Soul legend Bobby Womack made an appearance on the highly respected BBC live music showcase Later With… Jools Holland last night to perform a few choice cuts from his latest album release The Bravest Man In The Universe.
The 68 year old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who released the new album in June, his first studio album in twelve years, was joined by Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and Blur fame on the keys to perform “Please Forgive My Heart”. Press play below.
Watch: Bobby Womack + Damon Albarn perform “Please Forgive My Heart” on Later…with Jools Holland
We are looking for stories about families of all configurations. It’s fine to draw heavily on real life experiences, but the work must read like fiction and all stories accepted for publication will be presented as fiction.*
Maximum word count: 12,000. Any shorter lengths are welcome.
Held just twice a year: Open to submissions in APRIL and OCTOBER.
Next deadline: October 31.**
Winners and finalists will be officially announced in the July 1 and January 1 bulletins, respectively, and will be contacted directly one week earlier.
Reading fee: $15 per story. Please no more than three submissions per contest.
Prizes:
1st place wins $1,500, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies of that issue.
2nd place wins $500 (or, if accepted for publication, $700 and 10 copies).
3rd place wins $300 (or, if accepted for publication, $700 and 10 copies).
* Remember that sticking too tightly to "fact" can limit the larger truth that fiction is able to reveal. Give your story the leeway it needs in order to find its own life. And, if your story is closely related to your actual experience, it is wise to change details that would allow the real-life people to say, Hey, that's me!
** There is always a one-week grace period.
Glimmer Train welcomes the work of established and upcoming writers.
We especially appreciate stories that are both well written and emotionally engaging. Please let us read yours! If it is chosen for publication in Glimmer Train Stories, you will be paid upon acceptance. Your story will be prepared with care, and presented in a handsome, highly regarded literary journal to readers all over the world. If you've seen Glimmer Train Stories, you know that we go to some lengths to honor our contributors and their writing.
Every category will be open for one full calendar month, from the first day through midnight of the last day. (Exception: The December Fiction Open closes on January 2nd each year.) Click on category link for complete guidelines:
Please note: There are no minimum word counts for any category besides the Fiction Open.
As always: Submissions must be original, unpublished fiction. (Online publication does not disqualify a piece.) • Please, no novels, poetry, or stories written for children. • Submissions should be made via our site, but in a pinch you can make paper submissions. • Submissions can be single or double spaced; 10 - 12 point font preferred. Name, contact info, and word count are all optional when you make your submission online; please include that info at the top of the first page of your submission if you use snail mail. • When we accept a story for publication, we are purchasing first-publication rights. (Once we've published your story, you are free to, for instance, include it in your own collection.) • Competition submissions are also automatically considered for standard publication. • It's fine to submit a previously submitted story (revised or not) to any category for which it qualifies. • We're happy to consider stories whether they're submitted as competition entries or standard submissions, for which there are no reading fees. Standard or competition? How to decide • Simultaneous submissions are fine; we ask that you email us immediately please should a submitted piece be accepted elsewhere. • Response times for all competitions have been shortened so your stories won't be tied up for more than two months after the close of any category. Competition winners are posted here and are announced in our monthly bulletins. • Please put autonotify@glimmertrainpress.com and noreply@mail.glimmertrainpress.com on your safe-senders list so we can reach you, and keep us advised of email address changes by clicking on Contact Preferences once you're logged in at the site. (We never share your contact info.)
Every story we publish is unsolicited, and 86% of the stories we accepted last year came to us directly from the writer.
That's exactly how we like it.
One of the most respected short-story journals in print,Glimmer Train Storiesis represented in recent editions of the Pushcart Prize,New Stories from the Midwest, O.Henry,New Stories from the South,Best of the West, andBest American Short Storiesanthologies.
Glimmer Train Press, 4763 SW Maplewood, PO Box 80430, Portland, OR 97280-1430 USA
Kwame Dawes, Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the 2011 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award, is pleased to announce the establishment of the African Poetry Book Fund. Starting in January 2014, the Series will publish four new titles by African poets each year. In addition, the Series will publish an anthology every few years representing themes, ideas and poets from across the African continent. Of the four books published, one will be a winner of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets, and a second will be a new and selected volume by a major African poet. The winner of the Sillerman prize will also receive a $1000 in cash.
Ghanaian poet, Kofi Awoonor, is honoured to be the first major poet in the Series. His new and selected poems, with an introduction by fellow poet and scholar, Kofi Anyidoho, will be published in 2014.
