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The Augusta News-Review September 22.198*4
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JERMINE JACKSON with Susan L. Taylor, editor-publisher of Essence magazine
Jermaine—changing relationships
NEW YORK, N.Y.
Relationships—what makes them
successful? “ESSENCE, The
Television Program” seeks an an
swer to this question during this
weeks’s broadcast.
Featured in the third week is
Jermaine Jackson who, as a mem
ber of America’s number one en
tertainment family, is juggling all
kinds of relationships.
He’s a son, a brother, a son-in
law, a husband and a father, yet
somehow he manages to find time
for all of them.
Os his marriage to Hazel Gordy,
daughter of Motown Chairman of
the Board Berry Gordy, Jermaine
tells “ESSENCE” host Susan L.
Taylor that their secret to success
in “Just understanding that it
takes two people to make it hap
pen. And not that my marriage is
‘Soldier’s Story not just another Black movie
Given the composition of its cast
and the texture and tone of its plot
the murder of a Black army
sergent in the South and the in
vestigation surrounding his death
many will view “A SOLDIER’S
STORY” as just ‘‘another Black
movie.”
Such singular thinking no doubt
will cause many to miss the entire
point of the film because as
Charles Fuller notes, “I have writ
ten an American story.”
This is heady stuff coming from
a Black playwright. The prevailing
train of thought seems to be, if you
are a Black writer, you are suppose
to write about ‘‘Black things.”
What that means exactly has yet to
be defined. The Black American
experience has usually been written
about in terms of drugs, corrup
tion and violence.
Whites have been included only
when a definitive point about
racism (i.e., Black and white con
frontations) has been necessary (or
so it seems) to add balance.
Charles Fuller did not win a Pulit
zer Prize for a play about racism;
rather he won the Pulitzer because
he created a piece of work that
embodied the American spirit,
using Blacks as a focal point.
And, as with all great American
dramas, this story can easily be
transposed to fit to another
culture.
‘‘A SOLDIER’S STORY” is not
a drama about Blacks and whites
and racism”, Fuller observes, ‘‘but
rather, a drama about people. Part
of the problem we face as Black
people is that historically we
believed that we could not move
forward unless we became like
white people. Part of what I wan
ted to say in A SOLDIER’S PLAY
was that it doesn’t have to be so.
We will move forward if we have
something to contribute.”
Two years ago, when Charles
Fuller sat down to write this play,
he was fueled by passion and grief
following the death of his long
time friend and literary soulmate,
Larry Neal, a poet and essayist,
and one of the major architects
(along with Imamu Baraka, a.k.a
Leßoi Jones) of the Black literary
movement of the 60s. Fuller and
Neal grew up together in North
Philadelphia, where they
discovered the world of literatuure
and writing by reading books in
the local library.
Thev decided to become writers
because I gave them a certain
a fairy-tale or anything like that,
it’s just that when there are
disputes..., you can’t ever leave
them unsolved. And also it has a
lot to do with separating our
marrriage from the business.”
This week, “ESSENCE” also
visits Grammy award-winning
producer and composer Mtume in
the recording studio as he put the
finishing touches on his current hit
single “You, Me and He.”
Mutme has written scores of hits
for some of the music industry’s
top female performers including
Roberta Flack and Stephanie
Mills. “I basically write from a
female perspective because to me
it’s alot more sensitive. Sometimes
a male view is a bit harsh.
And when you are dealing with
sensitive issues like love...pain, I
kind of lean towards that side
status. As Fuller notes, ‘‘l knew I
was not built for most sports, so I
>vas looking for something else to
Jo in the world. Larry and I just
iecided we would become writers.
We were the only guys doing it.”
Together, they chartered a
;areer that took them down dif
ferent paths artistically, but the
friendship never suffered the har
dship of artistic differences. “We
drew from each other a sense of
value of literature and what words
could do. Larry went on to write
poetry and essays, and I decided
that I would use words to try and
affect people in a more direct way,
by writing for the stage” states
Fuller.
Fuller wrote “A SOLDIER’S
PLAY” in four months, the fastest
he had ever written a play. It was
an easy task, because the fire
within this sifted and talented wr
iter was continuously fanned by
the memory of Neal. In memory
of his friend, he wrote about the
things that concerned them most as
Black Americans, and as writers.
“Larry and I had often discussed
the problem of dual consciousness.
Throughout our history there
has been this question: ‘Do we
stay Black and separate from
America of join the American
mainstream, many of whose values
we cannot accept. My own feeling
is that the answer lies somewhere
in the middle.”
