Entertainment was the only thing that kept me sane during my teenage years. I watched films most days on VHS video. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas films were favorites. I started to study the film industry hoping to become a cinematographer. I even applied to film school in London. I had to give up that dream when I discovered my mother would not be able to afford the school fees for film school.
I decided to pursue another dream - music. At school I was part of the Caribbean Steel Band. The band was led by a Caribbean teacher that looked like Quincy Jones, the music producer. He was very strict with hours of rehearsal. Perfection was his thing. Losing his temper, if we hit the wrong notes. Doing school tours and events around Nottingham and the midlands. We had a great experience.
Music was always a big part of my life. I remember from a very young age spinning the records on the family record player. So many talented artists. So many classic records. The first record I bought for myself was by The Police. The group, the artist Sting started with.
My sisters would buy music every week. I can remember when I fell in love with Hip Hop. The Sugarhill Gang released, Rapper’s Delight,
a sample of the record "Good Times" by Chic.
In the late 1970's and early 1980's Hip hop and Dancehall music really started to get popular. Massive speakers. New electronic sounds and special effects would be booming from cars and houses. The youth of the day also had street parties. Outdoor music for free while kids danced in the street.
It was a friend of a friend, from a dance hall sound system that really got me into music production. My friend always looked out for me, giving me free music. He was a gadget white kid, kind as hell, and he knew music; like a librarian knows their books. Such a kind hearted guy. Lending me computer games like Atari, and so much music, from every genre.
My teenage years were lonely. I remember I would walk the streets with my Sony Cassette player, hoping I would bump into a stranger to make a new friend. I decided to immerse myself in music and studying everything, from the business side and music production. I wanted to be a record producer or artist, I still wasn't sure, but that kept me sane and busy.
I cannot deny the healing power of music. It got me through some really tough times. I was at the library every week. Learning about composing music and music production. I even read musician autobiographies, for inspiration. I was self-taught. I had all the time in the world to learn my craft. My mother helped buy equipment. I also got a job in a pizza restaurant to get money to buy music stuff when I was fifteen.
My part-time job was washing pots Music to me is where art meets common sense. Pop and Hip-Hop music was mainly four-four timing. Meaning four beats in a bar. It's basic math. I got really good, because I could program the drums. Then tap out the musical parts and change the notes to the correct notes to make sure the song sounded like the hits of the day. I spent many hours practicing, and did want to be part of the music industry, but the cards I was dealt in life made me realize, you can't always follow your dreams...
The 1970's were full of beautiful soul music. With so many solo artists and groups gracing the radio airwaves. It was a lot different to now. Music was an emotional and spiritual experience. Unlike the visual spectacle it is today. Artists really had to have talent and great songs for their talent to shine through. So many artists and classics have stood the test of time from the 1970's, so you will understand where I'm coming from. A majority of Hip-Hop songs came from samples of the 1970's musical legends like James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic. The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, James, Brown, Al Green, Motown, the list goes on. We also had a lot of Jamaican music in my house. Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs, and Jimmy Cliff, were a few names I can remember. My parents never forgot where they came from, and gave us a variety of music to listen to.
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For many children in America, we are bombarded with the entertainment options available. Clive Henry loved his beginning in school in the steel drum band and hoped to continue on in one way or another within the entertainment world. But reality often steps in early, especially related to money...and especially when a parent, Clive's Father, died early in his life. Even if life had not been all that it could be, when tragedy hits, it results in a child suddenly considering whether his (or her) dreams are even possible.
I already knew this, but each time I read that, within the homes of Black families in America, children are taught how to live with other boys and girls who are not the same color, it truly breaks my heart! For I always knew that Jesus had made children in both black, white and other colors. And He loved all of them equally.
Even though history shows how Blacks have been treated since they were forced to come to America to work for no pay, as slaves, most Americans know that the discrimination that began in the cotton fields of the south, has continued until today, no matter in which part of the country we live.
Clive chose to write his first book, mostly as a memoir. It is well written and shares much of his early life.
Trust Nobody Was My Motto
Clive and I are not so different, though... When we started working, we did a good job, often being promoted, until somebody makes things change...
With Clive, it happened much earlier than with me, and it definitely was because he was black (for me, it was because I was a woman in a male-dominated field). And Clive had his family's warnings about the real world in which we live/work... But Clive had gained sufficient self-worth to know he needed to do something--and not accept what was being done. The specifics related to a well-known company frankly, rings true as he writes it.
I know from feedback that I opened many eyes and minds, with what I did. I was also told that policy changes happened within... (name of company). In my mind I had lost everything, so had nothing to lose. I helped others see how wicked the law and these corporate companies could be. Social media was also a sense of healing. I was able to vent and educate at the same time. In 2012 there were high profile cases with people dying in Police custody. The Trayvon Martin case really hit home. Will Black people ever live a life that isn't filled with stress from the cradle to the grave? In 2013 the group called Black Lives Matter was formed. This was a global group born from the pain and destruction of Black life. It did not take me long to join the group in Nottingham to help. As I saw it. I'd experienced racism first hand in the workplace and within the legal system.
Clive Henry is correct. Racism is alive and well in America, sadly there is no way to predict where it might arise. I recommend you read Henry's story if you wish to gain specific knowledge and the way it occurs. Because if you care, you need to speak out. There is NO reason that this continues... But it does.
On the other hand, we did have some good results when a major act of discrimination was made and carried out in the news!
Kudos goes to Clive Henry for speaking out and acting to do something that affects him and so many others. Note that they didn't have the guts to remove the white woman...who continued to speak out... And, by the next day, the two Black ELECTED congressmen were back!
That's what we can do if we all speak out and act related to Racism. Read Clive Henry's story! Then speak out and vote to ensure that those of a political party which is out of control may be stopped. We see it. Clieve Henry and others FEEL the results! Support Henry and get his book and share and talk about it! Personally, I am ashamed that Mr. Henry's memoir had to be based on his own personal experiences! America has a long way to go, starting with God's commandment to love our neighbors!
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