WGBH Journal; Director Of Paul Robeson Center For Humanities in Washington, D.C., Black Jazz Musicians, Ben Vereen, Louis Lyons

Good afternoon and welcome to deviate from Journal. I'm Bill governor. Last week we mentioned that May is arts month for National Public Radio stations throughout the country. And we at WGBH are continuing to recognize the arts in our programming. Today's edition of GBH Journal features several interviews with people involved in the arts. Jay Williams director of the Paul Robeson Center for the Humanities in Washington D.C.. Hubert laws and Bobby Humphrey jazz musicians. And singer actor Ben very mean. To close the show lines will comment on the news. I would say that if one believed in the idea go to what if one was looking to make a dollar. I would think two or three times about it before one makes that initial step. But I think Black Theatre. Is a vital. Necessity in this community at all to be subsidised or to be supported by the general community.

That's Jay Williams advice to Black Theatre entrepreneurs. He is executive producer director of the Paul Robeson Center for the Humanities in Washington DC. Has been there for four years and he spoke with Frank Ballard about the problems of black theatre. There are some problems of course with. With this enterprise as well as with most Black Enterprise's the lack of available funding realistic funding. Which is what enables the organization to carry on its program its mandate provide qualitative dramatic productions on a continuing basis with a professional capability. No theatre black or white polka dot or whatever whatever color can rely upon box all the support it must have that kind of cat subsidization from the public and private sectors in terms of industry in terms of the federal government or local government. But it has to be a combination of funding proposals and subsidization which will make an

organisation fly and sort itself on its own. And so you need an audience you need someone to play till lead you have a largely white audience and what. We have had a cross section of representation from all walks of life middle income poor people white black Chicano Russian German French accent or an Asian. I think they've had a worthwhile experience. They keep coming back. They want to be on the mailing list etc. so I see that as a as a sign that there's a there's a concern there's a new appreciation for the kinds of programs that we proposed to present to the general community here. For example when we did in a city last year in a city because the ropes and center $15000 to produce the cast of 20 in a theater we trolled around two hundred twenty people and the top ticket price at the time was $8. We had people coming into the center of it it was a $5 a one of the three if they were $3 a one of the two of

us it was $2 and it would let me if I don't have it is that kind of mentality that. A lot of Black Enterprise I suppose experience because a lot of people have this welfare mentality. If this production was playing at the Kennedy Center which was take as 12 to your paypal 50 not saying that can I get a discount. Maybe not a $10 off. There seems to be that kind of mentality which is prevalent I suppose among some minority groups when it comes to putting up the money for minority productions or efforts. Historically black so it is new to the theater because for a long time they were segregated against as was the theater and the lifestyle that goes along here the street black and that he has to cut corners here in the air and make deals do you think this is carried over into the theater and the new art style Street Black has never supported an artistic endeavor in terms of terms of theater in terms of music dance art exhibits art programs street

blacks is not the audience that is attracted. Yes it was at the Kennedy Center to see in the mighty gens. And I saw a substantial amount of blacks going to see the production and to get timely 11:50 I saw no one school thing about paying out $11 for the sense that women coming out there stole furs on and the long gowns and nice we and whatnot and the high heels and the bags and holding the hands of the husbands etc.. And people come to this sort of thing and they have this thing in terms I want something for nothing. Why is it that black people will go to the Kennedy Center and pay 11:50. But yet would not come to a place like the nerves in the center of the D.C. Black rep. All of the community players. What is the problem there why would they go there and it's it's it's the thing about the thing to do thing we're the place to be. It's nice to be seen I went to the Kennedy Center last night. It's nice conversational piece. I went to the kind of a set and I saw the mighty Jenn's Oh I saw the bush about I saw this that