“A SOLDIER’S PLAY”
provided an exploration of this
thought, and allowed Fuller to
fulfill a life long dream of writing
and murder mystery, where the
central characters are Black. Set in
the early 19405, at a segregated
army post in Ft. Neal, Louisiana
(named after Larry Neal), “A
SOLDIER’S PLAY” provided
theater audiiences with a profile of
a Black man obsessed with an
American dilemma known as
“mainstreaming.” His death and
the events surrounding the in
vestigation into it form the basis
for a compelling exploration of
Black-on-Black relationships an
area of thought never before dealt
with on the American stage and
most assuredly not in American
cinema. As with Fuller’s previous
works (“Brownsville Raid” and
“Zooman and the Sign”) “A
SOLDIER’S STORY” was
produced by the Negro Ensemble
Company (NEC) under the direc
tion of Douglas Turner Ward.
Page 3
because I’m more comfortable
with a female voice. There is a lit
tle more intimacy for me,” says
the Epic Records recording artist.
In “Up Front,” clinical
psychologist Nancy Boyd-Franklin
talks with co-host Felipe Luciano
about the adjustments that couples
must make in order to strengthen
and maintain a relationship.
And in “Taking Care of
Business,” a couple who have suc
cessfully maintained a marriage
and business relationship, Pat and
Lionel Duncanson of the Queens
based Duncanson Electric Com
pany, Inc., tells viewers about the
special “glue” that has held them
together.
And in “Looking Good/Feeling
Good,” fashion model Wanakee
demonstrates transforming
daytime makeup into evening
glamour.
The play, a monumental and
critical success had garnered
prestigious theater awards for the
ccast and its author, ran for almost
2 years as an Off Broadway hit,
and later went on a major 16 city
tour.
The Pulitzer Prize win was the
additional icing on the cake,
placing Fuller in the position of
being the second Black playwright
to be so honored.
Now, with the title changed to
“A SOLDIER’S STORY,” this
Pulitzer Prize winning stage dramat
had been transferred to the screen.
Fuller is the first Black Pulitzer
winning playwright to have his
work adapted to the screen.
Along with his screenplay and
with Norman Jewison directing
(“Absence of Malice” & “In The
Heat of the Night”), this
collaboration can only spell suc
cess at the box-office.
Fuller is delighted to have his
work shown on the screen, but
notes, “My main concern is to
show that creating a serious Black
film and making money are not
mutually exclusive. Winning the
Pulitzer is nice and wonderful. I
am glad about it. But my concerns
are to see more realistic things
done in the theater, movies and
television, to see more of our
people the way we are.
As a writer, if all I write about is
confrontations with white people,
then I don’t move white people or
Black people. If the only way you
see me is screaming, then the only
thing yo think I can do is scream.”
There is no screaming in “A
SOLDIER’S STORY.” It is a film
that focuses very clearly on the
American dream, human nature
and man’s complex struggle for
dignity. Upon reflection, Fuller
remembers “My father believed
that by actively participating in
society you could change it.
What came out of the 60s was a
belief that we could change society
by isolating ourselves out of it. As
a consequence, the country sub
divided. Ethnic things are fine,
but we are all Americans in this
crazy nuthouse.”
With its Sept. 14th release, “A
SOLDIER’S STORY” will signal a
new era in presenting more
positive, more humane Black
images on the American screen.
Walker Kerr of The New York
Times once wrote of Fuller, “You
should make Mr. Fuller’s acquain
tance. Now.”
Livingstone president
to be inaugurated
Dr. William H. L. Greene will
be inaugurated as the seventh
president of Livingstone College
and Hood Theological Seminary,
September 21, at 10 a.m. at Varick
Auditorium on the Livingston
campus.
Livingston College, which was
founded in 1879, is the only four
year institution of higher learning
affiliated with and substantially
funded by the A.M.E. Zion Chur
ch. The president of Livingstone
College also oversees the seminary,
which grants the master of divinity
degree in religion and the master
of religiousjgducaiton.
Dr. Greene, 41, actually took
office on July 1, 1983. His year
old administration has already
resulted in some major changes
and improvements at the college
and seminary.
Dr. Greene’s early accomplish
ments at Livingstone and Hood in
clude: Securing a 57 percent com
bined increase in the annual
allocation to the college and
seminary from the A.M.E. Zion
Church going from a total of
Conference recognize Dr. Mays, King Chapel
In celebration of the 75th An
niversary of the founding of the
Morehouse College Chapel and the
life of Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays,
Morehouse College will present a
four and one-half day conference
on the study of the Nile Valley
Civilization, African history,
culture, and civilization.
The conference begins Sept. 26,
and extends through Sept. 30, is
jointly sponsored by Bennu, Inc.,
The Journal of African
Civilizations, the Martin Luther
King Jr. International Chapel of
Morehouse College, and the
Human Values Program of the
Morehouse School of Medicine.
