Black Expressive Culture Narrative Stage: Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship

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Speaker 1: 3 1 2 Test 1 2 1 2 Test 1 2 1 2

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Gospel music, as you can see, our artists have not arrived as of yet,

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there is a mass of humanity between here and the entertainment tent,

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they just came off from eating, and hopefully they will be here before 1:30 arrives

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if not, what the heck, you've got me.

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I, yes, I promise not to sing for you.

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The group that you will be looking at

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Earling Mills, and the Ultrasound, from Philadelphia,

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would like to just make a couple of cultural comments

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and that is that within gospel music,

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just as within blues or within jazz, there are regional variations

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I talked with Pastor Mills [Arlene Mills] this morning and ask her

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How would she discern any differences, let's say between

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the sound of the gospel singers from the Philadelphia area,

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from when she has come, and let's say

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the gospel singers from Chicago?

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Her reply was that the gospel singers

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from Philadelphia have a clearer sound, she said in other words that they strive

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to make each word discernible, clear.

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Wherein gospel singers from Mississippi, who migrated to Chicago

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tend to have a much rougher, a more guttural type of sound.

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So, you might want to listen for that as you hear them come forward.

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We want to say secondly that the gospel group, which is

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the singers are all girls, all women, that there is a precedent for that in the city of Philadelphia

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that before the coming of this group you had the Davis sisters from Philadelphia

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and perhaps the most famous female group of all, Clara Ward, the Ward Singers.

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I understand that they celebrated their fiftieth anniversary here last week, and there were groups who came back

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but, seemingly, a lot of female gospel singers have come out of Philadelphia

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at least come through there; the Caravans, another group, Shirley Caesar

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who is perhaps the reigning queen of gospel music today

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sang with that group, and you might even want to ask

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Pastor Mills about some of her experience because she certainly has performed

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she said one of the highlights of her career was playing for Mahalia Jackson, that Mahalia Jackson came to Philadelphia

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her accompanist was sick, and the person who normally accompanied her in Philadelphia

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was unable to fulfill it, and she got the chance to play with Mahalia.

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Um, a couple of things that you should notice about the dress of the particular group, which says something about the aesthetic.

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They will be dressed in dresses, but they will be uniform dress.

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I don't know how many of you have seen in it in the PBS shows with, uh, the West coast group, the Hawkin singers.

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There, they tend to reflect the California, or the western lifestyle, the do your own thing style.

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In other words, you would have maybe 100 or 50 singers, but every singer would be dressed in something entirely different. There is no sense of uniform there.

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Wherein, the midwestern and eastern gospel singing groups, you will--they will either be dressed in robes, or they will be dressed, as in the case, in this past week, of the new, uh, of the Sensational Cherubims, in matching suits.

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So there's a sense of uniformity, which the midwest and the east tend to have held on to, wherein the California, uh, style of expression is much different.

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The type of music that they will be singing, uh, that you'll be hearing this week, comes from this century.

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It is, uh, perhaps had it's beginning at the turn of the century.

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There was a minister, a United Methodist minister, by the name of Charles Albert Tindley, who was pastor of the Tindley Memorial United Methodist Church in Philadelphia.

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Who, in order to, spice up, or in order to enhance his worship service, wrote songs.

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They were not the traditional spirituals, which come out of the period of slavery. They were not from the Methodist hymnal.

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But they were his own creations. Some of these songs, "Stand by Me". "When storms of life are raging, stand by me" uh, he wrote himself, and his daughter performed them during the service.

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He is seen as really the forerunner, or the grandfather, of black gospel music.

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There was a musician, a blues musician, from Georgia, from Atlanta. A man named, uh, well his name isn't important right now. [Thomas Dorsey]

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The important thing is that he listened to this music and decided to compose on his own. He had done a few blues numbers and double entendre pieces like, "I like it tight like that" and some other things.

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But he had a traumatic experience in his life. His wife and their unborn child, both died in childbirth.

