Kyla Jenée Lacey - "White Privilege"

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]

The song captures Nina Simone's response to the murder of Medgar Evers in Mississippi; and the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four black children. On the recording she cynically announces the song as "a show tune, but the show hasn't been written for it yet." The song begins jauntily, with a show tune feel, but demonstrates its political focus early on with its refrain "Alabama's got me so upset, Tennessee's made me lose my rest, and everybody knows about Mississippi goddam." In the song, she says: "They keep on sayin' 'go slow' ... to do things gradually would bring more tragedy. Why don't you see it? Why don't you feel it? I don't know, I don't know. You don't have to live next to me, just give me my equality!"

"Mississippi Goddam" is a song written and performed by American singer and pianist Nina Simone, who later announced the anthem to be her "first civil rights song". It was released on her album Nina Simone in Concert in 1964. The album was based on recordings of three concerts she gave at Carnegie Hall in 1964. The album was her first release for the Dutch label Philips Records and is indicative of the more political turn her recorded music took during this period.

Simone composed "Mississippi Goddam" in less than an hour. Together with "Four Women" and "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", it is one of her most famous protest songs and self-written compositions.

[pieter]

Songs that explicetly pointed at racism, lynchings of African Americans in the USA and the violations of the human rights of African Americans by the Jim Crow Laws entered Europe via African American musicians that toured, lived and worked in Western Europe during the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties and in the 21th century. Next to that historical studies by students of American studies in Europe, American literature, Art House movies, some Hollywood movies that pointed at racism in the USA and old American blues, rhythem 'n Blues, Soul, Disco, Funk, Hip Hop/Rap and other music pointed at the past and present of the USA.

African Americans felt at home in Western-Europe. Despite Western Europe was a place inhabited by white European people in their opinion and experience it was less racist than the USA, where Black African American artists and musicians didn't received respect and often had to take the back door to their own concerts, because the front entrance was for the white audience who wanted to go the a Jazz concert or other performance. In large parts of the USA the situation was not that different from Apartheid South-Arfica whith segregation and White privilage in some Southern states, but also racism and racial tensions in the Northern states.

Europeans despite their fondness of American English, their handsome American liberators from the First World War and the Second World War and the American writers, poets, musicians, performers, art buyers, travelers and expats that lived in Europe during the Interbellum years (1919-1939) and after the Second World War during the late forties, sixties and seventies, knew that there was a dark shadow side behind the romantic Hollywood movies, sentimental Walt Disney cartoons and the sweet songs of Frank Sinatra, the Melancholic music of George Gershwin, the happy energetic Rock 'n Roll of Elvis Presley, the beauty and glammor of Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe and the heroism of John Wayne.

[pieter]

[Jaga]

Pieter, these pictures of black children being bused to the white neighborhood by police and the white people anger is hard to imagine now. Still, these were different times. I was glad to see some children: white and black acting as like it was going to be all good eventually.

We have to break so many stereotypes in our world and cultures still.

[Jaga]

Referring to the bishop saying that Jesus should not be white of the statues... I did not hear in what context, but this goes too far.

[kaima]

Jun 29, 2020 22:23:43 GMT -7 Jaga said:

Pieter, these pictures of black children being bused to the white neighborhood by police and the white people anger is hard to imagine now. Still, these were different times. I was glad to see some children: white and black acting as like it was going to be all good eventually.

We have to break so many stereotypes in our world and cultures still.

Of course I was in the America that existed when busing started so the schools could be integrated.

It took many years for me to realize that the only reason school busing was necessary was because we in America lived in strongly segregated neighborhoods. Reportedly the younger generations today are not as racially prejudiced as we were back then, so perhaps in a generation or so we will have a much higher degree of integration in our society. Perhaps. But then the human condition is that there will always be prejudice; one has to look no further than to Europe to see prejudice between the Wild White Tribes of Europe, , or to Africa for the tribal strife that exists there.

Good luck to us all!