the other the Kennedy Center but when you say I saw a production called inner city the ropes and that are despite the fact that have had received rave notices from established critics in the community you know many people say well I went to the ropes and sent it out about a lot but I'm saying also that that there has to be there's talk about that educational process. And that re-education process you know when you had that black middle class who want to be assimilated into the mainstream of the American life. They want to be accepted they want to be part of that. That middle middle class society and they will do those middle class things in terms of going to the candidates and all the National Portrait Gallery or sports only institution that which is part and parcel of white America. Is that a bad thing that people want to better themselves or what better English than oneself. In one context is one thing and if one is losing one's identity is something else. We must begin to support our own cultural arts institutions at the community level at the professional level and at the college level. We must be

able to support our own culture laws and solutions and then we can go out into the to the other areas and and support those efforts. When you're talking about middle class blacks who prefer to go to the Kennedy Center and you talked about re-education not is when you go about reeducating people who are doctors lawyers exam train saying that they have to come down to the rub say you know the DC Black ramp or some other local theater that is a time consuming process and I think it's perhaps it's a sensitivity. Sensitivity training session or we must be about the business of canvassing for those individuals who can go out even further and bring back those individuals to see positive cultural arts efforts we need to be supported by the local black community that we're not looking for something to happen overnight. It's a time consuming effort and it's an effort of raising one's consciousness of being sensitive to the particular needs of a given

community and particularly in this instance the black community. Jazz musician. Bobby Humphrey have a lot in common. They are both natives of Texas. They are musicians signed with the same record company and they both played the flute. They are the similarities because their approach to music it's fundamentally different.

Music of rock. And even classical concepts. There's a lot of music that's associated with the flute in the classical repertoire. So I use some of the music that I learned with enough lessons and also playing in in some of the symphony orchestras. But the music in its totality has always been the spontaneity of thought and composition. The music the Hubert laws has also been a family affair. His latest album release they had with ballons was produced by his brother Ronnie and his sister Debbie as a featured vocalist. The music reflects a variety of themes but the characteristic that stands out on the side too. In contrast a virtue also Hubert laws the effervescent Bobby

Humphrey. I've always considered myself a contemporary artist more than to use a term jazz as a contemporary and that I'm doing following the trends of what's currently happening in music. My new album is untitled and it's just that I want to go beyond categorization. I have some elements of R&B there even some tunes where ARE thing on the album. Stevie Wonder played a solo on a single homemade jam and it's a funky type of disco. Was Hugh good laws one of the people you sought to emulate when you started your career back.

Well I did like I played. I will play that much. You know I listened to he would when I was in high school and I was just taken by the technical facility that he had and control of the instrument that I took two days out of school and college and I came all the way up to New York to meet he would own the book. And I said I'm here. And you know he showed me a lot of corners you know and I said that I was going to come back you know to New York and I came back and you mentioned contemporary and what is happening now. Do you feel that the audience is control or determine what an artist puts out today or is there still the artist who does what he wants and waits for the people to respond to it.

If if an artist is interested in communicating with the audience he's naturally going to be influenced by what the audience wants. I'm interested in and entertaining and I'm definitely conscious of what what what's current and what it is are people going to be going to want to hear. But I try to maintain a certain amount of musical integrity along with that and we try to establish some kind of common ground and so that the persons listening can relate to it. And also I can feel happy in presenting what it is that I play for them. I agree with what he would have said. You can not only just regard the aesthetic elements in music because if you're going to be involved in it as a business you cannot ignore your market. And if you aren't that creative you can be creative on any type of piece. Are professional musicians threatened by the advancing technology the instruments that can do everything almost.

Oh I don't think so we live in a somewhat chaotic kind of society and sometimes a lot of stresses and I think it's reflected somewhere in the music too in the instruments that I use nowadays. I think we're compatible with being able to express those. These these extreme emotions and feelings like for instance I was thinking of one record that Bobby did. It was hard to move the driver heard a lot of sirens and stuff like that. This is typical of New York. I think the instruments electronic instruments have their place. I don't think they replace acoustic instruments. I just simply I think it's an addition. And when it when it's an addition it adds to the variety and the appreciation that could be ahead of the music. Then very recently become a well-known man. Performed on Broadway and