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He was traumatically taken over by it. And one of his, uh friends told him that the only way to come out of this is to compose, to write, to put yourself back into your work.

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This young, heartbroken composer, gospel composer, wrote a song. Uhh, "Precious Lord take my hand, lead me on let me stand. Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light.

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Precious Lord, take my hand and lead me on". And of course, the composer was Mr. Thomas Darsey [Dorsey], and uh, he has written, he is the only composer, I would imagine, who is in both the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Afro-American Hall of Fame.

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He wrote a song entitled "Peace in the Valley". Which Red Foley and some other, uh, musicians have recorded. This is Thomas Darsey. [Dorsey]

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And after him, he composed in the 1920s and 30s. He's still alive and still records. In the 1930s, he started a gospel singers convention, where every year they would come, and I'm getting a witness here, and choir members would spruce up their act and so forth.

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Working with him was a very, um, strong singer by the name of Ms. Sally Martin.

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Uh, they had as their protégé at the time of the 1930s, a young girl who had made her way from New Orleans to Chicago. She was a hairdresser, a big woman, with a lovely voice, Mahalia Jackson.

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And so the three of these- these three persons: Thomas Dawson, Sally Martin, and Mahalia Jackson toured the midwest, singing the compositions of one, Thomas Darsey.

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Out of that group, or at least out of the Chicago area from whence they came, there came, uh, a young man by the name of James Cleveland.

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Uh, James Cleveland, who was called the Crowned Prince of gospel music, perhaps, the reigning, uh, creative person now, moved to California.

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And there he has started something called the Gospel Singers workshop and they, since 19-

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Well, what will we say, the 1960s, thereabouts, they have been meeting. And he is a consummate composer, so the group that is singing comes out of this very rich environment tradition.

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They are women singers, as I said. They stand on the shoulders of the Davis sisters, the Caravans, uh, the Ward singers, and such soloists, such as Mahalia Jackson, Shirley Jackson, persons of that sort.

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Uh, since this is a workshop and you will be tested over this thing, we might give you some take-home information, things you might want to pick up.

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Perhaps the most definitive work on gospel music now published is by a man named Tony Halbert and it's entitled "The Gospel Sound: Good News for Bad Times", which is sort of a, um, it gives you an overview of the total gospel scene.

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Who were the founders? Who were some of the outstanding quartets? Male, female, etc.

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WIGGINS: -- there's also an excellent book which has been done on Charles Albert Tinley. It's called Charles Albert Tinley [Tindley], The Prince of Preachers. It was published by Abingdon Press and it was done by a member of the church.

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His name escapes me now but you could do it just with the title and you can get the book in that particular way. There are records of galore.

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Tony Halpert when he did the gospel sound book there is a companion four volume LP, which is a sampler, and it has the old re-releases of these old artists on it with their particular hits.

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So you might want to look that up or you can simply get the contemporary sound. This group by the way, has produced at least three 45 records. Pastor Mills has said that they are in the process of getting their LP - their first LP together.

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They have toured Europe, they have been to France, Sweden, Norway, and Germany. But this is basically what you are going to hear as you see they perhaps the barbecue was much better than I thought it was going to be, and as I said before I will not sing for you,

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-but are there any questions that I can perhaps answer or any observations that those of you who have heard them, ideas and questions that you have about black gospel music itself?

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[SILENCE]

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Okay, just keep eating that watermelon and hopefully by 1:30 the steppers will have gotten out of their barbecue thing.

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I am Dr. William Wiggins I am from Indiana University I teach folklore and religion in the department of Afro American Studies at Indiana. And I am counting the days until I can take a bath.

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WIGGINS: Alright so, um until the uhh college steppers come, uh then you can be at a relaxed state, and turn around and look at the dancers or something like.

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Do you have the time? What time do I? 1:21 well what the heck. 1:18, 1:21.

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Speaker 2: I don't think they're gonna make it today.