Kai

[pieter]

Dear Jaga and Kai,

Wise and decent words of you. In my country, in the South Africa of my dear sister Carine, in the Poland of my ancestors, in the USA where I saw LA, Las Vegas, Salt Lake city, Washington D.C. and New York, in Belgium, in France, in the Czech republic, the UK, Austria, Hungary, Italy, the Azores, La Gomera, Luxemburg and Switzerland, the countries and Islands I have been I saw, witnessed and encountered white native European peoples, Black African, Black American, Black Carribean, Black Surinamese, Southern American mestize latino's, mulatto's, Zambo's, Creole peoples and Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Phillipinian, Thai, Burmese, Indian Hindu, Indian Sikh, Bahai people, Hare Krishna people, Jehova Winteses, Mormons, Scientology people and Indonesian, Turkish, Kurd, Moroccan, Bosnian, Iranian, Afghan, Pakistani, Syrian, Iraqi and Palestinian muslims, and American, Israeli and European and South African jews. I saw all these peoples and heard all their languages. The European, Turkish, Berber, Arab, Iranian Farsi, Kurd, Hebrew, Yiddish, African and Asian languages. There will always be prejudice, but in Europe and the USA people of all colors, ethnicities, religions, political affiliations, sexual preferences, and cultures live next to each other. I see Black, Asian and Muslim people daily next to the White native European Dutch majority where I live. There is fear for 'the other', for 'the unknown', for 'Corona' (COVID19), for 'Islam', for 'Russians' (Russia as the dark force), for 'the Chinese' (the Chinamen, read Asians), for the'alien immigrants', for 'refugees', ' for 'poverty', for 'unemployment', for 'world conflicts' (the Third World War), for 'the Apocalyps', for 'a new Global recession', for 'lonelyness due to the corona crisis', and still there is also hope for the future with some positivism and optimism in that.

I repeat Kai's wise words, 'Good luck to us all!!"

Cheers,
Pieter

[karl]

Jun 29, 2020 22:24:40 GMT -7 Jaga said:

Referring to the bishop saying that Jesus should not be white of the statues... I did not hear in what context, but this goes too far.

Jaga, Kai and Pieter

Jaga,
you are so correct in reference to the Bishop and his opinion of the colour of white Statues of Jesus. Not so sure what his issues are exactly, but he must and should know better by virtue of his professional religious position in life..

Kai,
yes how could my self even think of faulting your reply, for every thing you have brought out is so very correct. I was not aware of such situations as bussing of black children to their respective schools. It is of such statements that are very educational to such peoples that my self am part of.

Yes, racism is very well spread amongst not only us as one of many of the white tribes of Europe { I do enjoy such expressions you have and it is a good description of us as people}. But not only are we whites guilty of such traits, I would tend to spread this out to not just the white people, but also that of the Black people, for who else has reminded us of what we are, but those that know it best and use it well.

The Black people are so very fortunant and seemingly do not understand or realize this fact. For in the last war, Japanese people were arrested as individuals and families a like in a strong Democracy of the United States. These people were all placed in guarded fenced in camps for the remainder of the war. Afterwards, these people were released with out compensation for their losses. With this, there were Japanese Americans that served in the war for the benifit of their country as American GI,s.

The American Indians lost their lands by the incursion of vast numbers of white settlers, fought the American Armies with their villages burnt, their wives and children killed with large numbers of adult and teen aged Indian braves killed in battle. With all of these, with the railroads coming of age, the primary food stocks of the Indians, the buffalos were killed off for their hides and to feed the vast numbers of workers building the railroads.

The result of the Indian wars was the placement of the survivors in to camps known as reservations that still is in place to this day.

The Jewish people? In the last war, most all known Jewish people were arrested and placed in various death camps and murdered as well known in most history books. Most survivors managed to leave Europe and formed their own nation of Israel.

Black lives matter? They needs be to re-read the history books and feel fortunant of their lives at this present time. But of course this never will be the case, for racism at present is alive and well on both sides.

Karl

[Jaga]

Kai, we all like to be in our tribal environments sometimes. I came from the house that we were quite open to other people just out of the curiosity. Still... even where I work in Idaho National Lab, especially with some nuclear engineers and technicians, I am often the only woman in the group and i know that in some aspects it makes it more difficult for me and for them.

I still remember that when we had at school a couple of kids with darker skin, they looked different enough so people (even I) paid attention. Of course when you know somebody personally it changes. Still, the skin color is what we see as the first thing.

I also believe that people discriminate on all sides, it just depends which site has a power.