This new, exciting Series has been made possible through seed funding from philanthropists, Laura and Robert F. X. Sillerman, whose generous contributions have facilitated the establishment of the African Poetry Book Fund. Mr. and Mrs. Sillerman welcome the use of their name for the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets.
The African Poetry Book Series will be the central feature of the work of the African Poetry Book Fund, established in July 2012 under Dawes’ leadership at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. An Advisory Board has been established to support and guide the work of the African Poetry Book Fund. Confirmed Board Members include Laura Sillerman (President, The Tomorrow Foundation), Sulaiman Adebowale (Publisher, Amalion Publishing), Elizabeth Alexander (poet), Ellah Allfrey (Dep. Director, Granta magazine), Russell L. Goings (Poet, entrepreneur,) and Glenna Luschei (Poet, editor, and translator) and Peter Rorvik (Director, Centre for Creative Arts, South Africa).
Six internationally renowned writers serve on the Editorial Board for the Series. Ghanaian-born poet Kwame Dawes, as the founding Series Editor; South African poet Gabeba Baderoon; American novelist John Keene; Nigerian poet and novelist Chris Abani; Egyptian-American poet Matthew Shenoda; and British-Nigerian poet Bernardine Evaristo. For bios of editorial board members, click
KEY PARTNERS
University of Nebraska Press in the USA and Amalion Publishing in Senegal will ensure that the books are published, distributed and available worldwide in a collaborative venture.
Prairie Schooner, the acclaimed literary journal, will be a key partner in this project offering administrative support and the management of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets.
Open Road Media, a digital publisher and multimedia company led by Jane Friedman, will handle the digital and e-books for the African Poetry Book Series.
Blue Flower Arts, a leading booking agency for artists will represent the authors and promote the Series.
The Brunel University African Poetry Prize for a portfolio of poems. Spearheaded by poet and novelist Bernardine Evaristo, the Brunel University African Poetry Prize will offer a cash award and publication in major international literary journals.
The African Poetry Book Fund with its key partners will also undertake to promote the writing and publication of African poetry through other international collaborations and partnerships, seminars, workshops and other publishing opportunities for African poets.
FOR GENERAL QUERIES regarding the African Poetry Book Fund and Series contact:
Marianne Kunkel Managing Editor, African Poetry Book Fund and Series Rm. 123 Andrews Hall University of Nebraska Lincoln, NE, 68588 USA Email: Prairieschooner(a)unl.edu http://africanpoetrybf.unl.edu
A prize of $1,000 and publication in DIAGRAM is given annually for an essay. Hybrid elements and unique textual, formal, or visual elements are encouraged. Ander Monson and Nicole Walker will judge. Submit an essay of up to 10,000 words with a $15 entry fee by October 31. E-mail or visit the website for complete guidelines.
DIAGRAM, Essay Contest, P.O. Box 210067, English Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. Ander Monson, Editor.
Betye Saar is a rock star boxer. No, not the Muhammad Ali kind. I’m talking about the Joseph Cornell variety: assembling materials into small-sized containers (collages!). Inspired by Cornell’s assemblage work, Saar, a lifelong random object collector, realized his boxes were the perfect medium for arranging her own findings, which she could assign deeper meanings to once merged.
Inside Saar’s studio: collage materials
Saar uses Cornell only as a starting point. His boxes tend to employ softer colors and imagery, producing a precious effect. Saar’s boxes, on the other hand, are much darker in tone. There’s nothing precious about her 1972 box, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima. Aunt Jemima’s got a rifle in one arm, and a pointed broomstick and grenade in the other – lady means business. But what’s so disturbing here isn’t the weapons; it’s the early renderings of Aunt Jemima. Audiences are confronted with real imagery of racism and sexism.
Betye Saar, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972
Part of Saar’s childhood collection were derogatory depictions of blacks in pop culture – what the artist calls her “black heroes.” Talking about the use of her heros in her box art, Saar says, “I like to think I recycled those images from negative to positive. At any rate, it was how I got my anger out.” Get it, girl!
Betye Saar is an American artist known for her assemblage sculpting skills. Most of her work depicts African-American history, and she uses stereotypical pieces (Aunt Jemima) as political statements. She was born in Los Angeles in 1926 and still lives there.
