Kwadjo Boaitey

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Arkansas got some Sooouuuul Trrraaiiin!

In Uncategorized on January 21, 2011 at 3:12 am

QUESTION: Hey Plainclothesman, I’m told you’d do your best to find the answer on all things Arkansas.  Someone, who will remain nameless, told me that the voice of Soul Train (the Sooouuul Trrraaain intro voice) is a man from Arkansas.  Anything is possible, but this person, who will remain nameless, couldn’t back it up.  Tell me is this True or False?                         Thanks, Man from out of town

SCUTTLEBUTT: MFOOT, did you give yourself that name or is that how you’re perpetually referred to?  I can relate.  I had always wanted to go horseback riding and for my birthday a few years ago Mrs. Plainclothesman treated me to a trail ride in the North Georgia mountains.  I believe my horse was called Samson and he had a flatulence problem so the horses (and riders) behind him had a lot to overcome.  Anyway our guides kept saying to me “you’re not from around here,” and before long I was affectionately referred to as “the man from out of town.”

Thinking on it now reminds me of the John Sayles flick, “The Brother from another planet.”  It’s a cult classic.

The brother is an alien who touches down on earth by way of New York City.  He can’t talk (speak verbally) but the film is an allegory for the immigrant experience.  It was nominated for Sundance Grand Jury Prize.

I must say digging up information on Soul Train was an absolute delight.  Soul Train was an international phenomenon.  The music, vibe, expression was unmatched.  Everyone from Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Al Greene, The Ojay’s, The Average White Band appeared on Soul Train.  Soul Train was the epitome of cool and for the 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s qualified soul music.  The Soul Train dancers were hip and always on the cutting edge and for a generation the show evoked the heart of blackness.

To get the answer and more go to the plainclothesman blog at The Sync Weekly.  Enjoy!

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Race and what truly matters

In Published Articles, Spirituality on September 21, 2010 at 6:17 pm

I had the great opportunity to write this piece for the Christian Science Monitor. It was published today. Here’s an excerpt. Enjoy

A recent Monitor feature considers racial progress in the United States. Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Monitor, wrote this about measuring progress: “To ascertain our progress, we must learn where our affections are placed and whom we acknowledge and obey as God” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p.239).

Ten years ago I found myself parked on the side of the road, pacing up and down a stretch of sidewalk, wrestling with that fundamental fact of progress, asking, “Where are my affections placed and whom do I acknowledge and obey as God?”

I had relocated to Atlanta from New York City, and on this particular morning was to be received as a new member of a dedicated and loving church of Christian Scientists.

As I headed to church that morning, I was blindsided by an overwhelming sense of dread and fear. I was suddenly asking myself if I could honestly be an active member in a congregation that looked nothing like me. I am black and the congregation was predominantly white.

Click here to read the entire piece.

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No, I meant to say Big Rock, Arkansas

In Uncategorized on July 16, 2010 at 3:27 am

QUESTION: I am fairly new to Little Rock. I have lived here for a couple of years now. My parents were visiting from Massachusetts and while driving along Rebsamen Park Road Dad pointed out what he called a gorge in the Arkansas River. We couldn’t quite see the river from where we were sitting (in my car) but because I wasn’t aware of a gorge on the Arkansas River as it passed through Little Rock, I asked him, Mom, my two brothers and sister to provide alternate explanations for what we saw. Now, what we saw was a rather large outcropping of rock that looked almost like a canyon wall on the North Little Rock side of the river. It’s stunning. What is it? Thanks Zeb.

SCUTTLEBUTT: According to Little Rock photographer, Brian Cormack the story goes something like this: “The Big Rock was noticed by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe in 1722, who called the hill “Le Rocher Français” or “French Rock.”  Le Harpe is also the guy who called a nearby smaller outcrop along the Arkansas River “little rock,” a name that stuck around….when the French explorers were sailing up the Arkansas River, Native Americans [Quapaws] told them of a massive green rock along the river…the explorers thought that it must be a massive jewel-encrusted rock…the large green rock they had been dreaming about was just a bluff with trees on it.”

SKINNY: Zeb, thank you for the question. I know the spot where you and your family were on Rebsamen Park Road. You were heading east past the Rebsamen Golf Course and just before Rebsamen becomes Riverfront Drive there it is that great wall of rock on the North Little Rock side of the river…..

For more on Big Rock, Arkansas check out The Plainclothesman at Sync Weekly.

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