BLACK HEROES

Lolita: Hey Liz, in honor of Black History Month, who’s your black hero? LIZ BORDEN (The Liz Borden Band/ The Velvets): Rosa Parks is my hero. She was a very brave woman. She had several things working against her. (1) She was black. (2) She was a woman. (3) The unequal laws for blacks and whites and the time she was living in. She was so brave to get on that bus, sit in front and refuse to move. She stood up for all people that were not treated equally. She is very lucky that she lived to make a place for herself in history. There are so many other brave people that were killed for their efforts. I actually have a photo of her hanging up in my house. It reminds me of the struggles and the bravery that all minorities had to go through. We still have away to go but we are getting there. *** ADAM VON BUHLER (Anarchy Club): My black hero would be Prince. Even though he’s been phoning it in for about the past 20 years, it still seems like he sneezes and out pops another completed funk masterpiece. Today’s music is shot through with his DNA. Or maybe Jimi. The fact that he could play all that heartfelt stuff while tripping his face off astonishes me. *** LINDA VIENS (Angeline): I sure have a ton of black heroes but on this day I’m gonna go with George Clinton who uttered the immortal and truthful words: “Free your ass, your mind will follow!” *** SHAUN WOLF WORTIS (Gato Malo): Too many to name! Louis Armstrong, Alan Toussaint, Jim Brown, Jackie Robinson, Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke, MLK, Ellington. I guess if I had to pick a hero it would be a sports guy, so going withJim Brown who was a fantastically epic figure to me as a kid. *** RAY FERNANDEZ (Triple B Studio/ The Atlantics): I have two black heroes, and they are Mr. Lif and Akrobatik. Aside of having the privilege to work with these great artists in the studio, they’ve become two of my closest friends, and have enriched my life in ways I find hard to put into words. *** KAREN DeBIASSE (Girl On Top): Jimi Hendrix, of course. *** FRANK D (WBOS HD2): Jim Rice, because once he showed up on the scene things started shaking up for the Red Sox, he became the terror of the American League! And because he flew on so many flights all those seasons and never crashed, I carry a Jim Rice baseball card when I fly, which has always been let on the plane with me. Other than that I’d have to say, “sweet Christmas it’s Luke Cage, hero for hire!” Can I add in Jon Butcher to represent in the local rock scene? I even have a copy of his Fayva Shoes radio ad! *** MAX HEINEGG (MaxHeinegg.com): Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery is my American beer hero. As Joseph Campbell said, to paraphrase, everyone can be the hero of their own lives if they follow their bliss. He was a BU guy with a real interest in filmmaking and rock music, but fell in love with beer and instead of ruining him, it turned him into an artist who happens to create beer. *** DAVE MIDWAY (The Midway): Bill Russell (the Celtic great) is my hero. He was a large black man who had second-to-none skills on the basketball court and in the game of life. He could win championships for Boston fans but couldn’t eat in “their” restaurants or feel welcome in “their” communities, but he did not let that ignorance run or ruin his life. Bill was quoted in the Globe saying, “If you become embittered by anything, you’ve just given up any chance of being happy. And I owe it to myself and to my family to be as happy as possible.” That’s what heroes say. *** KRIS THOMPSON (The Lothars/ Concord Ballet Orchestra Players): I could say somebody cool musically, like Arthur Lee or Sun Ra or King Tubby, but I’ll go with someone who may seem predictable—Martin Luther King, Jr. He had a brilliant mind, eloquence of speech, and a realistic vision of a better world. Most of the problems he identified (like the profit machinery of war) are still so frustratingly true today. *** ARTIE FREEDMAN (Artie Freedman's Boston Archives): In honor of Black History Month I choose Rudy Ray Moore as hero. From producing, directing and acting in the films Dolemite, The Human Tornado, The Avenging Disco Godfather to his stand up comedy routines. He is a true artist and genius. *** MIKE RODRIGUEZ (As Built PR): Jimi Hendrix because he’s the fucking man. *** ANNA PRICE (The Silver Lining): Definitely Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and Ella Fitzgerald—my three favorite female singers of all time. All three have amazing technique and are untouchable craftsmen, but they also know how to get inside a song and inhabit it emotionally. They bring such life to every song they sing. *** JONATHAN GREENE (Nude Black Glass): One of my black heroes is a man named Greg Wells. He is a fellow devotee of the guru Adi Da Samraj and sets a profound example of what a life of self-understanding and transcendent service should be—a truly humble man. He has some wild stories from back in the day, too. *** LEONID (The Noise): Through Martin Luther King Jr.’s charisma, incredible ability to speak to a crowd, and overwhelming intelligence he united the African American community and gave them the strength and confidence to fight for their rights. Lincoln freed them but MLK Jr. united them into a powerhouse that accredited their entire race. He accomplished more for his people in one decade than everyone in the prior century. The Montgomery bus boycott gave them respect. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 provided everyone with true citizenship. His final vision, the Radical Redistribution of Wealth scared White America enough to assassinate him thus seizing and later poisoning his progress. *** MICHAEL BLOOM (Tim Mungenast & his Preexisting Conditions): When I was a kid and wanted to be a scientist, George Washington Carver was one of my heroes. But now, all things considered, I’m casting my vote for Shirley Chisholm, who in 1972, scooped both Obama and Hillary as the first black and female candidate for president. *** STIX SIGMA (The Hammond Group/ The Allstonians): Speaking for The Hammond Group, I have to say that our black heroes are numerous: Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Angela Davis, Ralph Ellison, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, etc. If you don’t know who any of these folks are, don’t just nod your head and pretend you do—look them up. My personal hero is Angelo