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WIGGINS: But we will be here on this stage, uhh, I think just about everyday at this time.

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[SILENCE]

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WIGGINS: We have down on the mall the, the grand generation looking at the, the old traditions.

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Uhh, but there is also a new, a cutting edge sort of thing, and these young men represent that particular angle of it just as the, uh, performance on stage does.

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They are collegiates, they're all students at the University of Pennsylvania, and they are bearer of the tradition of stepping, a particular type of dancing, and so forth that, uhh, is indigenous, or is very popular with black college students.

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I have taught at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, uh, Texas College in Tyler, Texas, Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and I have visited all over and what they do is not peculiar to them.

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Uhh, I might add that what is involved here are these culture imperatives and I'll shut up and let them talk. One improvisation, you've got to be able to shift, change, to meet the mood.

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In fact, they do not have a regular set routine by which they go on. They- I've been with them for a week and they've changed it just about every day. You could not write it down.

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So there, in that, this regard they're much like Earl Garner, who when he give, gave a concert would never write out what he was going to do, he would play as he felt inspired to play.

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Or Mahalia Jackson, you would not have a program that would list the songs that Mahalia would play. It would be dependent upon how she would receive.

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Secondly, there is a great deal of friendly competition.

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Speaker 1: If you come back at 3:15 they'll be talking about some groups you've never heard of, but whom they know. Um, the Kappa Alpha Psis, the Omega Psi Phis, the Phi Beta Sigmas, um, and the Alpha Phi Alphas.

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Speaker 1: Which are other male, these are, black fraternities. And they will sing the praises and the charm and the beauty of the sororities. The AKA's, the Delta Sigma Thetas, and the, uh, Phi Beta Sigmas. [SPEAKER name="Unknown Speaker"} [[unintelligible]]
Speaker 1: Uh, Zeta Phi Beta, I'm sorry, excuse me. I don't wanna get them gentlemen on the wrong side of the track.

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Speaker 1: OK, but now, why don't, uh, why don't we first, one thing that they do have, which is common with the, um, with the steppers over here and--and then blacklight [[??]], each of them has a nickname.

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Speaker 1: You know, it is not enough that you were christened, you born with a particular name, but you have to get your own identity.

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Speaker 1: I wonder if they would introduce themselves. First, tell you who they are, that is who Mom and Daddy know that they are, and now that they have, are coming into adulthood, whom their peers say that they are, which is very important. So could we start with these gentlemen over here who refuse to get on the stage here.

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Speaker 2: My name is Glen Glasco [Glenn Glasgow], and um, I'm from University of Pennsylvania, and I'm Finance major. I'm originally from San Antonio, Texas.
Speaker 1: And your nickname.
Speaker 2: My-my line name. It's what we have, a-a line name. They're not nicknames, line names. And, um, my line name was "Quickdraw".

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Speaker 1: [[unintelligible]] --what is a line?
Speaker 2: A line is a group during which, we're trying to be initiated into the, into our social fellowship, Groove Five Groove [[??]], and um, also our names are given to a line, line of people that go over at the same time.

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Speaker 2: And, since I went over by myself, my--also my--the name of my line was the "8-ball"

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Carlton Yearwood: How you doing, um, my name is Carlton Yearwood. I'm from New York. I'm a senior economics major at the University of Pennsylvania.

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My line name was E-man, because I could do everything... everything.

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Wiggins: E as in everything but excellent. This is...this is the man that you'll see at the front of the line.
[SILENCE]

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Eric Rutherford: Hi y'all. I'm uh Eric Rutherford. I'm from west Philadelphia. I'm an economics major, University of Pennsylvania going into my senior year,

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Eric Rutherford: -and uh, if I hold this mic long enough you'll be able to guess my uh, my nickname, uh, *laughs* it was Sir Rap-a-lot, I talk a lot, okay. *laughs*

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Wiggins: Yes. Sir Rap-a-lot. Let's move right along here.

