[Mb-hair] segregated is a state of mind

[Beverly Bremers]

Well said!! Katie, everyone's giving you GREAT advice, which we all hope
is helpful. You'll have your struggles, but they will be well worth it in
the end. Good luck, oh brave, enlightened sister!!

Beverly



  ----- Original Message -----
  From: "Sibley Smith"
  To: "Butler, Michael - HAIR List"
  Subject: [Mb-hair] segregated is a state of mind
  Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 19:10:39 -0400

Dear Katie, BTW, technically speaking, I'm still officially Southern
Baptist ('though I consider myself these days to be more of a Southern
"Bupdhist" -- kind of a combination of Southern Baptism, Nichiren Shoshu
Buddhism, and nudism).  Yep, I was baptised at age 8 at Paradise Baptist
Church in the Paradise section of Tioga, and my "letter" of membership,
as they call it, should still be in some file at Kingsville Baptist
Church -- 'round the corner from Tioga, Bottom-Edge-of-the-Bible-Belt,
Louisiana. Anyway, emphasize to them the power HAIR had in its early days
(and still has today) to thwart the bigoted, racist mindset that became
so stereotypical of our South (took 'em, what, almost 40 years to finally
nail the KKK guy who orchestrated the murder of those Freedom Bus Riders
/ Civil Rights activists in Mississippi?  Yeah, as in the story behind
the movie, "Mississippi Burning"). The words of the black characters in
HAIR ("youths," as were Claude, Berger, et al. of the Tribe) express
anger and frustration -- their sardonic, sarcastic tone and use of ...
"adult" language best expressed that frustration with how slow American
society was in being the "all men are created equal" society it purported
to be.  It was becoming harder to have the patience of Gandhi, as did the
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  One who was polite and always minded
his/her manners and language, particularly in the company of white folk,
was labeled "Uncle Tom."  And, while an Uncle Tom might help white people
feel less threatened by black people, he surely won't cause them to
accept blacks fully into their society. Anyway, ... hippies got the point
of this black expression.  Here's a take of mine on male's long hair as a
political symbol:  As Jimi Hendrix sang, "Let my Freak Flag fly," and as
hippies were also known to themselves as "Freaks," I saw my long hair as
being (yes, among other things, too) a symbol that I was a friend of the
African American.  Blacks (as were any minority) were treated as if they
were freaks by America's established white society.  My long hair meant
(to me, anyway) that I was voluntarily being a freak to The
Establishment.  I was throwing my lot in with blacks, hispanics, bearded
ladies, giants, "little people," yeah, folks usually only relegated to
the circus side show, much in the way I see that Claude threw his lot in
with the Draftee GIs sent to 'Nam.  Long-Hairs were ostracized and hated
by the Establishment no less and maybe more so than were the average
black.  No.  I take that back.  I was still white, and I KNOW I had it
much easier, hair and all.  But my hair symbolized (to me, anyway), my
political opinions run counter to a society that segregates and abuses
the rights of select segments of its population, treating them like, ...
like freaks.  I wore the Freak Flag. It was a way of showing my desire
for an inclusive community. And the words of HAIR in its heyday DID
spread the "groovy revolution" to so many of us, including certain
redneck Joes in the backwoods Tiogas of the deep South.  And while things
aren't perfect yet, one's gotta admit, there's been a helluva lot of
positive change, since the days of HAIR's Original Broadway Cast
production, in the area of Civil Rights. So, what I'm beating around the
bush about is, the argument can be made that the very words voiced,
according to the official script, by the black characters in HAIR were
words that directly contributed to so many benefits of society that
African Americans enjoy today, but that they could not before the heyday
of the countercultural "revolution," the "Days of Hope and Rage," the
days of HAIR.  Rado and Ragni's words in HAIR ought be respected as your
new friends respect the Gospel.  Can I get off this damn soap box now?
With love, Tioga ================== Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2005 01:36:10 +0000
From: "Katie Kasben" <katiekasben at hotmail.com>
Bless you Tioga Joe,

I found a center in the projects today and went to talk to their
director.
so, i met about 5 African American singers from a local church..

which brings me to an issue that may only apply in the bible belt where I
live.

Most of the black actor/singers belong to pretty intense churches.
That equals an awesome choir and also a pretty dogmatic sense of
christianity.
pentacostal...Southern Baptist...
say no more.

I don't want to take out "emanci-mother-fuckin'-pator of the
slaves"...that's one of my favourite lines.  punches you in the gut and
makes you feel good about it.

advice?


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