From: Bob Davis (earthjuice_at_prodigy.net)
Date: 2004-02-22 21:39:59
> And, I'm gettin' way more thoughtful about myself and
> life, in general. Time DOES bring about a change.
here on this mailing list we have been discussing two negative topics
1. OutKast's disrespecting of Native American Culture on National TV
2. ABC's upcoming broadcast of Motown 45/Justin Timberlake as host
However I'd like to take a quick break in the action to tell you all about a very special
event I attended last night just outside of Baltimore in a suburb called Randallstown, MD. I
was invited by our friend & sponsor Micheal Henderson as sort of a last moment thing to this
sold out event otherwise I would have made an announcement here so that some of you could have
attended as well.
Mike has been talking with me for quite a while, about putting together a series of events
that would combine live concerts with student oriented music workshops, will 100 percent of
the proceeds going to the educational institution that hosted the program.
Here was the program last night...
* Tanya Williams (Organizer of the Event & quite a dynamic sista)
* Introduce the workshop participants & read certificates
* Randy Dennis of radio station 104.3
* Bobby Humphrey (Performance)
* Intermission (line dance) Door Prize
* The Randallstown 5 (Performance)
* Lonnie Liston Smith (Performance)
duh...
THREE OF THE BIGGEST STARS OF 1970's 'KOZMIC FUNK'...
MICHEAL HENDERSON
LONNIE LISTON SMITH
BOBBY HUMPHREY
(well Mike didn't perform, but he was there, bursting with pride at the accomplishment of
putting the whole thing together)
Now I gotta tell you, I was also bursting with pride myself just because I was there...
This was an event that casued me to think about quite a number of things...
* Randallstown, MD is a "middle class" suburb of Baltimore that is 76 percent Black.
* Attendance at the SOLD OUT concert was about 100 percent Black
* The musical performances by Lonnie Liston Smith and Bobby Humphrey were OFF THE HOOK
* The musical performances by the students were OFF THE HOOK
However the most impressive thing about the event was the overall "groove" exhibited by the
people (young and old) that I met last night.
This was not so much a musical event, but an event about EMPOWERMENT.
* It was all about individuals making a choice to EMPOWER THEMSELVES.
* It was about a community EMPOWERING THEMSELVES
* It was about artists EMPOWERING THEMSELVES
* It was about young people EMPOWERING THEMSELVES
All too often we tend to look towards OTHER PEOPLE to blame for our problems.
Sometimes that is justified and sometimes it;s not.
However what is becoming more and more clear to me with each passing year is that the solution
to many of the problems that we very often look to others to solve for us is most times
:::STARING RIGHT AT US IN THE MIRROR:::
As I looked at the people in the audience, I saw a reflection of myself in the adults in
attendance. Most were between 45 - 60 so they were contemporaries of mine. They were people
who dug the "Kozmic Funk" music of the 1970's and obviously were there to check out some of
their musical heroes of the past. However this wasn't an event to celebrate the nostagia of
the 1970's.
These people had a purpose, and were united not only by their love of the music, but because
of the love of the "groove" of that period had made a conscious descison to utilize that
"groove" in order to effect a POSITIVE CHANGE right here in the present!!!
And THAT was what the event was all about...
Man...
I haven't felt so good about "MAH PEOPLE" as I did last night in a VERY long time.
And it was for me just what BLACK HISTORY MONTH is supposed to be all about!!!
The show was taped and hopefully we will be able to play some portions of it on
Soul-Patrol.Net Radio so that perhaps even more of you can "catch the groove of Kozmic Funk
2004".
"Think Global...Act Local..."
--Richard Daley
_________
Bob Davis
<a href="http://www.soul-patrol.com"> SURF THE: SOUL-PATROL.COM WEBSITE</a>
<a href="http://www.soul-patrol.com/newsletter"> JOIN THE FREE BI-MONTHLY: SOUL-PATROL
NEWSLETTER</a>
<a href="http://www.soul-patrol.net"> LISTEN TO: SOUL-PATROL.NET RADIO </a>
<a href="http://www.soul-patrol.com/join-magazine"> SUPPORT THE MONTHLY: SOUL-PATROL DIGEST
MAGAZINE</a>
<a href="http://www.davisind.com/spnetwork"> GET FREE: SOUL-PATROL NETWORK CONTENT FEEDS FOR
YOUR SITE (UPDATED EVERY TWO WEEKS) </a>