Duble Duty was created in 1997 in Los Angeles as a piece to represent the times in which women were slaves. Aunt Jemima in this picture is depicted holding a rifle with a broom as a symbol of strength. This piece fits within my theme because it describes in the poem the destruction in which these Americans had to go through. I love collages so I was immediately drawn to this artist, but what I really liked about this piece is the play on words of the Dubl Handi and Duble (double) duty. It places even more emphasis on the work these people had to do.
Ragtime was created in 2005 in Los Angeles and is part of the Migration/Transformation collection in New York City at the Rosenfeld gallery. The New York Times defines the piece in Ms. Saars words as, “An American who gets minstrel or a fool who gets lynched. The R and G is backwards, but so is slavery.” The piece fits within my theme because of the pain that the Civil War period caused on so many people. I really like how this piece seems to define the boy depicted in the picture. It tells a story, of heroism, and sadness.
I am very pleased to be able to include this interview with Andrea Stuart on the blog. I had been looking forward to reading Andrea's book after an extract from Sugar in the Bloodappeared in Granta, (119 edition entitled Britain), in spring. Later in the year I was pleased to meet Andrea at Stoke Newington Lit Fest, where she was in conversation with Colin Grant, talking about writing family memoirs and histories. It was at that time that I asked Andrea to do this interview, as I'd included Sugar in the Blood in my books for summer list: (Books for Summer) Sugar in the Blood is an impressive work, I think a measure of a good book is that it makes you think differently and makes you do something. As a result of reading Andrea's history of her family, I actually looked up my own roots. My mother's maiden name turns out to be the name of village in rural Jamaica, where many people living there, still carry that name and I also found out that the links to the Welsh industrialist who made his massive wealth there is well known in Wales. In looking up my own maiden name, I came across an inventory of the slaves - 9 Ibo, 3 Congo - is all it said, who were on the lists of the estate that bears my father's family name in St Kitts. I am not as intrepid as Andrea to pursue these history lines, but I think that we can all read Sugar in the Blood and understand how the Caribbean story came about. Last year I read and was absorbed by Matthew Parker's The Sugar Barons, which tells of the history of the British men who became incredibly wealthy from trading sugar in the West Indies. The Sugar Baronsis told from a what made the British Empire perspective, focusing on the slave owner's economic, trade and political wishes. While Andrea's Sugar in the Blood covers similar themes, her telling is based on her own family history, which is both black and white, and so making it far more powerful and personal story, particularly for those whose roots are in the Caribbean. If you'd like to talk about Sugar in The Blood, the Stuart Hall Library Reading Group at Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts)l Rivington Place London EC2, will be discussing the Granta extract on Thursday 15 November, 6.30-8pm. Contact: Library@iniva.org to book a place.
How did you go about tracing your family back to the C17th? I was lucky in that some members of my family had done half the job and to complete it I read up on how to do genealogical research and completed the task. How did you feel when you came across your first direct black ancestor? When I came upon my first black ancestor I was both elated and deeply upset - he was listed on an inventory of slaves, no different from a planters list of cows or sheep. So I felt both thrilled that I'd found it and profoundly saddened that this was all that was left of his life. How did you persuade your publishers to take Sugar in the Blood on? The book didn't appeal to many British publishers - I suspect because this is a story that some British people don't want to remember - so I was grateful and delighted that my publishers Portobello went for it. In contrast the American market 'got' the book right away and I had a number of offers there.
