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We're in the Same Boat Brother
By Huddie “LeadBelly”
Ledbetter
We’re
in the same boat brother,
We’re
in the same boat brother,
And if
you shake one end,
You
gonna rock the other
It’s
the same boat brother
The
Lord looked down from his holy place
Said
Lawd duh me, what a sea of space
What a
spot to launch the human race
So he
built him a boat for a mixed-up crew,
With
eyes of Black and Brown and Blue.
S
that’s how’s come that you and I
Got
just one world and just one sky.
We’re
in the same boat brother,
We’re
in the same boat brother,
And if
you shake one end,
You
gonna rock the other
It’s
the same boat brother
Through storm and grief,
Hit
many a rock and many a reef,
What
keep them going was a great belief.
That
the human race was a special freight
So
they had to learn to navigate.
If
they didn’t want to be in Jonah’s shoes,
Better
be mated on this here cruise.—Why—
We’re
in the same boat brother,
We’re
in the same boat brother,
And if
you shake one end,
You
gonna rock the other
It’s
the same boat brother
So the
boiler blew, somewhere in Spain,
All
the kettle was smashed and 40 cranes.
Steam
boat out from the Oregon Main.
Oh, it
took some time for the crew to learn
What
is bad for the bow ain’t good for the stern.
If a
fire took place in China today
Pearl
Harbor just gonna blaze away.
We’re
in the same boat brother,
We’re
in the same boat brother,
And if
you shake one end,
You
gonna rock the other
It’s the same boat brother
posted 13 April 2006 |
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Huddie Ledbetter
Biography
Huddie Ledbetter, known as “LeadBelly” was born
January 20 (or 29), 1885 (or 1889), in Mooringsport,
Louisiana (near Shreveport). LeadBelly, a nickname
acquired in prison for his physical toughness, was the
only child of Wesley and Sally Ledbetter His parents
moved to Leigh, Texas when he was five and it was there
that he became interested in music, encouraged by his
Uncle Terrell who bought Huddie his first musical
instrument, an accordion.
In 1916 (or 1918), LeadBelly fought and killed a man
in Dallas and was sentenced to thirty years to be served
in the state prison in Huntsville, Texas.
In 1925, LeadBelly wrote a song asking Governor Pat
Neff for a pardon. Neff, as legend goes, set Huddie
Ledbetter free.
In 1930, LeadBelly was arrested, tried, and
convicted of attempted homicide and sentenced to another
prison term in the infamous Angola Farm prison
plantation in Louisiana.
In July 1933 LeadBelly met folklorist John
Lomax and his son Alan who were touring the south for
the Library of Congress collecting unwritten ballads and
folk songs using newly available recording technology.
On August 1, 1934 LeadBelly got his
pardon with the ballad “Goodnight Irene.”
On September 1, 1934 John Lomax agreed to hire
LeadBelly as an assistant on his recording travels. the
arrangement proved successful, so much so that Lomax
decided to take Leadbelly to New York.
In 1935 Lomax took LeadBelly north to New York
where he became a sensation.
He forged a reputation on the folk circuit, making
personal appearances, recording for a variety of labels
and doing radio work.
In 1936 John and Alan Lomax published with
Macmillan Negro Folk Songs as Sung by LeadBelly.
In early 1939 Huddie was arrested for
assault. During the trial LeadBelly made his first
commercial recordings since 1935, for a small company
known as "Musicraft," which had left-wing and liberal
associations. LeadBelly recorded some 13 tracks and
received a small advance on the royalties.
He was convicted by a jury of third-degree assault.
He was sentenced to less than a year on Riker's Island
prison, eventually serving just eight months.
In early 1940, LeadBelly was released, and moved back
into the New York folk circuit. He had become well known
in the recording industry.
In the early 40s, Ledbetter performed with
Josh White, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Woody
Guthrie.
In 1944 LeadBelly headed to Hollywood. There
he made a reasonable living in conditions favored by
the Californian defense industry, playing the club
circuits.
He also had the opportunity to record some material
for Capitol records, unusually backed by zither,
including some rare piano rags very seldom featured in
his repertoire.
The Capitol sessions remain some of LeadBelly's best
recorded work.
In 1948 LeadBelly cut, with the aid of the
newly invented long playing record, what would later
become known as his Last Sessions, a definitive document
of The Life and Music of the King of the
Twelve-String Guitar.
In 1949 Ledbetter fell ill with Lou Gehrig’s
disease on a European Tour.
On December 6, 1949, LeadBelly died in New York.
. . .
Source:
CYAD
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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If you like this page consider making a donation
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Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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ChickenBones Store
(Books, DVDs, Music, and more)
update
13 February 2012
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