Discrimination & Isolation Turned into Artistic Survival & Expression!

Illin n Chillin ongoing review of the struggle and resistance of disabled artists of color

Leroy Moore
Thursday, September 9, 2004;

As a Black poet, researcher, activist, and writer with a disability, I have studied many disabled people of color in history and today and I noticed a common factor in many cases i.e. the treatment they face in our society in the past and now. Many had turned or continued with their arts for expression, to adapted and survival in their harsh situation. Many have found or were force to create their own community, language and techniques of surviving all through the arts. In the last three years I have written on many disabled artists of color in the past and now from painter Hoarse Pippin during WW1 to Hip-hop artist Keith Jones. It is sad to read about the struggles Hoarse Pippin, the first Disabled African American self-taught painter, to know that the same struggles are happening to disabled African American artists today.

A couple of incredible true real life struggles and achievements of disabled artists of color who shares a common story of facing discrimination, segregation but used the artistic path to change their situation, opened up gates for other artists and to reach incredible fame in their field must be told. All the artists that Ill be writing about are in the same medium of the arts and that is music. The main reason why I picked these stories that you are about to read is to showcase the international struggles, commonality and talents we have as Black disabled people and to give written documentation of these experiences in one essay. The four groups of musicians are from USA, Brazil, Jamaica and Africa.

This essay will also create a thread of commonality of Black disabled people around the world. These four groups have changed the face of music from gospel to reggae to world jazz but havent in my view gain the mass recognition that can offer more in writing i.e. books & articles etc. like Elvis, the Beetles and even rapper Emminem. The four are the Blind Boys of Alabama, Israel Vibration of Jamaica, Tribo Da Jah of Brazil, and Amadou & Mariam of Africa. As youll find out three of the four are blind. Israel Vibration is the only group in this essay that has a physical disability; Polio, but all have a common beginning. All were sent to institutions in their countries because of their disability and or poverty. All have found each other in these institutions. And all have found or improved their musical talents in these institutions that formed their early music careers as we know them today.

Most have experienced raw discrimination based on their race and or disability in these institutions, in their early days in the music industry and from the general public. Lets start with our elders, The Blind Boys of Alabama, who grew up around the 1930s. The four original members of the group are blind--singers Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter, George Scott and drummer Eric (Ricky) McKinnie.

From their website, it says that The Blind Boys of Alabama have spread the spirit and energy of pure soul gospel music for over 60 years, ever since the first version of the group formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. They were born into poverty in the rural south of the 1930s. Six boys, all about 7 years old and all blind, arrived there in 1937 with little more than the clothes on their backs. Throughout my research on the early days of the Blind Boys of Alabama Ive found very little on their experiences in the institute. The Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind opened in 1892 but was not integrated until 1968. Separate but equal was the law of the land in the South including Black disabled people who received no services, no or a second class education compared to their White disabled counterparts. To get to know how the Blind Boys of Alabama and other Black blind & deaf people lived and were treated back then I recommend Mary Herring Wrights book, Sounds Like Home: Growing Up Black & Deaf in the South.

The Blind Boys were lucky they were helped by sighted friends to focus on their musical talents and all of them left the institute that offered only a career in broom making to make it as gospel singers. Although there is very little written that I know of about their early days, I can just imagine what they went through as African American, blind, young men down south at that time. I used the book, Brother Ray, written by late Ray Charles to judge what the Blind Boys of Alabama went through in the 1930s down south because Ray Charles went through almost the same treatment. Plus it has been documented from disabled and race scholars that the South had its own why of dealing with Black disabled people. Authors like Steven Noll has written about the treatment of Black disabled people in the south from 1900-1940. Although Noll concentrates on Black people with developmental disabilities, we can use this as a model of how other disabled Black people were treated i.e. the Blind Boys of Alabama at that time. However they did learn how to read Braille and got to practice their singing while attending the institute.

Now, today The Blind Boys of Alabama is on top and are known as the grand dads of gospel music. I still wonder where is their book & movie about their lives? It took Ray Charles almost a decade to find a right market to introduced his ideal about a movie of his life. Can you imagine being Black blind and poor down south in the thirties and to come almost full circle and still be able the kick out albums today? So far I found a video entitled, The Five Blind Boys of Alabama. Im not sure but I think this is a concert video with some interviews and hopeful they talked about those days.

The fathers of reggae started out poor, homeless and were taken advantage of during their early years. They were even shunned by other reggae groups because of their disability. Although there is a lot written on the incredible story of Israel Vibration on the internet, in reggae magazines and in their box CD collection, there is no book about their lives and their struggles and accomplishments as of yet. I recommend reading an article of Dread online entitled RASTAMAN VIBRATION: Israel Vibration by Jason Levy if you really want to get known Israel Vibration. Just like the Blind Boys of Alabama, Israel Vibration, Lancelle Bulgin, Albert Craig and Cecil Spence, known as Skelley, Apple and Wise were separated from their families to be institutionalize for education and to receive what doctors at that time called medical treatment for their disability, Polio. Although the three members that make up Israel Vibration lived in Jamaica, millions and thousands miles away from Alabama, more than their stories of segregation, discrimination and their saving grace, music, has a shockingly common threads that links the two together.

