Duncan set his Blogging Class a Radio 1 exercise for homework. As it is a new class I thought I would just join in as well, so I had a look at Nelson's blog, and then the Bob Marley concert that we had to review. Now actually I quite like Bob Marley's earlier work, as it has very political overtones (I was never too impressed by his later stuff).
My favourite track is probably Redemption Songs, not least because it was one of the first things I ever learned to play on a guitar. But I also like Buffalo Soldiers, which is based on a true story about black soldiers in the American Civil War. Apparently they used wrap themselves up in buffalo skins against the cold, hence the name. There is a lot of history there about the fight against slavery and the "underground railroad".
I hadn't heard any Bob Marley for ages until I came across this concert, now I am going to dig out all my old CDs and play them again. Along with my other favourite "political" bands, The Clash, Tom Robinson and John Lennon. I am off home to revisit my Greenham Common and Student days again, thanks for that Duncan!
(The picture is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Soldiers and shows a Buffalo Soldier of the 9th Cavalry around 1890.)
3 comments:
The story that I heard of the name was that the Native Americans thought their skin colours were similar to the colours of the buffalo. As to wrapping in buffalo hides, in the cold winters, everyone did that if they could.
John Prebble wrote a very good novel about the 9th/10th Cavalry (I forget which). The units were rated by all to be the amongst the best in the US Army, hard fighters, well disciplined, and turned out well on parade.
Although slavery had been abolished (if only in name), the civil rights movement would take a long time to remove colour segregation. The additional features of "U-571" talks about the jobs available to African-Americans in the US Navy in WW2.
Of course, the big movie was "Glory". IIRC, it starts at "Antietam". That was where Lincoln made his Emancipation Proclamation on his visit to the field of battle.
Hi Duncan,
Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. I hope I am doing it right! (I am listening to some of Bob's greatest work as I type this.)
My Aunties used to tell lots of stories of black US servicemen stationed here during the war, and all the girls wanted to dance with them as a black person was such a rarity in those days. In fact it sounds the total opposite to the way they got treated at home (like 2nd class citizens), the Scots thought they were such a novelty they went out of their way to welcome them.
I read a brilliant novel once by a Sephardic Jewish woman from the Deep South (I forget it's name, I'll try and find it) and apparently there was quite a lot of intermarriage between the Jewish community and the African-American, I suppose because they were both minority, oppressed peoples so there was some affinity there. The late, great Paul Robeson was both a Black and Jewish icon, and I could give you lots more examples.
What goodies have you lined up for us next?
What next - perhaps an investigation into what it was like to be an immigrant arriving in Britain? You chose the time (eg Windrush, or modern). There's reports from Canada of the "Metagama" passengers, emigrating from Scotland and the difficulties they had.
O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us.
In truth, the SQA have sent me the official work, so I'll have to channel the classes in to cover that. As blogs are about empathy as well as communication, they are open to a wide range of uses. For example, blogging as a famous historical character, or about unfolding historical events. With the wonders of hindsight, we forget that even famous people were young once, and that major events didn't happen overnight but unfolded over time. Think of the famous diarists, Anne Frank, Samuel Pepys, Frederick Douglass - people can empathise with some of the mundane events in their lives, and sympathise with some of the extra-ordinary (and horrific) events that they were forced to experience. As a blogger, connecting with just one person who doesn't know you allows you to class yourself as a citizen of the Web. People need to see that others can empathise with their stories, no matter where in the world the readership comes from. Web 2.0 is about the human connections, not the technology. Humanity has always striven to communicate more effectively. Blogs allow many technologies to be brought together in one place - so if anyone finds blogging boring, it is merely a reflection of the individual.
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