“Are you with me now” A J Ryder
O’MG’
Even though I was away last weekend in England, I guess my compass needle was set on Big Bang Memphis because when we got off the plane from Dublin we were picked up by Darlene’s cousin, Marty in this MG. Yep, an MG SUV. I didn’t even know MGs were still around. Shades of Booker T. and the M.G.’s! Then when I went to The Cavern in Liverpool, a club where The Beatles got their start, to my surprise, there were many tributes to Memphis. First off, The Cavern is the twin club to B.B. King’s Club in Memphis. Lucille is present in the photo below:
Then, there’s a display of Booker T. and the M.G.'s with a photo of their famous take-off album of Abbey Road called McLemore Avenue with one of Steve Cropper’s guitars.
And, even when I pick up an incredible book review of philosopher Charles Taylor’s latest book by Adam Gopnik there right before me is the Stax/Volt collection.
“Yes, I feel the cosmos. When I browse through Spotify, passing from Ray Charles to the obscurer singers of the Stax/Volt catalogue, each stop along the way offers some experience of common space which is not just diverting but deeply reassuring. Yes, there is meaning in the mess; yes, the space says yes.
You think the cosmos are sending me a message?
Time is Tight – Booker T. and the MG’s
To top it off just by coincidence my mate Stephen Small who’s from Liverpool was in town. Stephen is a professor of African American Studies at Cal. His specialty is comparative historical sociology of Africans throughout the diaspora, with particular focus on the United States, the Caribbean and England. Stephen was on sabbatical researching and writing a book on the political economy of Black Europe; and British imperialism and its legacies, with special reference to Liverpool.
His work on the African diaspora through Europe is something we barely come into contact with and yet, so much of it has bearing on African American history in the US. Once again, the City of Liverpool and Memphis crisscross in horrific ways. At one time, Memphis was the largest inland market for enslaved black workers and the "biggest inland cotton market in the world." When I visited the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, I learned that “Liverpool ships carried about 1.5 million enslaved Africans across on approximately 5000 voyages, the vast majority going to the Caribbean. Around 300 voyages were made to North America - to the Carolinas, Virginia and Maryland.”
The Liverpool Slavery Museum is an emotionally challenging place to go to. What makes it even more challenging is that its mission is to create awareness and to put an end to enslavement that still exists all over the world.
People Get Ready – Curtis Mayfield
Carlos’s use of data in his last Sunday Special pointed out that hundreds of people applied for the few new positions at BPL. That’s an extraordinary number and is new to us. For me it meant that people think of BPL as a great place to work where the commitment is beyond just a job. I agree. It also said that things are changing out there and we are seen as a group doing the work in schools and communities that make a difference. So as Curtis Mayfield wrote: People Get Ready.
Next week, I’ll be meeting with the San Diego Foundation and up in LA meeting with a number of districts about HFF, Advisory and the IBPLC. Also, I’ll be working on my time at Big Bang Memphis. Andrea and I are getting ready for the pre-conference work on the IBPLC. Sonn and I are putting together pre-conference time for our Canadian group.
Be well!
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