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Composers Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby Set “for colored girls” to Music

Fern Gillespie
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Composers Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby Set “for colored girls” to Music

By Fern E. Gillespie
Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” is coming back to Broadway this April with a new look, style, rhythm, and sound.
“I feel that director-choreographer, Camille A. Brown, really wanted to celebrate Ntozake’s work and bring it into the 21st century for younger generations who may not have been familiar with her work,” explained singer, composer and musician Martha Redbone, who created the new music score for For Colored Girls with her husband and collaborator Aaron Whitby. “We met with the director to help work with her creative vision for the music. She basically summed up her creative vision in three words – Black Girl Joy.”


So, Redbone and Whitby set out to create a vibe. They explored music genres that celebrated the African American music of Black women and adapted music styles to the poems. “We covered the African Diaspora of all these genres from jazz and blues and R&B and soul and aspects of dance like modern dance and step dancing,” she said. “We wanted to highlight the music according to the choreography that she created for the piece.”


The couple is very familiar with For Colored Girls. In 2019, they were the composers of the Public Theatre’s iteration of the choreo-poem. “We were invited to set some of the poetry to song. To turn into lyrics with songs,” said Redbone. “But the one that’s coming out now is a totally different reimagined show.”


Redbone is an acclaimed vocalist, songwriter, composer, and educator. She is known for her music gumbo of folk, blues, and gospel from her childhood in Kentucky growing up with her grandparents who were Native American and African American to her Brooklynite edge. As a teen, she moved to Brooklyn and attended Fashion High School. Moving to England, she met Whitby, a London pianist, composer, and producer who has recorded or performed with George Clinton, Luther Vandross, Natalie Cole, Randy Brecker, Lisa Fischer, David Amram and more. “I engineered Natalie Cole’s record ‘Living for Love’ it won a Grammy,” he said. Currently, he is working as an engineer on the “Luther Vandross Legacy Project” featuring several of Vandross’ back-up singers.

“I remember having Luther Vandross’ voice in the speakers when I was in the studio. His voice was big. It filled every part of the studio. It just filled the speakers. His voice alone was like an oak tree,” he recalled.


The couple, who reside in Fort Greene, have been together for 29 years. Redbone, who recently performed on NPR’s popular Tiny Desk Concert, gives voice to issues of social justice, bridging traditions, connecting cultures, and celebrating the human spirit.
To Redbone, the 2022 Broadway production of For Colored Girls has a fascinating flair. “Camille Brown is a younger woman. And, so she has a younger approach to the overall piece. Her interpretation is very unique. I thought it was also brave to push the envelope of Ntozake’s work,” said Redbone. “I think the result is really amazing. It highlights that the words that Ntozake wrote back in the 1970s are still relevant today. Still fresh. In many ways, you know, through the good and the bad, it shows that we as Black women today are still dealing with a lot of issues that we were dealing with back in the 1970s. So, you know the journey is long and hard and the struggle is real. But the resilience is even brighter. And I can see it with all the young women on the stage. Their strengths make her words even more immortal.”


Over the years, Redbone had met Ntozake several times at social events. “I’m a fangirl,” she explained. “Ntozake was a brilliant woman who was more than loved. She was beloved.”
 In next week’s issue, the “In Support of Colored Girls” story features interviews with Don Sutton, Ntozake Shange’s Literary Trustee, and Paul T. Williams, Jr., Ms. Shange’s brother.

Shange’s “for colored girls…” Returns Home after 46 Years, Relevant as Ever, and Still Ahead of its Time

Bernice Elizabeth Green
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Shange’s “for colored girls…” Returns Home after 46 Years, Relevant as Ever, and Still Ahead of its Time

Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, the groundbreaking choreopoem presented in 1976 at the Booth Theatre in New York City, returns to Broadway this month in all its bold, brassy, beautiful glory and gutsy espousing of 46 years ago, what has become the mantra of today’s world: Black Girls Matter.


In the production, seven women share their stories and their pain, while finding strength in each other’s revelation, anger, humor, passion, joys through a fusion of poetry, dance, music, and song.


A critical hit when it premiered, the late writer’s play captured the spirit and mood of the 70’s era through monologues, and yet, in its timelessness, defines the spirit of our current times as it explores issues faced by women that are as relevant today as they were when Shange created her masterwork.


The Broadway revival of for colored girls sees the shows return to the Booth Theatre, the same theater that was home to its original Broadway run. It is expected that members of the original cast may be in the audience on even given night of its 20-week run. The 2022 cast comprises new stars rising: Amara Granderson as Lady in Orange, Tendayi Kuumba as Lady in Brown, Kenita R. Miller as Lady in Red, Okwui Okpokwasili as Lady in Green, Stacey Sargeant as Lady in Blue, Alexandria Wailes as Lady in Purple, and D. Woods as Lady in Yellow.