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Joe Jackson: Um, my name is Joe Jackson, and uh, I'm a graduate at University of Pennsylvania, and my nickname is Sir Sinister.

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John Guthery: My name is John Guthery [Guthrie], I'm a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, I'm a sociology major, I'm from Newark New Jersey, and my nickname is Ultra Vibe {passing mic}

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Terri Henderson: [Terrance Henderson] My name is Terri Henderson, I'll be a junior at the University of Pennsylvania in Wharton school. My major is marketing, my line name was Mr. T.

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Eric Rutherford: No it wasn't. It was Sir Squint. *laughter* Cuz he was squin'in a lot when he was on line. When he was pledging and you would ask him a question he would be squin'in at you, answerin' you. "Mr. T"

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Jeff Edwards: Thank you Sir Raps-a-lot. Hi I'm Jeff Edwards, I'm also from New Jersey. I'm a Junior in the Wharton school of the University of Pennsylvania and Eric be quiet. My name-my line name was Mr. Smooth. *passing mic*

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Eric Rutheford: That's what he wanted it to be. It was Kermit. [[laughter]]

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Speaker 1: As you can see this is a very serious social *pause* organization that we have here.

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Wiggins: Ok, Now-

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Bill Wiggins: What you do is called stepping. Is that correct?
Speaker 2: Well, yes.

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Wiggins: When do you normally step? [[crowd noise in background]]

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Speaker 2: We step, uhh, like my line brother here Carleton says, he's my line brother because I pledged with him. I also pledged with John. It was 5 of us: the unbroken 5.

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Speaker 2: We went over in '82, and see I'm talking right, right. Like Carlton said, we stepped everywhere; in the shower, anywhere. If, you know it's, it's just a form of expression. We can do it any time like on the bus. Anywhere.

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Wiggins: [background speaking] He said in the living room, where ever. But don't you have stepping contests or do you ever-

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[SILENCE]

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we have various step competitions that we enter throughout the various years. Sort of keeps us in um practice.

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Wiggins: Who would be involved in that? I mean, where would they be held?

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Speaker 2: Um there are various organizations that give exhibitions or competition and um, you know they usually ask all the major organizations to you know come along and participate. The ladies and the gentleman.

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Wiggins: How do they determine who wins?

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Speaker 2: Um usually, the organization which comes out with the best step show and the most original, you know, routine is usually the winner.

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Speaker 1: And that's determined by applause or what?

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Speaker 2: Um, sometime by applause, most times by judges.

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Speaker 1: Alright.

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Speaker 3: Does everybody know what stepping is? Well, maybe we'll show you a little something right now.

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Speaker 1: Good. Go ahead, do a step.
Speaker 4: [in background] Somebody give me a hand. Move those mics there. We need a little help here.

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Speaker 1: We're going to move the mics. We're going to move backwards.
Speaker 2: [to background] Is that enough? [to listeners] The step they are going to do is called the ultimate. All of our steps have names and uh, you can check it out with the sayings and the wor-the words to the song.

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[[Step dancing and clapping]]
Speaker 1: What Eman is doing right now is called freaking.

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Speaker 1: Freaks means, like see we have a regular rhythm, like Joe and Glen are going right now, that is the regular beat.

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Now Eman is freaking, meaning that he can make up his own beat, but actually stay in beat.

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We are very proud, that, you know, we're very proud as a fellowship to be able to do this.

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Some um, some groups when they step, they really don't have that set rhythm, enough to come back into a beat.

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Like I could get up right now and just do anything you know? And it would be a beat.

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[[Step dancing and clapping]]

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One important thing to notice was, is that stepping is something you have to do for a while and get used to it in your mind. We don't keep beats count in our mind '1,2,3,4' - we don't really list hard, it's something you have to develop an instinct for.

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Each one of us, you know, have that instinct to just come into a step, and um go with the flow.

