We Documentary Photography.” of his “Rhapsody in Blue” with the know him today as B.B. King. Beale Street in Memphis has a unique following words: “To Mr. W.C. Handy, B.B. King has said, “When I got place in the iconography of Ameri- whose early blues songs are the fore- to Beale Street, it was like a fantasy can music. Its fame, or notoriety, fathers of this work.” come true. I didn’t think of Memphis some would contend, comes from “The ” was the as Memphis. I thought of Beale Street the fact that W.C. Handy composed new title given to the tune called as Memphis.” “The Memphis Blues,” the first blues “Mr. Crump,” which was written as King now owns a club, bearing his song, on Beale Street in 1912. a campaign song for Memphis po- name, on Beale Street. His songs The blues is an earthy music about litical leader E.H. Crump, who was range from upbeat to remorseful. people caught up in the complexi- running on a reform ticket. Memphis One of those in the latter category ties of living and it deals with prob- was known for its rowdy reputation has the singer moaning about his lems of relationships, conflicts on and Crump had vowed to no longer pitiful life with the well-known the job, and with family members allow drinking, gambling, vice and lines: and friends. Blues lyrics question the other so-called sinful activities to Nobody loves me but my mother, continue in the city. Oddly enough, purpose of life and brood over the in- And she could be jivin’, too! escapable issue of death. for the campaign song, Handy wrote lyrics that said, “I don’t care what B.B. King soon earned a place on Documentary photography is a Mr. Crump don’t ’low. I’m going to WDIA, a Memphis radio station. broad category of photography that barrelhouse anyhow.” While working as a disk jockey, he consists of making images of people was called on to write a jingle for a Handy, in writing about the song going about their daily lives, and tonic called Pep-ti-kon, which, like later, said, “The melody of ‘Mr. street photography is one of its sub- many patent medicines of the day, Crump’ was mine throughout. On divisions. was “good for whatever ails you.” the other hand, the 12-bar, three-line The blues, which made Beale form of the first and last strains, with He would sing: Street famous, is bawdy music with its three-chord basic harmonic struc- Pep-ti-kon sure is good. Pep-ti-kon suggestive lyrics and double enten- ture…, was that already used by Ne- sure is good. dres. It is music that was created as a gro roustabouts, honky-tonk piano You can get it anywhere in your means of self-expression and evolved players, wanderers, and other(s)…, neighborhood. into a form of entertainment. As it and had been a common medium made that progression, blues lyr- King is quoted in his biography, through which any such individual ics were sometimes sanitized as the “Every Day I Sing the Blues,” as say- might express his personal feelings music made its way from its origins ing: “I was the first ‘Pep-ti-kon boy.’ I in a sort of musical soliloquy.” in houses of ill repute and dingy don’t want to say that too loud. They juke joints to the glittering stages of For most of Beale Street’s history, would send me out on the week- Broadway and beyond. mainly African Americans patron- ends… with some salesmen, and I ized its businesses and entertainment would play…. They sold a lot of the In terms of the name given this venues. When urban renewal was tonic and I wondered why people music, the Oxford English Diction- introduced in the 1960s and 1970s, liked it so much until I noticed it was ary says the use of the word “blue” many of these establishments were 12 percent alcohol.” as a definition for “depressed, mis- demolished, such as the One Min- erable and low-spirited” dates to Bobby “Blue” Bland, Rosco Gordon, ute Café and the Palace Theater. In the 1500s. The blues concerns itself and got their start on the following years, new nightclubs, with survival in the face of over- Beale Street. joined the restaurants, and recreational facili- whelming odds. whites who frequented Beale Street ties were created; and as integration so he could watch black perform- The American Society of Compos- came about, white patrons increas- ers—some music historians say—in ers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) ingly joined the ranks of those gravi- order to mimic their music and man- said “The Memphis Blues” “contains tating toward Beale Street for a taste nerisms. the first published jazz break in sheet of its festive atmosphere. music history.” Robert Henry, a Beale Street promot- Beale Street was a launching pad to er, is quoted in the book “Beale Black Not long after he wrote “The Mem- fame for numerous musicians. One of and Blue” as saying about Elvis: phis Blues” in Pee Wee’s Saloon at the best known among those current- “I (took) him to the Hotel Improve- 315 Beale Street, Handy wrote in 1914 ly performing came to Memphis after ment Club with me, and he would what was to become his most famous World War II from a life as an Indi- watch the colored singers… and then composition, “The St. Louis Blues.” anola, Mississippi, sharecropper. He

