A few years ago I did a photoshoot with costumes and the whole bit. I wanted to focus on women who had impacted history. This month I will focus on some of those.
This week I want to focus on music because it has its own life in the culture.
Empress of the Blues was one of the titles Bessie Smith was known for. She was born in 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She started her career in 1912 traveling with Ma Rainey as a dancer. By 1923 she signed with Columbia Records where over the years she made over 160 recordings. She toured vaudeville and later did a show on Broadway. In 1929 she appeared in the movie, St Louis Blues. Her music dealt with the social issues of her day, Jail House Blues, Work House Blues, Prison Blues. She was injured in a car crash in 1937 where she later died from those injuries.
Model: Alexandra Harper Photographer: Karen J Anderson
It is Black History Month. I love being African American. I love history. This month I will share different moments from the Book of the Quarter, Destiny’s Dilemma. This week in history we will celebrate music. In this scene Zo, our heroine entertains her mother with music she knows she will like.
“Mama I want you to hear this.”
After getting back from the long afternoon, she brought her mother into the parlor and made her comfortable. She enjoyed this time with her. They could talk in a way they had not before.
“Is this some of them blues?”
“Mama, listen.”
Zo started the phonograph. Hattie listened for a few minutes, then looked at her daughter.
“Is she…”
“Singing about Jesus. Yes ma’am. I told you some of these new fangle things could be used for the good.”
Zo giggled at herself. She loved the surprised look on her mother’s face. She enjoyed watching her mother settle in and listen.
“What Baptist church she go to?” her mother asked about the woman singing.
“Mama she one of them holy rollers.”
“You don’t say.”
“This little girl’s name is Arizona. She from around this way, up in Sherman.”
“She can sing. The lambs blood washed me clean. I like that.”
Her mother reclined on the sofa and listened to church music.
Destiny’s Dilemma
An African American woman moved home to take care of her dying mother giving up the opportunity to experience a world beyond segregation. Zoraida Hughes Williams finds that some things have changed about her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas while some have stayed the same, like Hell’s Half Acre, an area where saloons, prostitution and gambling runs wild. Like most of the residents, she wants to keep her head down and stay away from trouble, but it comes in the unlikely form of an Anglo Baptist preacher. He messes up everything and almost gets them killed.
The City. The Chicago River. The Drawbridge. Construction. Pink. Blue. Green. Silver. Tall. Short. Reflection. Grey. White. Peace. Calm. Quiet. Moving. Flowing. Life.
An African American woman moved home to take care of her dying mother giving up the opportunity to experience a world beyond segregation. Zoraida Hughes Williams finds that some things have changed about her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas while some have stayed the same, like Hell’s Half Acre, an area where saloons, prostitution and gambling runs wild. Like most of the residents, she wants to keep her head down and stay away from trouble, but it comes in the unlikely form of an Anglo Baptist preacher. He messes up everything and almost gets them killed.
Even on a cloudy day, you can see the city buildings that form downtown Chicago. In the second image you can see the neighborhood street that is lined with cars, trees and street lights that also point to the skyline. Just like the buildings, the people of the city are just as creative and complicated.
An African American woman moved home to take care of her dying mother giving up the opportunity to experience a world beyond segregation. Zoraida Hughes Williams finds that some things have changed about her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas while some have stayed the same, like Hell’s Half Acre, an area where saloons, prostitution and gambling runs wild. Like most of the residents, she wants to keep her head down and stay away from trouble, but it comes in the unlikely form of an Anglo Baptist preacher. He messes up everything and almost gets them killed.
The interesting thing about the elevated trains is that you get to see the building up close and personal. There are no cookie cutters when it comes to the architecture of these buildings. They are unique. They are new. They are old. They tell a story of a very old city with a lot of personality.
Usually when I write there is a song in my head. Yes, there was a playlist for this book. I tried to think about the type of music they would have been exposed to in 1912. They would have seen performers traveling from town to town. There would be sheet music that musicians can play. She would have seen people like Ma Rainey singing the blues. Ragtime would be in full swing, but starting to wane.
An African American woman moved home to take care of her dying mother giving up the opportunity to experience a world beyond segregation. Zoraida Hughes Williams finds that some things have changed about her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas while some have stayed the same, like Hell’s Half Acre, an area where saloons, prostitution and gambling runs wild. Like most of the residents, she wants to keep her head down and stay away from trouble, but it comes in the unlikely form of an Anglo Baptist preacher. He messes up everything and almost gets them killed.
In downtown, the subway tracks are elevated so that you are up above city streets giving you a great view. In addition to taking you somewhere the city streets are full of adventure.
An African American woman moved home to take care of her dying mother giving up the opportunity to experience a world beyond segregation. Zoraida Hughes Williams finds that some things have changed about her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas while some have stayed the same, like Hell’s Half Acre, an area where saloons, prostitution and gambling runs wild. Like most of the residents, she wants to keep her head down and stay away from trouble, but it comes in the unlikely form of an Anglo Baptist preacher. He messes up everything and almost gets them killed.
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