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Even in a step show if one if us happens to miss a beat, we can maneuver our feet so that we will still come in on the beat.

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[[Step dancing in the background]]

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Speaker 1: As you see right now all three of them are actually doing different steps.

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[[Step dancing]]

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Speaker 1: Joe in the middle

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[[Step Dancing]]

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Speaker 1: Joe in the middle, has chosen to go away from the ultimate step and make up his own step. Which is actually what Joe does all the time in the show! [[Laughter]]

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Speaker 1: [[Laughter]] It just so happens that Joe is usually wearing something other than what we are wearing. So everyone thinks that he is supposed to be doing that.

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Speaker 2: [[Laughter]]

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Speaker 1: So we win on both occasions there. [[Step Dancing]]

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Speaker 1: Glen, see I am proud of Glenn, because I was his Glenn's DP, Dean of Pledges.

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Speaker 1: See Glenn started with 4 line brothers, meaning that there were 4 other people pledging with Glenn. Okay?

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When was time for the line to go over, there was only 1 point that went over. Glenn was the point. So he went over by himself - see he has only been stepping a couple of months.

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[[Stepping]]

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Speaker 1: You see the hands and the feet - everything.

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Speaker 1: And if you let us go along we might just make up something new and you just might see it before we actually do it ourselves, as a group.

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But right now, right now, we really should, um stop for a minute and um answer some questions, questions in which you may have about stepping.

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Speaker 2: Alright, lets give em a hand please.

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[[Clapping]]

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Speaker 1: Does anyone have any questions?

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Speaker 1: Uh the question was 'When do we actually think stepping began?' And I will let one of my brothers tell you- Jeff?
Speaker 2:

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[[Laughter]] Stepping is a form of African dance, okay um, we are all students of university [[??]] where we have a diverse crowd of people.

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I have been approached several times by people from other countries and nationalities and ask me 'What is that dance you do? That is something similar to what we do at home.' And so stepping is a form of African Dance.
Speaker 2:

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We have a few steps that tell you [[singing/chanting]] Step and start in Africa and they called it dance. But this step we do, will make you move, put you in a trance. The step to the side and you should see just who we be - for were the bad bo brothers [[??]] of g phi g.

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Speaker 2: See stepping is a form of African dance. We have changed it just a little bit, but it is still very similar.
Speaker 3:

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Might I add before we go in there, that a couple of things that they do with their hands, this is a remaking of something. During the slave celebrations the most popular dance was something called "Patting Juba"
Speaker 3:

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It was "Juba this" and "Juba that" and "Juba stole my little chat." The patting of the thighs or the chest and then of course no black youngster or self respecting youngster would grow up no knowing how to pat Hambone [[??]] -
Speaker 3:

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[[Singing]]Hambone, Hambone where you been, round the world I'm going again.
Speaker 3:

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This sort of thing here you know, could someone give a Hand Bone? Does someone here?
Speaker 4:

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Alight I am gonna do a little something I remember from my childhood. Its not very complex, but here we go.
Speaker 4:

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[[Singing]] Ham o' ham o' of have you heard. [[Pause]] Papa gonna buy you a mocking bird. [[Pause]] If that mocking bird don't sing. [[Pause]] Papa gonna buy you a diamond ring. [[Pause]] If that diamond ring don't shine. [[Pause]] Papa gonna buy you a bottle of wine. [[Pause]] If that bottle of wine get broke. [[Pause]] Papa gonna take it back to the store. [[Pause]] If that store man tell a lie. [[Pause]] Papa gonna punch him dead in the eye.[[Pause]]
Speaker 3: [[Cross talk]]

00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:17.000
Papas is mean.
Speaker 4:

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If the eye turn black and blue. Papa gonna punch the other one too. [[Clapping]]
Speaker 2:

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:41.000
Alight, so you can see the variations of the building upon. Alight, so this is what a youngster would learn, at 8, 10, 11, 12 and you can see the carrot culture [[??]] [[??]]. Alight sir [[??]]
Speaker 4:

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Oh I wasn't really gonna say too much. [[Slight chuckle]]
Speaker 2:

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Aw
Jeff:

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[[Laughing]] Come on now
Speaker 1:

00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:57.000
Uh any more questions out there? I think I saw a couple more hands, out in the audience? [[Pause]] Feet, raise your feet? Wiggle your ears.
Speaker 5:

00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:57.550
Does anyone want to know what this is over here?