African & African American Studies  Beale Street: The Blues and Documentary Photography cont. he got to doing it the same way from the town and the city went to Yes, when the war is over, I’m going as them. He got that shaking, that celebrate when things were good and back down that sunny road. wiggle, from Charlie Burse, Ukulele to forget when they were otherwise. Can’t find nothing in Chicago. Ike we called him, right there at the With the outbreak of World War I Can’t even earn my room and board. Gray Mule on Beale. Elvis, he wasn’t and the resulting shortage of workers Blues lyrics often have imper- doing nothing but what the colored in northern factories, labor agents fect rhymes, are ungrammatical people had been doing for the last were sent to the South and thou- and sound like doggerel when read hundred years. But people… went sands of blacks headed northward. without the pulsating music and the wild over him.” Between 1910 and 1930, almost one singer’s plaintive voice. Lovers sing- Calvin Newborn, whose photo- million black people left the South in ing the blues, like lovers everywhere, graph is in my exhibition with the what came to be known as the Great use a language all their own. Men title “Flying” Calvin Newborn, told Migration, looking for better wages, call their lovers “mama,” and women me that when Elvis was still a truck more freedom for themselves and a call their lovers “daddy.” They call driver he came to the Flamingo Club better future for their children. each other “baby.” Borrowing the where Calvin was playing and asked This was viewed with alarm by names used for parents suggests the to play Calvin’s guitar. Calvin let many white southerners and The lover wants unconditional love such him, and he broke the strings. Commercial Appeal, the Memphis as that which parents provide. The Elvis’ contributions to rock and newspaper whose staff I joined many, use of the term “baby” symbolizes roll are well documented, but in many years later, printed a statement total submission to and dependence acknowledging the role he played, in October 1916 urging blacks to stay on another to provide sustenance. credit should be given to the ante- in the South. The newspaper said Suggestive lyrics are the norm rath- cedents of his music. Muddy Waters black people “Better stay down here, er than the exception for the blues. said, “The blues had a baby, and because when things get tight, every Among those with a double meaning they called it rock ‘n’ roll.” one of you knows the road to the back are these: Beale Street dates from the Recon- door of some white man’s kitchen.” I said, Tell me sweet mama, how struction era, but its most celebrated Among those who headed North you want your rollin done? years were from around the turn of in the years after the Great Migration Tell me, sweet mama, gal, how you th the 20 century to about the end of was McKinley Morganfield, better want your rollin done? World War II. During that time, Beale known by his stage name, Muddy She say, “Slow and easy, like my Street was the locale of movie the- Waters, who left Mississippi in 1943 old-time rider done.” aters, restaurants, and retail stores. on an Illinois Central train for Chi- There also were nightclubs and pool- cago, and, as popular history goes, Roll my belly, mama, roll it like you rooms where gambling, illegal liquor took the blues with him. roll my dough, sales and prostitution took place in One of Muddy’s most famous tunes Want you to roll my belly, like you the back rooms. So we could say has the lines: roll my dough, that at least some of the men who Sittin’ on the outside, just me and I want you to roll me, sweet mama, frequented Beale Street in those days my mate till I tell you I don’t want no more. were drawn by the prospect of easy I made the moon come up two Sometimes the blues becomes so money, the aroma of illicit liquor and hours late. intertwined in a singer’s life he talks the rustle of unholy skirts. to it as if it were another person, and Isn’t that a man? In the opinion of Walter P. Adkins, the blues talks back: I’m a rolling stone. who wrote about those days for his Good morning, blues, blues how do M.A. thesis at Ohio State University I’m a man. you do? in 1935: After Muddy made a well-received Good morning, blues, blues how do “Beale Street approaches more tour of England, a British band that you do? nearly an expression of the mass of had been formed as Blues Incorpo- I’m feeling pretty well; good pard- American Negroes than any other rated renamed itself, in tribute to ner, how are you? place, including Harlem, for Beale is Muddy Waters, the Rolling Stones. Blues singers typically infuse their closer to the great bulk of the nation’s Some of those who moved North songs with personal testimonies colored population, and speaks more found life in urban ghettoes too hard and their own worldview, such as distinctly their traditional language and the winters too cold, resulting in the lines in Robert Johnson’s tune, of frustration, hope, struggle and reverse migration. This longing for “From Four Till Late,” in which he slow advance.” the South is depicted in one of the says, “A man is like a prisoner….” Blues songs always reflected what World War II-era songs: That’s not too far from the existen- was happening in the nation, and When the war is over, I’m going tialists who say: We’re all prisoners; Beale Street was the place people back down that sunny road. we’re all locked up behind the bars

