(UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Now, even as I say her name, I hear Billie's melodic voice (as only only her voice can) flitting playfully through the rafters of my mind.
Why couldn't I appreciate these artists before? Why am I only now opening my ears to their legacy? Because, for the mostpart, I have had no close relationships with people of color, or with people who celebrated African-American contributions to music, other than my Dad, who grooves to Marvin Gaye. As I heard Dar Williams quote her former teacher, at a concert at the Birchmere recently, "Say it together with me, boys and girls:
'H-o-m-o-g-e-n-o-u-s.' That's what this town is. 'Homogenous.'"
She of course was referring to her home town, in Massachusetts, a town that would have been a bit more Yankee than our more Southern town of Snow Hill. Even with its level of homogeneosity, Snow Hill was more diverse than many other towns during my generation. When in college at American University, I met a fellow student from New England who had never before met a "black person" until he came to college.
I, believing myself to be a well-rounded individual at the time, thought this almost unbelievable. We had 'hoods of folk with different skin colors in my town, and they were most if not all African-American. But I'd also met two Thai kids in school, one Spanish girl, and three Korean kids. Oh yeah, and then there were the three Indian guys that visited our 6th grade class through the Rotary Club, who performed an accapella rendition of "It's Bubbling, It's Bubbling In My Soul..." in English for us.
Living in Leonard Hall at AU my Freshman year was like being thrown onto the world stage. Over 100 countries were represented by the the denizens of my 8-floor-dormitory alone, and there I was, a whitebread American wasp from Snow Hill, sharing a room with a white Catholic guy from Boston. Mauritius, Greece, Japan, China, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Switzerland, Senegal, & Poland were all represented on my floor. My Resident Director was a king from the Ivory Coast!! I felt like I had been stationed on the Enterprise for a diplomatic mission straight out of "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Today, I live in an apartment in DC with my best friend from Snow Hill and two guys who are from other populous cities in the U.S.: San Diego and New York. I've known the former for about 4 years now; the latter since February of 2001. All three are really great. Until my best friend and the guy from NY moved in last year, I was the whitest person in the apartment. And proud of it. Next page.... (Previous Page)
Paynetown, MD...
(just S/W of the
Snow Hill city limits)...