00:29:02.000 --> 00:31:48.420
Speaker 1: Question up front. {Background Noise}
Speaker 1: Ok. The question was, does most our stepping routines have words? And yes they do. We like communicate verbally, and with our feets, and with the beats. Just a simple example could be a step we do call the elbow. If you were to go over to the tent at 3:15, you would definitely see us do the elbow. We would elbow some people. Elbow some more people.
Speaker 2: Could you us at least a line or two here, I mean so she can hear what you are saying.
Speaker 3: A line or 2 of the elbow. Demonstration E-man. {laughter} E-man is shy today. Oh his his voice hurts. Common lets do the elbow. [Instruments and beats}. 3, 4, to all you, here come the elbow, here come the funky funky funky elbow. {SPEAKER name=Speaker 3 and 4 singing together} Elbow your mother, Elbow your father, elbow your sister, elbow your brother. Elbow the alfas, Elbow the HMMMMMM, {laughter} because we say something else. We're not the last if you don't like us, then kiss our HMMMMMMM. You wannna pledge, here's what you do, just a letter to GRU FYED GRU...HUH.Then you go back into it.

00:31:55.000 --> 00:32:05.000
Speaker 1: Ok ok explain the tattoos not a tattoo. Okay Joe will explain the brand.
Speaker 2:

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:44.000
Um the branding that um we have you know developed, um well we weren't the first ones to do it. Um branding is more or less an identifier um its a voluntary thing. Some members have them and some member don't. We sort of attach our brotherhood um in terms of some of the tribalism that was back in Africa, and many African tribes had characteristic brandings. You know, markings on their chest and they arms and everything. And you know it sort of passed over to the black fraternal structure.

00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.000
Speaker 3:

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Yea I might add this is only allowed after, Glenn finished the line. Only after you have successfully completed the initiation right, are you allowed to do that, it signifies that one has and it is mark of a right of passage.

00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:38.000
Speaker 4: As you see glen just got branded a couple of days ago, or around a week ago. And its a fresh and it will heal in approximately maybe about 3 weeks. You keep it clean with peroxide and what not and the finished result can either be like mine or it could come out lighter or darker.
Speaker 4: Yes, it does involve fire. Yes it does [[Laughter]].

00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:47.000
Speaker 1: Is there another question? I thought there was another question or do we have a follow up question?

00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:55.000
[[Pause to listen to question]]
Speaker 1: The question is, "Why do you make the brand so large?"

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:58.000
Speaker 2:

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Some guy's are pretty big, I have a very little one in comparison to some of the brothers.[[Laughter]] Some of the brothers down south have G phi G on their arm. You know, I am very conservative as you see. [[Laugh]] I have a smaller one.

00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:38.550
But they vary in size, even in the Greek fraternity you can get them on your leg, you can get them anywhere. Some members have them on their chest, yea brother in the back. Yea that's my line brother Jessie from Philadelphia! Come on in Jess. I pledged with Jessie! Aw he don't wanna come. Alight [[laughs]]

00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:58.000
Speaker 1: Ok. Any more questions? What? Hot dogs?
From Audience: Notes!
Speaker 1: Notes? We don't sing. We don't sing, homes. Any more questions anywhere? Yes?
From Audience: Excuse me.