 African & African American Studies of the human condition. er old or young, male or female, are photography was beginning about Even though blues singers faced ad- recognized and revered worldwide as the same time. My first serious for- versity, the will to continue remained unique and important ambassadors ays into photography began when strong. The blues singers might have of the United States and its music; my mother bought my brother and had the blues, but the blues did not “Whereas it is important to edu- me a simple camera and developing have them. This is reflected by Sam cate the young people of the United kit. My brother wasn’t interested, so Chatmon, who sings: States to understand that the music I studied the instructions and finally I went down to that river, oh, I they listen to today has its roots and learned to develop pictures on the thought I’d jump and drown. traditions in the blues; kitchen table. I thought about the woman I was “Whereas there are many living As I photographed family mem- loving, boys, I turned around. legends of the blues in the United bers and friends, I also began mak- ing pictures of the street on which I went down to the depot, asked the States who need to be recognized I lived. Eventually, I became inter- man how long the train been gone. and to have their story captured and preserved for future generations; ested in Beale Street, both in its his- He said, “It’s been gone long enough and tory and as a photographic subject. for your woman to be at home.” th “Whereas the year 2003 is the cen- By the time I was in the 10 grade, I I’m going down to that railroad, lay tennial anniversary of when W.C. was making special trips downtown my head on that railroad track. Handy, a classically-trained musi- to wander along Beale Street look- I’m gonna think about that wom- cian, heard the blues for the first ing for photo opportunities. I had an I’m loving, and man, I’m gonna time, in a train station in Mississippi, bought my first “good” camera. It snatch it back. thus enabling him to compose the cost $38—quite a bit of money for first blues music to be distributed a kid in my circumstances. There- fore, I had to put it in the layaway. In “The Memphis Blues,” Handy throughout the United States, which I would sometimes skip lunch to said of Beale Street, “Take my ad- led to him being named “Father of save money so I could make a pay- vice, folks, and see Beale Street the Blues,” Now, therefore, be “Re- ment. Eventually, along with mak- first…. I’d rather be there than any solved, That the Senate: ing photographs on the street, I be- place I know.” It was a generous 1. designates the year beginning gan making Polaroid photographs of compliment. In September 2002, the February 1, 2003, as the “Year of the nightclub patrons for a dollar and a U.S. Senate gave Handy, who died Blues and quarter. in New York in 1958, an equally 2. requests that the President In becoming a street photogra- generous, posthumous compliment issue a proclamation calling on the pher, one learns to see a kind of vi- in approving Resolution 316, which people of the United States to ob- sual poetry in commonplace scenes. said: serve the “Year of the Blues” with The observer is reminded of the fact “Whereas the blues music is the appropriate ceremonies, activities, that a street can be compared to a most influential form of American and educational programs.” theater where admission is free and music, with its impact heard around The City of Memphis took note the curtain is always up. This cer- the world in rock and roll, jazz, and honored Handy that year with tainly is true of Beale Street, where , country, and even a memorial parade, which I photo- the drama of human life is played classical music; graphed. His great-granddaughter, out day and night in a variety of “Whereas the blues is a national Edwina Handy DeCosta, marched ways. historic treasure, which needs to be at the head of the procession. She is The photographs in my exhibi- preserved, studied, and documented vice president of the music company tion here at ETSU were made over a for future generations; Handy founded on Broadway in New period of some 40 years, and show York, and spoke at a ceremony pay- “Whereas the blues is an important that Beale Street, in common with ing tribute to Memphis musicians in documentation of African-American its inhabitants, has character. Beale Handy Park. culture in the twentieth century; Street is dynamic rather than static, “Whereas the various forms of the I was about fourteen the first time changing not only from year to year blues document twentieth-century I was allowed to go to Beale Street, and season to season but also from American history during the Great on my own, in order to attend the day to day. Beale Street at 11 a.m. on Depression and in the areas of race movies—along with my brother Wednesday is not the same as Beale relations, pop culture, and the migra- who was two years older. City lead- Street at 11 p.m. on Friday. ers had long since cleaned up Beale tion of the United States from a rural, While photographing Beale Street, Street. It was respectable and even agricultural society to an urban in- I was following in the tradition of churchgoers had no qualms about dustrialized Nation; the classic street photographer, who patronizing its stores, restaurants, “Whereas the blues and blues mu- is an observer and not a partici- and other businesses. My interest in sicians from the United States, wheth- pant. The street photographer is a