The conference will be held in
the King International Chapel, 830
Westview Dr., Sw, Atlanta, on the
Morehouse campus.
A different
view of
Veronica AH
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Veronica Ali
As the wife of Muhammad Ali,
Veronica Ali lives in an opulent
world of wealth and notoriety.
Although the public knows her
through her husband’s accom
plishments, Mrs. Ali is a strong
and independent woman in her
own right. Yet, she remains a
mystery to the public.
What drives her? How does she
maintain an identity apart from
her husband’s fame? In a probing
and insightful interview on TONY
BROWN’S JOURNAL,
“Veronica Ali: The Woman Few
People Know,” she talks about her
marriage, career plans, the un
dergirding philosophy that
motivates her and the rumors
surrounding her husband’s failing
health and financial condition.
TONY BROWN’S JOURNAL,
the nation’s longest-running, top
ranked Black-Affairs television
The program can be seen in this
area on WCES-20 at 7:30 p.m. on
Tuesday, Sept. 25.
The coastline of Alaska is
longer than the entire coast
line of the lower 48 states
of the United States.
about $700,000 for both in 1983;84
to approximately sl.l million for
the 1984-85 term; an intensive
campus beautification and
renovation program that coincides
with an aggressive recruitment and
admissions program that meant
that student enrollment is up from
665 last year to over 750 for this
Fall; and average 150 point in
crease in the SAT score of fresh
men entering this Fall compared to
entering freshmen in 1983.
Dr. Greene’s dedication to the
work ethic has resulted in in
creased community service by
members of the student body,
faculty and staff as well as a
renewed sense of enthusiasm and
committment to the college.
Dr. Greene’s early childhood
was spent in Richburg, S.C. and he
was educated in the public schools
of Charlotte, N.C. where he also
received his bachelor of arts degree
in Political science in 1966 from
Johnson C. Smith Univ. Six years
later he earned both the master of
arts and the Ph.D. in curriculum
and instruction from Michigan
Highlight of the conference will
be the keynote address of the in
ternationally renowned scholar,
physicist, Egyptologist, historian,
and linguist Cheikh Anta Diop
(Docteur of Lettre) so Senegal.
Diop has been honored as one of
the scholars who has had the
greatest impact on African and
African-American thought in the
20th century. This honor was
bestowed upon him at the Ist
World Festival of Black Arts and
Culture, held in Dakar, Senegal, in
1966.
Among the lectures/scholars
will be John G. Jackson, Rutgers
Univ; Asa G. Hilliard 111, Ga.
State Univ; Jan Carew, North
western Univ.; Ivan Van Sertima,
Rutgers Univ.; Legrand Cleg, chief
deputy City Attorney of Compton,
Cal.; Runoko Rashidi, Compton
College; Hunter Adams 111,
TOTE WITH
A FRIEND.
' ** I
NORMAN NIXON A DEBBIE ALLEN
MAKE IT
COUNT
MORE.
A lot of people don't vote because
they think it doesn't count. But think of
all your friends who think the same
way you do about the future of our
country
Get your friends to vote with you,
and together your votes will count
more. This year, vote with a friend.
A Public Service Message from The
I National Association of Secretaries of
Gomel! State & The Advertising Council Sri
State Univ, in East Lansing.
He has taught school on the
elementary and secondary levels in
Hillsborough and Laurinburg,
N.C. and Pontiac, Mich. He also
taught at the college level and con
ducted research while pursuing his
graduate studies at Michigan State
Univ.
Dr. Greene is married to the
former Ruthie Lipscomb, who is
also a recipient of a Ph.D. degree
from the Univ, of Massachusetts.
They have two children: a 7-year
old son, Omari, and a daughter,
Jamila, age 5.
As 7th president of the college
and seminary, his goal is clear: To
carry this historic institution with
its rich traditions to greater heights
of academic excellence. His objec
tives toward that goal are equally
clear and simple: To give the
college and seminary graduates the
best possible academic and
religious preparation to meet
society’s challenges in order to
become productive and proud
citizens.
Argonne National Laboratory,
Chicago; Richard King, M.D.,
author of “The Black Dot, Black
Seed: Archetype of Humanity”
series; Bruce Williams, Univ, of
Chicago; Na’lm Akbar, Florida
State Univ; John Pappademos,
Univ, of Illinois; and Charles Fin
ch, M.D., Morehouse School of
Medicine.
Throughout the conference, a
large exhibition of literature will be
displayed in the conference center
on the Ist floor of Hugh M.
Gloster Hall adjacemt to the King
International Chapel.
Registration fees are $35 for
adults and sls for students. The
cost of the banquet is $25.
For additional information,
contact King International Chapel
at Morehouse, 681-2800, ext. 208
or 209, of the office of Public
Relations, ext 446, 447, and 448.