00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:29.000
Speaker 1: Line sisters? Is that a term used at, uh, at Maryland Eastern Shore? I saw your shirt. Maybe you could come up. Maybe you- come on.
Speaker 2: Yes, go bring her out. Bring her up. [inaudible shouts from audience] Alright, let's give her a hand here.
Speaker 1: Yes. Yes.
Speaker 3: Line sisters.

00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:56.000
Speaker 1: Line sisters? Explain what you mean by line sisters. So everyone will know.
Speaker 3: Um, like the Sigmas have Zetas, which are line sisters.
Speaker 1: Ok. Just turn that up. [laughter] Um, as far as a sister group like the Phi Beta Sigmas, the guys in a Greek fraternity, their sisters would be Zeta Phi Beta and I'm not sure exactly of the others.

00:35:56.000 --> 00:36:28.000
Maybe Alpha Phi Alpha has the AKs. Are the AKs your sisters? And maybe the Omega Psi Phis would be Delta Sigma Theta, right? Ok. Swing Phi Swing is a, is a, is our uh, that was the name of our sister organization, um, right now they're just Swing Incorporated and the actual spelling of the word Swing would uh, would, would give away the meaning right there. Sisters With Interest in Groove. So yes we do have our sister group also. You're welcome.

00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:52.750
Speaker 2: Alright, thank you. Do we have any other questions? He has one right here.
From Audience: Do you have any hand motions or signs or symbols that mean something when you do all this?
Speaker 1: Uh, hand motions when we're stepping? We, we do have various hand motions when we step, uh, we point at people a lot, we elbow people a lot, uh, not a lot but I mean that's just one example. Um

00:36:55.000 --> 00:37:15.000
Glen: I- I'll get to you in a minute [chuckles] uh th-th-there are there are hand symbols, yes, but uh for the most part we just we just like to like to establish the rhythm with with whatever we do first and then any any pointing or anything that comes out of it would you know, would just be extra.

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:22.000
Joe: Yes.
Glenn: In the back. [[background voice]]

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Joe: Do we have any philosophies? or what? [[background voice]]

00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:30.000
Joe: Ok Glen.

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Glenn: I can see um I'm gonna have to go in the back again.

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[[background talking]]

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[[background talking]]

00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:53.000
Woman: Is there any philosophies that you go by?
Glenn: Ok. Oh yeah, ok. Alright the question was do we have any philosophies that we go by as a fellowship besides dancing? Yes, Joe?

00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:58.000
[[background talking]]

00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:10.000
Joe: Um, we have various philosophies that we instill within the members as they come into the organization. Um most of them generally have to deal with brotherhood.

00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:26.000
Joe: We do various things within the pledge, process to get these - the members, very close to each other. We instill a philosophy of unity, of independence alright.

00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:32.000
Joe: But also accepting each member as they are, ok.

00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:45.000
Joe: As far as the organization, we have decided to stay a non-Greek organization because for various reasons um and we you know we like the idea.

00:38:45.000 --> 00:39:24.860
Joe: Our organization was founded by 14 black members in 1962. And what they had decided to get away from the traditional greek system and establish a system that would be, with aligned with the current times in the sixties. And thats how groove got into being. Groove is now one of the largest fellowships, THE largest fellowship in the United States and we're spread out pretty much between Boston all the way out, as far as Texas. And um, we're doing pretty good.

00:39:27.000 --> 00:39:35.000
Speaker 1: There's a thing that you render [?], not only just the brotherhood with each other, but I say with youngsters in the community. In the community type action.

00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.000
Speaker 2: Terry? Jeff? Jeff.

00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:53.000
Jeff: Yes, we do various things for our community. One thing that we do, we're involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Philadelphia and we take on a youngster and become their big brother or big sister. And we also do tutoring services.

00:39:53.000 --> 00:40:09.000
Jeff: One of our things we feel strongly about is bringing the community to the university. Because the two of them have been separated cause the people in the neighborhood feel as though they aren't supposed to mingle within the college.