In its return to home, Broadway, this celebration of the power of Black womanhood, comes with its unique firsts: the phenomenal Tony nominee Camille A. Brown, “a true superstar of theater and dance” (NPR), is helming the project, the first Black women to serve in the dual roles of director and choreographer on a Broadway production in more than 65 years (Katherine Dunham was the most recent and first choreographer). Ms. Brown’s vision is as fearlessly new as it is fiercely now and feistily aligned in movement, sway and inspiration with her late friend Ntozake’s words. And speaking of Ntozake’s words, audiences for this latest in a series of incarnations of the Shange play, will get to hear the artist’s voice.


Previews for the show began on Friday, April 1, 2022. Opening Night is set for Wednesday, April 20 for its limited multi-week run. Tickets are now on sale at telecharge. com website: www.forcoloredgirlsbway. com, Twitter: @FCGonBroadway, Insta gram: @forcoloredgirlsbroadway. (Bernice Elizabeth Green for OTP)

First All-Women Media Outlet Opens in Somalia’s Capital

Editor, Our Time Press
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First All-Women Media Outlet Opens in Somalia’s Capital

Mogadishu —  Somalia’s first women-run radio and television outlet has opened in the capital, Mogadishu. United Nations-supported Bilan Media will produce content aimed at addressing issues affecting women and champion women’s rights in the conservative country.
The launch of Bilan Media in Mogadishu marks another leap in the effort by women to secure their place in Somalia’s patriarchal public arena.
Bilan means bright and clear in the Somali language, and the founders say they will stay true to its meaning by shedding light on some of the most consequential issues relating to and affecting women.

This project is designed to overcome many of the challenges facing the community, she says. It will focus on the challenges facing women. She says there are stories about women which will be revealed … because there are a lot of stories in the community and they don’t allow them to be published, so Bilan will reveal those stories.


By going all-female, Bilan hopes to break the barriers in Somalia’s conservative society where issues such as rape, sexual assault and women’s medical issues are often ignored.
Bilan says it does not seek to compete with the mainstream media but to chart its course in elevating the voices of women and influencing the agenda in the male-dominated society
Fathi Mohamed Ahmed is the deputy editor.


She says, “I can say that the reason for the formation of this media outlet for women is that in most parts of Mogadishu and Somalia as a whole, there are media outlets where both men and women work but are managed and owned by men. The circumstances of women’s needs are not discussed in detail. For example, violence against women is not discussed in depth.”
Ahmed says the owners of the station are not out to make a profit.


It is not about making money, it is about showcasing the productivity and power of women. So we want to improve our skills and present them at a place free from corruption and abuse by men.


Practitioners in the industry say the launch of a female-only media house is a bold step in a country where Islamist militant groups do not hesitate to harm or even kill journalists.
The situation is even worse for female journalists who have to battle other forms of challenges such as sexual harassment in newsrooms, cultural stereotypes, pressures from families as well as low pay, compared to male counterparts.


Hinda Jama is head of gender affairs at the Somali Journalists Syndicate.
The potential challenges to this radio station are many, she says. As the radio is only operated by women, women could face challenges from Somali culture. Also, she says, Somali society is not accustomed to women doing things alone or being journalists working alone and most people are not aware of it. Religion-wise, she adds, some clerics may consider women unworthy to speak in the media.


The answers will come soon as to whether the station can meet these challenges. Bilan Media is scheduled to go on the air April 25th.

What’s Going On – 4/15

Victoria Horsford
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APRIL IN AMERICA
April 12 was the day that made New York the nation’s breaking-news capital, with a mass shooting on a Brooklyn subway station and with the indictment and subsequent resignation of the NYS Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin. The news cycle began when stories broke about the 8:30 am smoke bombed, mass shooting on a Brooklyn train where hundreds of passengers were in harm’s way, including 10 who were shot and 19 others injured. By 5 pm, the NYPD along with Federal backup, identified African American Frank James, as the gunman, a person of interest, and displayed his image widely in all media. James has not been apprehended.

The other breaking story related to NYS Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin who has been arrested and indicted on five charges by the FBI and the US Attorney General’s Office for bribery as an NYS Senator who directed state monies to a Harlem real estate investor Gerald Migdol in exchange for thousands of dollars in fraudulent campaign donations and support for his 2021 NYC Comptroller campaign. Brian Benjamin pleaded not guilty to all charges. Later in the day, NY Governor Hochul announced Brian Benjamin’s resignation. A Brown University and Harvard B School alum, Brian was a NYS Senator from Harlem before being named Lieutenant Governor last August when Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul became the accidental governor. She is running for a full term as governor now without a running mate. This story is rife with unintended consequences for the June Primary. Benjamin’s name will be on the Primary ballot.

April 8 was a great day in America, at least according to White House optics. President Joe Biden entered the White House south lawn flanked by two powerful African American women, Vice President Kamala Harris and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. The occasion was to introduce Judge Jackson to America the day after the US Senate confirmed her nomination to the US Supreme Court. The nation needs more days like that!

