Get To Know: In Honor of Gil Scott Heron

I wrote this paper while I was enrolled as an undergrad at San Diego State University. I did not edit this in any way. I felt compelled to post this because people will allow Gil Scott's death to go uncelebrated, and unrecognized. I hope they won't. I won't because his death diminshes my creative world, but in his own words of Guan Guanco, we are born to discover ourselves and in doing so we have our rebirth and regeneration. Gil Scott is now among the ancestors and within all of us we carry his spirit and by sharing we keep him alive. This is long so come back to it if you have to. Chris B.

The Words of a Modern-Day Jali

(Gil Scott-Heron’s Influences, Social Commentary and his Affect on the Hip-Hop and Spoken Word Community)

I stood with the others along the shimmering coast as waves pushed loose sand from troughs and carried rocks onto the shore. We had awaited the call of the Atumpan for several days waited for the master drummer to tell of us any impending danger. Each day seemed longer than before. Our chieftain had informed us that we did not have the weapons to match the gunpowder that the British men carried. To calm us he asked everyone to listen to the sound of the talking drum. After listening he then told us that this was our advantage. I failed to understand. The Atumpan gives us notice, we see the enemy through the words of the drum, he explained. After waiting for close to five days for the White men to arrive the warriors began to finish the tasks of moving baskets of yams too heavy for the women and children to carry.

It was early, quiet. The sun made long shadows of trees on the shore. The waves echoed the warning from the Atumpan that the White men had returned and would be arriving with guns and various weapons, I felt my chest tighten. The women and children ran to safety. I prepared along with the others for what was about to occur. The speed of the drumming carried over the water faster, with more urgency. I felt fear. I asked my chieftain if the drums were wrong. In his heavy raspy words he informed me that the drums were never wrong. We all moved from the shore in accordance with the call from Atsimewu and prepared for battle. Atsimewu sounded They are here, they are here.

Writing is Just Different for a Black Man

Who will be the next Ralph Ellison?

A writer wakes up each morning, or at the end of the day, and begins crafting narratives. This is what writer's do. Traditionally, a writer would complete a manucript and purchase Writer's Market, or some other publication and begin looking for agents. I did this before and during graduate school. In graduate school I was told by my professors that I had what it took to become a "writer". What I failed to understand is that although they had christened me and given me all of the motivation I needed, my writing program failed to explain the realities involved in writing. They specifically failed to explain to me that a Black man writing is unlike any other person creating narratives.

The publishing industry used to be veiled in secrecy. A group of old White men decided the fate of a manuscript: slush pile or publication. Today, self publishing is as accessible as television stations to viewers. Basically anyone with a bit of savvy and computer literacy can put out a publication. I have had the "honor" of being signed by an agent, and having books "sold" under the premise that I rewrite. My problem was I didn't understand publishing and my MFA program did not explain to me that the writer makes concessions. I didn't want to change anything in the story. The editing I was okay with, but changing what happened with a character? Out of the question. Needless to say, my writing career with an agent, went south very fast and I did what most people do today, I self published.

Do Black People Read "White" Books?

Obviously if I'm writing a quick review of a "White" book then Black people do read White books. An interesting thing does exist in literature however. Typically a White author is only approached by Blacks while they are in college. Introduction to Lit courses are filled with the rich literary history of White authors that Black students have to read to pass the course, and this is the way these books are approached. Novels, short stories, poetry by authors that don't look like Blacks are basically placeholders in the pursuit of attaining a passing grade. The appreciation of literature for the Black person is somewhat skewed and lacks a foundation in understanding the function and scope of writing. Consider that Phyllis Wheatley was the first Black woman to publish and then realize that not until the 1900s was Black literature given any respected status in academic and literary circles and there lies the problem. When a group of people have only been writing and reading as a culture for around 100 years, literature for that group is in its infancy. Now I am only looking at Black America. With that said, do Black people read White literature voluntarily and does it matter?