00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:25.000
Jeff: There's a lot of programs that would benefit them and it will also benefit us by having them there. So, we have political leaders come down campus, we have dance clubs come down campus, and various things. We give talent shows every year.

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:35.000
Jeff: We do have skating [?] parties, but there's also fun things. We give, also, regular parties. We do things that give people fun and education at the same time, hopefully.

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:53.000
Speaker 3: Uh, Jeff mentioned Big Brothers. That's kinda ironic cause I just got back yesterday. I took my little brother to the Phillies game, and I just got finished driving all morning to get back here for you know, for this morning's events.

00:40:53.000 --> 00:41:16.000
Speaker 3: We do a lot of fundraising and things which will involve youth in the community, because they are at the age where they can be influenced. Just today we had a school teacher come up and asked us if we could step at her grade school and we said "sure", cause we do those sorts of things all the time.

00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:29.000
Speaker 3: If kids can look at us and say "Hey, they're in college, they're having fun, they're getting an education and they're still maintaining an identity", then it's something that we feel very good about doing.

00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:38.400
Speaker 3: We don't charge price, you know money, or anything, not always. (Jokingly) But if you'd like to give it to us.

00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:52.000
Speaker 1: Excuse me, go ahead.
Speaker 2: I just said it depended on a situation. We've done community centers, elementary schools, some high schools, so forth.

00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:53.000
Speaker 3: Any more questions? Questions?

00:41:53.000 --> 00:41:56.000
Speaker 1: We have time for one more question.

00:41:56.000 --> 00:42:07.000
Speaker 4: This gotta be a good question. Something hard, something that you don't think I can answer, or think that we can answer, that we can't. Okay, go ahead.

00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:22.000
Member of the Audience: Do you think that stepping is positive for the black community as a whole and how that will benefit the community?

00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:45.000
Speaker 4: Ok, the question was do you think, do we think that stepping is positive for the black community and, as a whole, and how might we benefit or as a community benefit from it. Okay, uh, as you see, just having you here, right now, listening about stepping.

00:42:45.000 --> 00:43:02.000
Speaker 4: I mean if we didn't step but we were just existing as the Fellowship, we may not be right here right now and, you know, talking to you, answering your questions, and you know, having the exposure that we do on the national mall, Smithsonian Institute.

00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:20.000
Speaker 4: I mean, I'm from West Philadelphia and we go to school there and I probably still be there doing a summer job or something. Not just for the black community, I happen to believe stepping helps everybody understand just who we are as people, basically.

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:31.000
Speaker 4: And that we can communicate through different forms, you know, that's just a plus. Stepping, I think, benefits every race, not just black people.

00:43:31.000 --> 00:43:58.000
Speaker 1: Well, I think, I think further it is a cultural imperative, it is much the same as a Irish youngster doing the jig or at the half times of University of North Carolina games or West Virginia and they clog or they step. That, in other words, what they, whether unbeknownst or beknownst to them, what is being reaffirmed is an aesthetic.

00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:18.000
Speaker 1: Is a culturally agreed upon mode of identification and a part of that identity as one being Afro-American is the ability to dance, to move, and what they are doing is affirming that. They are affirming the intricacies of rhythm, they are polyrhytmical.

00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:34.000
Speaker 1: A lot of that steps, I mean they have three, four, five different steps, improvisation, and so in a real sense they are saying that. It's just like Mohammed Ali was champion of the world, but he was loved by his people a bit more because he could rhyme and he could cap and he could talk that smack.

00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:55.000
Speaker 1: Which was something that (unclear)
Speaker 2: Bill Wiggins
Speaker 1: could take care of. Come back at three fifteen, you will see the dastardly Alphas, Kappas, Omegas and Sigmas go down the depths[?]. But we will see you, lets thank the gentlemen again for coming in and talk with us, we'll see you on the entertainment stage.

00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.390
Speaker 4: Three fifteen!
Speaker 1: Three fifteen, Groove Phi Groove.

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[[No Audio]]