off it has appeared many times on late night TV and played Chicken George in Alex Haley's Roots. He's hoping to get back to Broadway son and friend Bill Blackton caught up with him in Los Angeles like a mask for him about the source of his energy. I meditate I pray I have a philosophy so I believe I'm an instrument of the Master as we all are instruments of God. And once we realize that he has a divine power to work through us and we get ourselves out of the way God can can live within him do his thing you see and I'm always grateful and very glad that I'm able to be in that. Realm of light to a performer entertainer doing what you enjoy doing in your life with your life and having the time to do it. So that's where that energy is about a great deal of joy and celebration. It's Christ performing. Do you speak to groups of people about religion

about your beliefs. I perform that's my ministry and that's the thing that I enjoy doing. Time I was like six or seven. My godmother Mrs. Mary was married to revenue. He used to visit me in church singing and but it was it was more infectious with me I had a desire to be out there all the time. Once I started singing and got into singing the songs and the feeling and the oneness with the music I got carried away and I became like a disease. The point where I could get to a church to sing I'd sing on the corner I think down the middle of the street. I still do. When you were young would you want to be like. Particular emulated particular to many people I admired

Floyd Patterson Sugar Ray Robinson Sammy Davis Jr. Nipsey Russell Godfrey Cambridge. I mean I admire all these great people that were you know Martin Luther King the Kennedys all these people were affected my life in some way admire them or inspired by them to the fact of their intellect and their capability of doing what they would do you know the Goddess and the you know their mission in life whatever that may be and their determination through the struggle of what we had to come to in order to obtain what we have now and where we're going to. It took a lot of black person in America to still stand up and say you know we're here together and this universe is going to melt away if we don't come together. Does it make you uncomfortable to be labeled a black performers or just a performer. Yeah I went through a thing about that

because I'm breaking labels. I'm a black man so I'm going to I'm going to be black theater no matter what I do and I do if I do Shakespeare or I do do I do if I do it no matter what I do I'm a black man. But I don't have to. Limit me to Roosevelt you know just doing you know I have my scope is much much wider than I'm an active black man first actor second allow my art to be because they have you get there I can work from there. You say cultural or cultural I can work from that base because you deal with the culture of a people you can't help but deal with the society like what was going down with the people at that particular time. I can deal with that. But when you label it well he only does

black movies of black roles black actors should only do black roles. He's not light and he's too dark or you know his eyes are too slanted her hairs to see what the actor can do is really down. One question about roots. What was that experience like for you. It was the experience of being an actor or something. It was it was it had its moments great moments and. Kind of to a way to get a look at it. At a distance as it was have pulled myself out of it really had to pull myself out of the role and get out of to get into that I'll do whatever role I do know. I try and get involved in the character allow them to live through me coming out of it was quite a number because throwing oneself into slavery is not the

easiest thing in the world. You know I don't change the circles around my neck and chains. If somebody offered you a project now that had something like King. Something that had to do with a specific historical figure or reaction would you be scared of getting into that kind of project. Depp that has where I could take it as an actor. Not afraid of black Rolls at all. What would Ben Vereen like to be known as Do you have any particular. Favorite singing dancing acting writing producing. Whatever friend. Friend everything. That's what I do with my with my with my life and how I'll minister to the people.

And now with his commentary on the new series Louie line's politics has become vivid enough the last few days to compete with the progress of the Red Sox and the late emergence of spring. President Carter his fortunes and reverts to the populism of his native Georgia in his grandfather's day to attack the organization of lawyers and doctors as chalks on the wheels of progress. In Massachusetts the Republican convention applaud Senator Dole and booed Senator Breaux. Their only public figure to hold office above the rank of legislator they endorsed for governor the candidate closest to the views of