African & African American Studies  Beale Street: The Blues and Documentary Photography cont. bystander who bears witness to the on display for everyone to see. tinues to ring true: Photography is scene before him, freezes a moment As my interest in photography in- easy to learn but hard to master. in time with the click of a shutter, tensified, I became attracted to its At the beginning of my career, I and in the end lets others see through potential as an art form and, over photographed W.C. Handy, who was his eyes. Documentary photography the years, I came to agree with An- then in his twilight years but still is the umbrella under which street sel Adams who said, “After a cer- making occasional trips to Memphis photography exists as a specialized tain spiritual maturity is reached, from New York where he headed the branch, and as a genre street photog- the artist usually thinks less about oldest black-owned music publishing raphy has a long and storied history. ‘art’ than about the significance and company in the world. After Handy The first book on the subject was purpose of art, thereby becoming a died, I produced a picture story on published in 1870. Some of the most philosopher.” the dedication of his statue in Handy acclaimed practitioners of modern When the photographer is on loca- Park. The story ran in Sepia magazine photography are known for their per- tion, waiting to record a street scene, in 1960 under the title “Mr. Handy’s ceptive images of street life: Gordon he is attuned to recognize what has Beale Street.” That title was chosen Parks, Eugene Smith, Roy DeCarava, been called the decisive moment because in the lead of the article, I and Cartier-Bresson. when all the elements come together recounted an incident Handy wrote Colin Westerbeck said street pho- to make a compelling photograph. He about in his autobiography, “Father tography “is a kind of photogra- is caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Blues”: phy that tells us something crucial of life. It is a time of anticipation and A black man was sleeping in Han- about the nature of the medium as a time of tension. However, once the dy Park in 1936 when a policeman a whole, about what is unique to photographer is in the darkroom to tapped him on the feet and said, the imagery that it produces. The process the film and make the prints, “Wake up and go home.” The sleeper combination of this instrument, a he enters the solitary phase of mak- opened his eyes and said, “Y’all white camera, and this subject matter, the ing the image—a time of reflection folks ain’t got nothin’ to do with me street, yields a type of picture that and contemplation. As Aaron Suss- sleeping here. This is Handy’s Park.” is idiosyncratic to photography in man said, “I take to my darkroom Black people of that time considered a way that formal portraits, picto- out of affection for others. There I the segregated park their own, just rial landscapes, and other kinds of make friends with the world again. as they considered Beale Street their genre scenes are not…. There I learn to look away to focus own, although the street’s business- “Since its earliest days,” Wester- on infinity. There I play God with es were mainly owned by whites. beck said, “photography has held film, paper, chemicals and lenses. In the Sepia article, I wrote: out a promise no other medium There, in the dark, I begin to see.” “Beale Street … has changed con- could match, of being faster than the I remember the magical feeling, siderably since the days when Handy hand, or even the eye, at capturing the excitement when I first began had an office at 392, and Pee Wee’s physical detail.” darkroom work. It was a fascination was still in existence, but it still has He said the art of street photogra- that continued as I progressed from its characters and its individuality. phers “has a special reliance on the amateur to professional photogra- “The Beale Streeters with such (nick) multiplicity of photography, its abil- pher. And I can say with certainty names as “Hobo” Brown, “Bullwhip ity to create serial imagery and se- that when I began working in digital Shorty” and “Guitar Slim” are giving quences of pictures…. On the one photography and began printing by way to the bearded young intellectu- hand, the many shots that they can computer, some of the enchantment als who follow the Beat Generation, get at even a rapidly moving, chang- and mystique of making pictures ap- and… are ready to denounce mass ing subject allow them to strive for peared to have slipped away. It must conformity at the drop of a hat.… the singular image, some one, per- be added, however, that a new kind Here now are the hipsters carrying fect composition in which all the of mystique—the mystique of a new LPs by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, other possibilities are condensed. technology—came into being, in- Ornette Coleman and Gerry Mulligan. On the other hand, they might make volving concerns about pixels, histo- Even the latter day Beale Streeters are purposely open-ended, unbalanced grams, JPEGS and megabytes. no longer lingering around. pictures that can’t stand alone and As cameras have become automat- “Bill Walker, the artist, has quit need to be played off one another in ed and more light-sensitive, getting the scene for New York, and the mu- groups….” an image is easier than ever before; rals he painted on the walls of the To that, I might add it’s also ob- but getting a compelling image is as Flamingo Room have been removed vious that the photographer reveals hard as it has always been. Composi- in remodeling. something about himself at the same tion, tonality and exposure, perspec- “The sharecroppers who used time he reveals his prints. His way of tive, shadows, and highlights are no to come to town on weekends, loi- seeing, his aesthetic sensibilities, and easier to deal with in digital photog- ter around the cafes and buy credit his technical knowledge are placed raphy than with film. The adage con-

