Missing Homecoming

 

            Ever since I knew I was going to be at Harvard this year, when people would ask me if I was going to NCCU’s Homecoming this year, I would always say, “Nah. Harvard is playing Dartmouth that weekend.” I was joking of course, but I always knew I was gonna miss homecoming this year. This is the first time I have ever missed Homecoming. I heard M.C. Lyte, one of my favorite rappers turned the Cabaret out. I know Gamma Beta was there in full effect. Hopefully, somebody will post some pics somewhere. I’ll be back next year when my line, “The Prophets of Rage,” celebrate our 20^th year as member of Alpha Phi Alpha. For the record, we won Homecoming, spanking Edward Waters 34-14. Oh yeah, Harvard beat Dartmouth 35-7.

 

Of Thesis Statements

The week of Oct. 27 – Oct. 31 has by far been the busiest academically do far. Three papers were due this week. “How they fought back: An analysis of how African Americans critically responded to their condition during slavery,” in Gates/Higginbotham; “A Look at Black Face and Minstralcy,” in Carpio’s Humor class; and an analysis on the realisms and exaggerations in Spike Lee’s School Daze, for Jeyifo’s class. I have been swamped all week. I write for a living and can crank out a 40-inch story on deadline in my sleep. But it has been nearly 20 years since Dr. Phyllis Lotchin at NCCU taught me how to write a college term paper. Now, I am so rusty that I spent most of my time coming up with a thesis statement, followed by what I hope is thoughtful and meaningful analysis. I am anxious to see how I did on the papers and I will post them when I get them back.

The Roots is Coming

Last week I sent a note out to the Nieman Fellows letting them know that I was going to see the Legendary Roots crew Thursday night in Worchester and I would order tickets for anybody who wanted to go. I love the Roots and I think I might have seen them in concert more times than I have seen Prince, but I gotta confirm that. Tangelique didn’t want to go. She is apparently tired of The Roots. Go figure. Critic and hip-hop head Chris Vognar, who actually told me about the concert, couldn’t go. Margie’s mom was in town. Carla said she would go if Bebe Winan opened for them, which I took as a no. Julie wanted to go, but she was making a speech. Hannah Allam was down and agreed to drive. My man Thabo, who listened to a lot of American hip-hop in South Africa was down as well. He had heard of the Roots, but was not immediately familiar with their work. The final ticket would go to Kalpana Jain, our fellow from New Delhi. Kalpana had never been to a hip-hop concert. To put it in context, when we went whale watching, I gave her and Haili Cao, our Chinese fellow, a crash course on Marvin Gaye. On the drive to Worchester, I told her about ?uestlove, Black Thought, Kamal, Hub (who is not in the band anymore), Knuckles and the great Captain Kirk Douglass. I kept my eye on her at the show and Hannah made sure she stayed by her side. The Roots were in rare form as usual. Black Thought was on point and the band was tight. But the second half of the show, influenced by Kirk, had a heavy rock influence. Kirk is the best touring guitar player touring right now. I saw him do, Dylan’s, “Masters of War,” at a concert once and he brought the house down. The rock section actually started with the classic “You Got Me.” Without female accompaniment, Kirk usually sings the chorus, usually reserved for Badu or Jill Scott – which is cool. Then in break, Kirk launches into Guns & Roses “Sweet Child of Mind.” It was mind blowing and I envisioned how it must have been to witness Chuck Berry or Hendrix. Kalpana too was blown away by the artistry of Kirk and the whole performance of the Roots. On my to do list is to make her a Roots CD.

Guess who’s coming to lunch?

Me and Anna Deavere Smith at the Lippmann House

One of the great things about the Nieman Foundation and Harvard in general is that everyone eventually makes it on campus. We get emails every day it seems about some event or speaker on campus. Donna Brazile and Desmond Tutu? Didn’t have time to see them. Actually, I didn’t even know about Tutu until I saw South African Nieman Fellow Thabo Lesilo who was showing me photos he took when they went out to dinner the night before. U.N. Secretary General. Fred Thompson. Andre Previn. The list goes on and on. I did see Al Gore deliver a major environmental speech in the outdoor Tercentenary Theater, between Widener and Memorial Church. We have also had a host of stars come to the Lippmann House to address the Niemans directly, including; Maxine Isaacs, who was Walter Mondale’s press secretary during his 1984 run against Reagan; Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, the author of “Well-behaved Women Seldom Make History;” Andrew Kohut, President of the Pew Research Center; Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Stanley Forman, who shot, “ The Soiling of Old Glory,” (which happened right here in Boston); Presidential advisor and CNN star David Gergen; and former presidential candidate Thomas J. Vilsack. One of our best events was a lunch with actress Anna Deavere Smith, who was in town for an amazing performance of her one-woman show, “Let Me Down Easy.” If she comes to your town, go. At lunch, she shared with us her motivations and about how her works relates to journalism. I have always been a fan of her television and movie work and it was a pleasure to meet such a lovely woman. Can’t wait to see who visits us next.

Of Whales & Cobblers

Tangelique at the Farm

  This is obviously the first time I have lived in New England. For background, I was born in Brooklyn. Raised in Rocky Mount, N.C. Went to college in Durham. Had my first job in White Plains and my latest in Atlanta. So, during my year hear, the plan is to see as much of New England as possible. Nieman Fellow Margie Mason organized a fabulous Whale Watching trip, where we ventured 23 miles out into the Atlantic. We saw about five whales and I took some nice shots. One couple of whales fully breached, but I missed it both times. Too fast. Last weekend, we all went to a farm, which was essentially an old New England village. Got to see a blacksmith, a cobbler, ride a stagecoach, that kind of stuff. Nice Sunday afternoon. Hopefully, we will see more soon.