Moore—he plays a mean bass sax, sings like a possessed sparrow, and he’s not too shabby on the theremin either. Here’s to Black History Month! *** AD FRANK (…& the Fast Easy Women): Paul Robeson is my all-time hero of any race. No one did more to leverage his artistic abilities to try to change the world. And that voice... *** SAMMY MIAMI (Shööt The Möön): The late great Curtis Mayfield. His sound, style and persona are beyond inspirational. He sang from the heart and demanded your soul be uplifted by the truth in his words. Even his paralyzing accident that condemned him to a wheelchair did not break the man’s spirit. He never once drew attention to his ailments and always remained focused on raising youth awareness regarding the struggle for brotherhood and peace for all mankind. *** DEEK (Age Against the Machine—Rage Tribute): Among many (more historic and legendary) others, I’d have to give a nod to Rocky George, guitarist from Suicidal Tendencies—the man has laid down some truly sick guitar work over the years, and from what I understand, he’s undoubtedly been yet another inspiration to future and current “minorities in metal.” Jimi Hazel from 24-7 SPYZ (hell, the whole band) has always blown me away as well. *** LIZ ENTHUSIASM (Freezepop): I own (and actually read) the Mr. T autobiography; I guess that makes him my hero. *** JIM COUNTRYMAN (Lovewhip): My black hero is not black but whoever thought up the awesome idea of a wigger. Lovewhip gets to travel to places not as forward thinking as Boston and it is amazing that white kids haven’t caught on to the hipster tight pants look yet, but are still rocking poopie pants like it’s 1995. Don’t they know that rap is on the way out (except for white hipster tight pant wearing crunkrap!). Please pull up them drawers! Besides that, I will forever love Mr. James Brown. *** JOHN BEAUDETTE (Destroy Babylon): Hopefully someone already said Frederick Douglass, because I gotta say Augustus Pablo; anyone who can take a silly instrument like the melodica and make it an integral part of a whole genre of music is a hero! *** CRAZY EDDIE NOWIK (Bentmen): Gee... I have so many! I’m going to go with guitarist Pete Cosey (Miles Davis)—a Les Paul through a ring modulator! Need I say more? He’s an incredible out-there guitarist! *** ERIK LINDGREN (Birdsongs of the Mesozoic/Arf Arf Records): My good pal and Atlanta bass baritone Oral Moses, who recently collaborated with Birdsongs on our Extreme Spirituals CD and definitely lives up to his regal name. Although I’m an agnostic bastard, Oral’s belief in a supreme higher being almost makes me think there might be an ounce of credibility in the incredibly destructive scam that human beings created called Christianity. *** JIM CURRAN (Jim Curran Photographer): Bill Russell. He wasn’t the first. He may not have been the best. But he endured all the racist bullshit this city had to offer during the ’60s and led the Celtics to eleven NBA championships. According to Wikipedia, when Russell tried to move from his home in the Boston suburb of Reading to a new home across town, neighbors filed a petition trying to block the move. Other black heroes: Dick Gregory, Miles Davis, and Willie O’Ree. *** DIANE ANDRONICA (CCTV): I love baseball. My black hero is Jackie Robinson. He knew he was going to have to deal with a lot of abuse from players, fans, the press, in addition to the inequalities of being an African American in the United States at that time. He had to promise not to fight back no matter how he was taunted, except with his bat. He won Rookie of the Year and proved that black people are just as good athletes as whites and opened up the opportunity for integration of baseball. Sadly, the Red Sox were the last team to integrate. *** KEVIN FINN (The Noise): Buck O’Neil. I’ve always loved hearing stories about Negro League baseball, and this man might be in the handful of greatest storytellers who ever lived. There were two things I really loved about Buck. One, he wasn’t one of those cranky old-timers always yapping about how things were better way back when; he loved baseball and people regardless of era. Two, he fought selflessly to make sure that the great Negro League ballplayers got their due, never seeming to care about his place in history. His getting overlooked by the Hall of Fame is nothing short of disgraceful. *** BEN MADDOX (Farm): John Coltrane because his race is rarely if ever considered a qualifier for his greatness. *** ANDY MILK (The Vital Might): My black hero is a guy I grew up with named Brian Morrison. He and I were like brothers when we used to hang around Kalmus Beach in Hyannis while our parents worked. I grew up with two sisters so he became like my big brother. When he got older, not only did he grow be a huge man in size, but an even larger man in character. He serves as a police officer and served three terms in Iraq for the U.S. Army. In between those campaigns he managed to win Big Brother of the Year in Massachusetts. What a guy. *** CHUCK U. ROSINA (WMFO/WMBR): My black hero? Does it have to be only one? And does it have to be American? I mean the first person that comes to my mind is Nelson Mandela. That man overcame amazing odds and transformed a country. But I guess there is no Black History Month in South Africa. As for American blacks overcoming, there is of course Martin Luther King. The federal holiday softens his true radical anti-war stance that he had in his latter years of activism. We always here “I have a dream,” a great concept indeed, but if he were here today, he’d be in the streets demanding troops out of Iraq. I’m probably running out of space, but Harriet Tubman, the great anti-slavery activist of the 19th century is also worth noting. True history comes from hearing all perspectives. *** ROGER MILLER (Mission of Burma/ Alloy Orchestra): Jimi Hendrix. I saw him in Ann Arbor, Michigan in a club the size of the Rat. He came out of the dressing room smoking a cigarette with one hand, and playing an astounding raga/feedback solo with his other. He was able to be avant-garde, primal, sexual, and transcendentally cosmic simultaneously. His like will not be seen in this world again. Rita: You got that right. Jimi did for the guitar what Martin Luther King did for colored people’s rights. Lolita: What’s with “colored people”? Rita: That was the correct terminology in the early ’60s—funny how it changes decade to decade.