10 African & African American Studies clothes from A. Schwab and Green- Beale Street today consists of new in Sorrow Shall Reap in Joy,” based er’s are a vanishing breed.” enterprises such as the Hard Rock on a passage from the 126th Psalm. I mentioned in the Sepia story Café, Rum Boogie and Pat O’Brien’s. Handy’s father would have been that Mahalia Jackson, billed as the Hernando Street, the eastern bound- proud. When W.C. was a child and world’s foremost gospel singer, sang ary of Handy Park, has been renamed told his father, the Rev. Charles B. at the Handy statue unveiling. For Rufus Thomas Boulevard for the Handy, he wanted to become a musi- her, it was a singular appearance be- creator of “The Dog,” “The Funky cian, his father told the young W.C., cause she had long since distanced Chicken” and other novelty danc- “Son, I’d rather see you in a hearse. herself from the blues and turned es. Across the street is Isaac Hayes’ I’d rather follow you to the graveyard down offers by Louis Armstrong, Club, and a block west of the park than to hear that you had become a among others, to sing secular music. is the building that formerly housed musician.” She did not sing the blues that day, the Elvis Club, opened some years Religious music antedates the blues but a religious number, “Just a Clos- after his death, and now closed be- as a presence on Beale Street. Beale er Walk with Thee.” cause it was losing money. The Fe- Street First Baptist Church, shown in Miss Jackson once said, “I don’t dEx Forum, new home of the Mem- one of my photographs, was built by sing the blues myself—not since phis Grizzlies professional basketball former slaves shortly after the Civil those days when I was a child. I team, was built at Beale and Fourth War and is said to be the first brick don’t ever take any nightclub en- and opened in 2004. church built by black people in the gagements. But you’ve got to know W.C. Handy’s former home, a shot- South. what the blues meant to us then to gun house in the southern part of the The concept of the blues as a mood understand properly about them city, has been moved to Beale Street and as a kind of music still has a pres- (now). The Negroes all over the and converted to a small museum. ence that resonates although times South kept those blues playing to Brass music notes with famous have changed. A relevant comment give us relief from our burdens and names in music have been embed- was made by the acclaimed actress to give us courage to go on….” ded in the sidewalk. Among the Halle Berry: There has always been a close me- honorees are alto saxophonist Hank “If you really think about it, rac- lodic connection as well as a practical Crawford, my high school classmate, ism can give you the blues so bad bridge between religious music and who was music director for the Ray you don’t feel like continuing on. the blues. Both have been used by Charles band. Crawford performed But that’s not the answer. I think you African Americans to assert their hu- in Austin, Texas, where I now live, have to stay positive, stay strong, but manity in confronting hard times and last November; and I wrote a story stay aware.” oppression. The Rev. Dr. James Cone, about him for the local newspaper. In summing up my comments on one of the foremost proponents of lib- The music notes honor not only Beale Street, the blues, and docu- eration theology, wrote a book titled blues and jazz artists but those from mentary photography, I reiterate: The Spirituals and the Blues in which the gospel ranks as well, such as Beale Street is like a theater where he noted this connection. He said, “I the Rev. W. Herbert Brewster, who admission is free and the curtain is have written about the spirituals and wrote the song “Move on up A Lit- always up. the blues because I have lived the ex- tle a Higher,” recorded by Mahalia The blues concerns itself with the perience which created them…. The Jackson; and the first gospel record issues of living and the will to survive spirituals and the blues were a way to sell a million copies. As a child, in the face of overwhelming odds. of life, an artistic affirmation of the I attended the church where Rev. meaningfulness of black existence…. Brewster was pastor. Documentary photography takes the view that the inherent dignity I, therefore, write about the spirituals It is significant to point out that of ordinary people—as they are in- and the blues, because I am the blues in his later years W.C. Handy began volved in routine activities—is evi- and my life is a spiritual. Without writing religious music. One of his dent when they are recorded with them, I cannot be.” last compositions, co-written with sensitivity and grace. Charles Cooke, was “They That Sow