Did you meet any of your white/Ashby relatives while you were putting the book together? I already knew some of them and have subsequently met more - proving that Atlantic slavery was not just something that happened to black people but is a story that belongs to white people as well. What is the most surprising thing you found out when researching Sugar in the Blood? On a wider level - I discovered how much more terrible the slave trade and plantation slavery was than even I had thought. For example that many captives took as a much as a year between capture and arrival in the New World. And how truly violent plantation slavery was. That the West Indian planters resurrected burning alive as a punishment, which hadn't been used since ancient witch trials - is one such example. On a personal level it was the discovery that my grandfather had a number of illegitimate children and that I had an entirely new set of cousins! Your family arrived in the UK in the 70s, almost a decade after the Commonwealth Act of '62 ended the 'Windrush' generation arrivals. How do you think that your family's experience differs from that of the earlier arrivals from the West Indies? Well my family weren't part of the Windrush generation who were dreaming of a better life - my story is more prosaic my father is a doctor who was offered a very lucrative post here - so he took it. In a review of the comments online (for the US edition), many people, - black and white commentators - seem to be really challenged by your exploration and analysis that connects British and Caribbean history in this way. Why do you think this is? I'm not sure how to answer this - because I don't read a lot of the stuff that is posted. A lot of the people on these sites seem to be a bit crazy! But I'm not surprised that it causes controversy - both black and white people are still very touchy about this topic - proving my point that we haven't truly come to grips with it yet. How (if at all) has the response to the book differed between here in the UK and in the Caribbean? Hasn't been released there yet so can't say yet! Tell us what you think your grandmother meant by 'It's a great life, if you don't weaken?' I think that my grandmother had an exhausting life - she had six children, endured constant financial insecurity, and had to deal with my grandfather's infidelities, drinking and gambling - so I imagine she felt that if she at any time began to succumb to vulnerability life might overwhelm her. I think that you book really taps into the BBCs Who Do You Think You Are? zeitgeist, what advice would you give to someone with a black Caribbean or African-American heritage who is planning to research their history? There are some really good guides on researching this area so I'd buy one of these - eg by Guy Granuum - www.caribbeanroots.co.uk How has writing this book differed from the writing your first two books? This book demanded a level of research that was truly intimidating - I had to become an expert on the cane plant, the sugar industry, Atlantic slavery, colonial settlement, piracy, scientific racism - the list goes on and on... Who is your favourite historian? CLR James Tell us about your perfect reader? Someone who is curious, enjoys being stimulated and is eager to learn. What book are you reading at the moment? A history of eighteenth century London. What book changed your life? Toni Morrison's Beloved. It made me realise how visceral the impact of great writing can be. When did you know you were going to become a writer? I stepped into it sideways - starting writing reviews, journalism etc. I didn't admit to myself that that was what I wanted to be. But my mother says it was always obvious! Who are your literary influences? Very wide: the Caribbean poet Derek Walcott, the Russian writer Dostoyevsky, Toni Morrison, I love thrillers and cookbooks - I pretty much read everything! What is your daily writing routine? I have two small kids - so I fit it in where I can! Tell us about your work at the Faber Academy. I taught a Family History course for those who wanted to research and then write a family history Did you study writing? Not formally, but I've done a number of workshops - for example Arvon courses. What books would you recommend for the Black Reading Group? Gosh were to begin. At the moment I'm re-reading the African-American writer James Baldwin - what an artist! What book do you wish you'd written? Song of Solomon - Morrison again! What does it mean to be a writer? To me a writers job is to make others look at their world in a new way. What is your favourite place for writing? Anywhere quiet! What are you most proud of writing? I havent written it yet! What are you doing next to promote your Sugar in the Blood? I've got a number of events - some put on by local councils eg Willseden and a number of national literary festivals. What are you working on now? A fiction idea that I've been interested in for some time. What question should I have asked you and what is the answer? What do I feel about the book now that I have some distance on it? My feelings since the book has been published are complex. With every book I've written I always feel ambivalent - in retrospect I can see their limitations and also see their strengths. But overall my feeling about this book is one of pride - I think that despite its flaws the book tells an important story, one that fills a gap in British history. It reminds us how the present Black British presence connects with Britain's colonial past; and how much the people of colour who have settled here have contributed to Britain's wealth and privilege. In summation how intertwined the story of white and black Britain is.
Earlier today I sat down with poet/activist Staceyann Chin, who is the featured speaker at the GVSU Take Back the Night event on the Allendale campus. I interviewed Chin at her hotel room, where she was resting with her 8-month old daughter Zuri-Siale.
I had been listening to her spoken word on YouTube videos in recent days and was amazed at her skill with words, her passion and her insights into the human condition. I was even more impressed with her in person, since she was able to respond to my questions, while giving full attention to her daughter during the interview.
GRIID – I was reading your Facebook page earlier today and noticed that you stated that you yourself are a victim of rape. You also said that the only shame that should be felt, “belongs to the fucking coward who attacked you!” How has your own experience as a survivor informed your work as an artist and as a human being in general?
Staceyann – When you have experienced sexual assault or rape or some form of violation, you understand the problem differently. When I speak about my own experience, it is easier for other women to feel solidarity. This lived experience resonates with survivors.