Senator Dole. Get the government out of our lives off our backs out of our wallets. Is the slogan of the successful candidate Edward f king. They passed over the progressive sheriff of Middlesex County and their party's leader in the master's house. These two split the so-called moderate Republican vote against a conservative king. If both contest a nomination in the September primary they will spread it again because the primary is something else. The party's grassroots as against the insiders the political pros of the convention to most voters a convention of either party presents a riddle. So who are these insiders and how did they get their chosen a long time in advance while most attention is diverted elsewhere. The convention consider themselves the realists of their party but their performance looks on realistic. A third of them withheld indorsement from Senator Brooke

even though they put up no other choice against him. But Brooke is the only high ranked politician to win election in this Democratic state in this decade. He's in the tradition of all the successful Massachusetts Republican since salt install her to a large vote sergeant who carried the state when the partisan ideologues were snowed under. These Republicans who won in Massachusetts never identified themselves with the Taft Dewey Goldwater Nixon philosophies. Rather they accepted the local condition adapted to it. Swam with the tide instead of against it. And when they won provided a bipartisan aspect to state government without turning it inside out. But if tradition holds that hard times are hard on the ends. Then Senator Brooke as an incumbent may share that handicap with a national Democrat. This book's advantage in the election is the near vacuum on the Democratic ticket without a candidate to elect the Democratic regulars seem to shy away from a

contest with Brooke. It's reported that Ruth Morgan thought may be persuaded to leave her a United Nations delegate post to run her handicap as illustrated today in The New York Times that thinks her name is Eleanor but the only name the Democrats know for sure is Kennedy of all President Carter's tribulations the one with the most thing must have been the Gallup poll published yesterday that shows more Democrats want Kennedy as their presidential candidate in 1980 than Condit 30 percent more. This though Kennedy continues to insist he's not a candidate and has obviously shown no sign of it and offsetting relief to the president maybe the Governor Brown of California who has been running all the time has persuaded only 12 percent of Democrats and none Alicia was that much. The one campaign that may have most of the president and his rating is that Israel's Begin who is now leaving after exerting a larger impact on American politics the past week than any native politician.

Jimmy Carter has been losing his logic contest with inflation and so we all have his calling doctors and lawyers relates to this problem. His inflation fighter Robert Strauss picked up the issue yesterday and on national television described medical costs and lawyers fees as the most inflated burdens on the economy. This may help account for the continued national interest in Senator Kennedy. His national health program has failed to win priority of the Carter administration. Now that employment is rising half a million more jobs last month. The administration's energy will be released for more effective efforts against inflation before it races out of control. One Direction Strauss aims at his medical cost. The problem of the Democrats is that they have accepted responsibility for the economy to make it work when it proves unworkable they are in a bind. The Republicans take them on the left alone to right itself. He even if it takes a decade or two.

The Texas primaries yesterday suggest change in that free wheeling state where Democrats have had to look interchangeable with Republicans. John Connelly the prizing prime specimen. But the Democratic primary defeated Governor Briscoe whose philosophy is keep government out of our lives. To nominate their Attorney General John Hill who wants the state to put more money into its school system. Hill called Briscoe a do nothing governor and said he finds the voters becoming more demanding of government. How broad actions of the South African and the Rhodesian governments look equally in explicable South Africa had just accepted the United Nations plan for elections in Namibia when it delivered a destructive attack on Angola. This brought your nan a much un denunciation and swap out canceled negotiations. The excuse given by the voice to government was to wipe out a guerrilla base. But the more general view of Brawn is that foster needed to appease his right wing critics who were outraged at independence for

Rich. Now maybe by demonstrating military control in Rhodesia last week's crisis over the whole of aphasia dissolves into domestic politicking after threatening to detach his major party from the transition government Bishop switches to an attack on the chicanery his words of the other two black members. He challenges with joining in Smith in firing Hove who was his appointee. Behind my back he said skeptical correspondents say the bishop content the whole the issue against the other two black parties for the election to follow the translation. For Monday the AIDS day of May 1978 that's GBH Journal regional news

magazine heard Monday through Friday at 4:30. Producer editor for The Journal is Marcia Hertz today's engineer Michael Garrison And I'm Bill cavernous. Have a modestly made marvelous Monday.