African & African American Studies 11 AFAM Course Schedules, 2005-2006

Spring 2005 Fall 2005 CJCR 4670 Race, Gender and Crime ENGL 4047 African American Literature ENGL 4032 African Literature GEOG 1012 Intro to Cultural Geography GEOG 1012 Intro to Cultural Geography HIST 3900 African American History To 1877 HIST 3901 African American Hist. Since 1877 HIST 4957 Blacks in Film & Stage, 1900-1950 MUSC 1035 History of Jazz HIST 5010 African American Culture Since WWII PSCI 4957 Black American Political Thought HIST 5030 Comparative Slavery MUSC 1035 History of Jazz SPAN 4957 African/Afro/Hispanic Cinema

Spring 2006 Fall 2006 AFAM 3989 Cooperative Education AFAM 4900 Special Studies AFAM 4950 Senior Seminar ENGL 3400 African American Lit. I CJCR 4670 Race, Gender, and Culture GEOG 1012 Intro to Cultural Geography ENGL 4032 African Literature GEOG 4307 Regional Geography of Africa HIST 3901 African American Hist. Since 1877 HIST 3020 American Ethnic & Cultural History MUSC 1035 History of Jazz HIST 3900 African American History To 1877 PSCI 4030 Black American Political Thought MUSC 1035 History of Jazz SPAN 4957 African/Afro/Hispanic Cinema SOAA 3119 Minorities

In Memory

Betty Hill Goah January 14, 1936 - March 7, 2006

East Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution and is fully in accord with the belief that educational and employment opportunities should be available to all eligible persons without regard to age, gender, color, race, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation. Printed by East Tennessee State University Press. TBR 220-002-06 1M

12 African & African American Studies