NEW YORK: NYS passed a historic $220 billion budget without the customary three men in room protocols. Where is all of that money going? Some reforms to the 2019 no bail law, rent arrears for struggling tenants, child welfare, casino licenses, cocktails to-go, a $1 billion for Buffalo Bills stadium in Governor Kathy Hochul’s native Buffalo, health care, and pork, pork, pork. The Tuesday bombshell about LG Brian Benjamin eclipses all budget chatter.

HARLEM: Enough already. There was a third fire at Lenox Terrace recently along its once flourishing commercial corridor, at Lenox Avenue between 133rd and 135th Streets. Unlike the previous two fires, the NYFD said that the third fire was deliberate. Why so many fires now? The Olinick family, owner of the Lenox Terrace failed to get re-zoning approval for its proposed $800 million expansion in 2019….and then mysterious fires began.

COVID UPDATES
NYC Mayor Eric Adams tested COVID positive on the 100th day of his ascension to City Hall. How is he doing? It’s too early to assign performance grades. He is peerless with regard to the energy level and intensity he brings to the workplace. The NYC Mayoralty is the second hardest job in America. Did he and Governor Hochul relax COVID protocols prematurely? Yes! In NY there are 1800 new cases of Covid positivity daily. There is a COVID surge but hospitalization rates remain low.

Philadelphia is the first American city to reinstate the indoor masks mandate about a month after it was lifted.

According to Northwell.edu/LenoxTop 50. Manhattan-based Lenox Hill is NYC’S only hospital in the nation’s top 50, offering the best care in Manhattan and among the top 1% in the nation.

BUSINESS BUZZ
The April 10 issue of the NY Times Magazine devoted to billionaires includes a story EMPIRE STATE OF MIND about Black billionaires by Blair McClendon. It focuses on the “profound psychic contortions of the Black entertaining billionaires” like HIPHOP moguls Jay-Z and Kanye West who join the club by way of fame and branding. Of the top ten African American billionaires, only two, Robert Smith and David Steward are information technology executives. Others include Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Rihanna and Michael Jordan.

The Board Room: CITI bank board of directors include Deborah Wright, former Carver Federal Savings Bank CEO and current Rockefeller Foundation executive, and Dr. Peter Blair Henry, Dean Emeritus, NYU Stern School of Business
The Black News Channel, a cable TV platform, founded by former Republican Congress member JC Watts, shut down and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida last month, two years after its much-ballyhooed launch. It amassed more than $50 million in debt. The BNC was incubating since 2007 when Barack Obama ran for the US Presidency.

ARTS/CULTURE
READERS WATCH: People are talking about the NY Post opinion piece, “Should Black Women Consider Marrying White Men” by Ralph Richard Banks, a Stanford Law Faculty member. The trigger for the piece is Vice President Kamala Harris and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, both of whom are married to white men, a lawyer, and doctor respectively.

Political cognoscenti should read the February 7 issue of the City & State NY online magazine piece, “The Shift in Black Power from Harlem to Brooklyn” by Clem Richardson which is spot on, well analyzed, good food for thought.


The February 27 New York Times Magazine cover story, “Inside The Complicated Rise of an Unusual Power Couple” by Danny Hakim and Jo Becker is an analysis of the marriage of Black Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas and his white wife, Ginni, who will go crazy when Ketanji Brown Jackson arrives at the US Supreme Court this year. Wonder what the details were of the Faustian deal Judge Thomas made in 1991 with President George Bush who nominated him to the US Supreme Court. The story is required reading for future WGO references to Ginni, her political clout among Republicans, the Far Right, the role she played during the January 6 insurrection, and her hubby’s inability to recuse himself from SCOTUS cases related to causes that she espouses.

A Harlem-based business strategies consultant, Victoria can be reached at victoria.horsford@gmail.com

Metal Detectors in the Subway System? Not what you may think.

Editor, Our Time Press
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Metal Detectors in the Subway System? Not what you may think.

When we think of metal detectors, we usually think of the lines at airports or practically any government building. Mayor Eric Adams said when he spoke about metal detectors, that’s not the model the city was looking at. The city is looking at weapons detection systems, not metal detection and is examining the new technologies in weapons detection. Adams said he will use “every legal means” to protect New Yorkers with the technology available that produces an experience that is transparent to the person. No pat downs, no searches.


Mayor Adams said in an MSNBC interview that 10% of the guns confiscated this year were ghost guns, and from that we can take it that the kind of system the city might be looking at would have to have “Ghost gun” detection capability.


Here’s how one of them operates, “Bill Riker, CEO of Liberty Defense, told Design News that ‘Hexwave is aimed at detecting weapons and other articles in dynamic, urban environments – places more chaotic and unpredictable than the queues at airports. Rather than distinguishing specific models or types of guns, what Hexwave looks for is identifiable shapes. At this point, it’s general, but we can tell the difference between a plastic handgun and a metal handgun,” Riker said. “You can see if it’s a revolver or if it’s a semiautomatic pistol. You can also see explosives, including pyrotechnics. In that case you can actually you see the accelerates within the container.”


A system like that, integrated with OMNY means you’ll walk through, be checked for weapons, pay for the ride, and never break stride.
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