People can perceive you as a survivor. Your body becomes an example of someone who has kept breathing. Every time I speak out about it, I become less afraid and I take back power from my attacker. My speaking re-affirms the fact that you can keep breathing, living, loving and laughing. The trauma brought about by the assault need not cripple you, in ways that makes you feel alone, like when you are not part of a community of survivors. When I speak out against rape, I feel a kind of uplifting.
We live in an age when the first person narrative is both powerful and provocative. It means a great deal to women to hear or read that kind of personal narrative. It is important because so much of media, particularly TV, will not say things like rape and when they do it is always very clinical or in very legalistic terms. We don’t get from media a more honest sense of rape, the way it feels, the way I felt, the sounds and the smells that come with it. So for me, I have to speak out about it all the time.
GRIID – The Take Back the Night event will be an indoor event tonight, which is different from its origin as a more confrontational action that took place outdoors, often in the streets where women were assaulted. Those Take Back the Night actions were meant to demonstrate women’s collective power, but also to send a message to rapists that their actions would not be tolerated. It seems that the Take Back the Night events have become less political and radical. What is your sense of this?
Staceyann – The change in Take Back the Night might also be a larger reflection of what has happened to feminism as well over the years. Feminism has to some degree been driven indoors. Women were reclaiming their bodies in the 1960s and 70s, but since female identities are so prescribed there is less emphasis on taking control of our bodies. As a feminist who loves bacon, who shaves her arm pits and doesn’t wear heels, I always get people questioning how can I be a feminist and……
The change with Take Back the Night also has something to do with feminism being under attack, where people are saying we don’t need to study gender anymore. Hell, even women’s centers are closing or are near to closing because of a lack of funds. What has happened to Take Back the Night is a reflection of what has happened to feminism in general. The confrontational edge has somehow been lost. Feminism used to be about smashing open doors and now it seems more “diplomatic.”
This is really important, especially since we have politicians talking about “legitimate rape,” which invites the notion that there is illegitimate rape. We have lost that “take no prisoners” edge. We lose some of the power that made us warriors. The current climate may open a whole new wave of action, but we need to take feminism back to the streets. We need to be more visible and demand that society look more closely at the safety of women’s bodies, even little girls’ bodies. Being a new mother has only underscored the need to fight in this struggle. I am in it for the long haul, but having a child means that there is no way I will let anyone harm her, even if I have to use force. The way I see it is if every woman in every part of the world said that rape will end tomorrow or else, you might see a serious change.
GRIID – I saw in one of the YouTube videos you talking about how when White men were involved in Act Up, it was because it affected them, but when people of color are dying of AIDS at a much higher level all of a sudden these White men are not to be found. As someone who identifies as a Lesbian, feminist from Jamaica, how important is it for those involved in struggles to see the intersectionality of justice issues?
Staceyann – If I am only concerned with my body, then that struggle is selfish. If I am only interested in my own rights, people will see how selfish that is. If I am only concerned about Black rights, even at the expense of others, then that is a major problem.
We have to be concerned about the community as a whole. There are poor White, Black, immigrants, women, all kinds of people who are being dispossessed of freedom. Until I am concerned about the global community, then what we are rallying for is to ask permission from the current gate keepers. We should be knocking down the wall instead of asking for permission to the same rights that everyone should have. If we knock down the walls then everyone will have access to the same big, beautiful garden. This is the kind of world I want to fight for and this is the kind of struggle we should be in.
Editor’s note: Since Staceyann Chin is a spoken word artist, it is important that you hear her, so we included a YouTube video of her talking and then reading some of her work.
Most of us are familiar with this picture. Captured in Times Square on V-J Day, 1945, it has become one of the most iconic photographs of American history, symbolizing the jubilation and exuberance felt throughout the country at the end of World War II.
For a long time, the identity of the pair remained a mystery. It certainly looks passionate and romantic enough, with many speculating that they were a couple – a sailor and a nurse, celebrating and sharing their joy. This year, however, historians have finally confirmed that the woman is Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental nurse at the time, and George Mendonsa, a sailor.
Have a look at some articles about it. Do you get the feeling that something is not quite right?
A few facts have come to light. Far from being a kiss between a loving couple, we learn that George and Greta were perfect strangers. We learn that George was drunk, and that Greta had no idea of his presence, until she was in his arms, with his lips on hers.
The articles even give us Greta’s own words:
“It wasn’t my choice to be kissed. The guy just came over and grabbed!”
“I did not see him approaching, and before I knew it, I was in this vice grip.”
“You don’t forget this guy grabbing you.”
“That man was very strong. I wasn’t kissing him. He was kissing me.”
It seems pretty clear, then, that what George had committed was sexual assault. Yet, in an amazing feat of willful blindness, none of the articles comment on this, even as they reproduce Greta’s words for us. Without a single acknowledgement of the problematic nature of the photo that her comments reveal, they continue to talk about the picture in a whimsical, reverent manner, “still mesmerized by his timeless kiss.” George’s actions are romanticized and glorified; it is almost as if Greta had never spoken.
In a way, I understand this. The end of war is a big deal, and the euphoria felt throughout the nation on that day is an important part of American history. For so long, this photograph has come to represent that unbridled elation, capturing the hearts of war veterans and their families alike. The fact that this much-loved photo is a depiction of sexual assault, rather than passion, is an uncomfortable truth, and to call it out as such might make one seem to be a priggish wet blanket. After all, this sailor has risked his life for his country. Surely his relief and excitement at the end of the war is justified? Surely these are unique circumstances? The answer to the first question is yes. He is perfectly entitled to be ecstatic. He is perfectly entitled to celebrate. However, this entitlement does not extend to his impinging on someone else’s bodily autonomy.
The unwillingness to recognize a problem here is not surprising, considering the rape culture in which we live. It is not easy to assert that a woman’s body is always her own, not to be used at the whim of any man without her consent. It is far easier to turn a blind eye to the feelings of women, to claim that they should empathise with the man, that they should be good sports and just go along with it. And the stronger the power structures behind the man, the more difficult it becomes to act otherwise. But if we are serious about bringing down rape culture and reducing the widespread violence against women, then we need to make it clear that engaging with someone sexually without consent is not ok, even when it is an uncomfortable position to take. Especially when it is an uncomfortable position to take.
But today I saw this, and I think it’s pretty damn wonderful, so I thought I would share:
These are images from theMy Strength Campaign, a joint project of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) and California’s Department of Health Services, and among the many things that I find wonderful here (starting with the fact that it actually turns the focus on changing men’s behavior, rather than women’s) is that third image, the one with the two men. Men can be and often are victims, too, and we have to start recognizing that reality, as well.
These images are just that — images. Part of a larger campaign, conducted by a coalition of organizations working together on the issue of sexual violence since 1980, each of which had already been working on the issue for some time. Which is to say: These posters cannot possibly address everything that needs addressing, or change the reality by themselves.
But I think they are part of an important larger trend, one that can be seen in a broad array of efforts to get men involved in fighting the scourge of sexual violence, and can be heard in the voices of individual men who are standing up and speaking out. And I think that good, powerful images are one of the most powerful weapons we have in any advocacy campaign. I wish these posters were being put up all over the country.
Women can fight rape — but only men can actually stop rape. Efforts like this give me hope.
MyStrength is a project of the California Department of Health Services and the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), a statewide coalition of rape crisis centers and prevention programs founded in 1980.
[Update 1/3/2012 3:50pm EST: The campaign was first launched by Men Can Stop Rape in Washington, DC public high schools in February 2001 but the posters weren’t released until 2007.
Men Can Stop Rape also has a program called the Men of Strength (MOST) Club, a primary prevention program for male youth in the country, that has provided middle and high school age men with a space to learn about healthy masculinity and translate learning into community leadership.]
Eyes on the Prize is a fourteen hour documentary series that tells the definitive story of the civil rights era from the point of view of the ordinary men and women whose extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life, and embodied a struggle whose reverberations continue to be felt today.
This is a documentary series about the American Civil Rights Movement, starting in 1952 with the murder of Emmit Till and the subsequent trial and ending with the civil rights march to Selma in 1965. Along the way, the series touches on the major figures of the movement such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and major incidents such as the Little Rock school riots and Montgomery, and the Alabama Transit Boycott.
Clip of a BBC interview in which Nina Simone discusses a number of interesting topics, including an altercation during which she pulled out a gun and shot at a man from her record company (but missed) because the company refused to pay her royalties.
Additionally, on the subject of men, she states:
“I would love to be married, you know. I think I’d marry the cameraman over there. I have a man of my own, but that’s second to my music. My music—nothing takes its place. Nothing.”
“I refuse to cook or to clean.”
“They’ve got to take me as I am and recognize that I’m a star as well as a woman and they have to deal with the two.”
Next deadline: October 31.**