The members of the Blinds Boys of Alabama and Israel Vibration both were born in poverty and parents had to put them in institutions\ boarding school far away from them as their only choice. Both grew up in a time and area that didnt have the services and medical treatment for their disability, down South in the 1930s and in Jamaica in the 1940s where Polio spread through out the land with no cure in sight. Both found each other and discovered their musical talents, both were discriminated in their institutions and both had no choice but to leave and follow their dreams. However the similarities end there. As some of us know the Blind Boys of Alabama had two sighted friends that helped them when they voluntarily left the institution to pursue their music career. While Skelley, Wise and Apple were all kicked out of Monia Rehabilitation Center in Kingstown because of their strong faith in Rasta and their new look with dreadlocks and with no support they became homeless.

Another difference between the Blind Boys of Alabama and Israel Vibration early years is that Skelley, Wise and Apple all were badly abused while they attended Monia Rehabilitation Center. They were not given opportunities like singing in a choir or working on other skills like the Blind Boys of Alabama had back in the US. There are more similaries between the two bands in how they survive those harsh years. The one common thread of all the artists in this essay especially the Blind Boys of Alabama and Israel Vibration is their faith in a higher power. The Blind Boys believed that God brought them together and continues to bring them glory, awards and inner strength. They are wrapped in spirituality and teaching of the Black Christian church. This is the same for Israel Vibration but in another form as Rastafari and of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia along with Jah and the Rastas culture gave them the spiritual and a foundation of support even with their disability. Both also sing about this incredible support that literally saved their lives.

Israel Vibrations story is well known to their fans and in the reggae arena but I wonder if people really understand what they survived and the foundation they created as not only musicians but as Black disabled people being the one of the first all Black physically disabled band. They turned to their gift, music, in the face of physical abuse, poverty, homelessness and segregation. For more on Israel Vibration buy their video and DVD, Israel Vibration Reggae in the Holyland, that has interviews and concert footage. They even talk about their early days in Monia Rehabilitation Center and how they dealt with their disability.

To stay on this reggae vibe and travel to Brazil well find a similarly story as the ones above. I was recently drawn to the story and music of a Brazilian roots reggae group, Tribo da Jah. From their wesite it says that The Tribo of Jah is composed by Fauzi Beydoun, Zi Orlando, Achiles Rabelo, Joco Rodrigues, Neto and Frazco. But for Fauzi, all the others are blind Even Fauzi has said in many interviews that he is partially blind. Reggae in Brazil have deep roots which many say started to grow in Sco Luis a town in the state of Maranhao that is why its called the capital of Brazilian reggae. This was where Maranhco School for the Blind is located and where the five members who make up Tribo da Jah met. Like The Israel Vibration all the members of Tribo da Jah, came from separate families that were poor and had no choice but to send their sons to this school far away from home for education and medical support.

The beginnings and growth of Tribo da Jah have commonalties of the Blind Boys of Alabama & Israel Vibration. Like the Blind Boys and Israel Vibration, the five members met in the school for the blind\disabled in Maranhco and shared like the above artists difficulties and discrimination in their early days. However like the Blind Boys of Alabama, Tribo da Jah was eagred, supported by a soon to be close friend and lead singer of Tribo da Jah, Fauzi Beydoun. It was reported that he really adopted these youngsters with a vision of forming a band. On Tribo da Jahs website Fauzi Beydoun wrote that "they were poor kids, and were awoken to music improvising toy instruments before they started to play in school parties. He bought the instruments and hired the boys to create a band what we now know today as Tribo da Jah.

So far in my research there is very little details of their experiences at the board school for the blind. The members of Tribo da Jah passed their time making, playing instruments and singing and like Blind Boys and Israel Vibration, the members of Tribo da Jah left the school to focus on their music. The common thread continues to sew all these musicians together i.e. their music, their strong religious beliefs and their social political messages in their songs. Although Tribo da Jahs thread has kept them together for more than ten years, it was hard in the beginning because nobody liked their instruments that the band members made by hand themselves in their school. Also many didn't like their new style of reggea that is now known as Brazilian Roots Reggae. Through all these years the band has remain an independent group with their birth of roots reggae that was over shadow in the past by Jamaican style of reggae.

Once again we see a common story amongst the artists which is some times but not often though an environment that can seem to be a form of segregation among the general public can also be a garden of creativity, artistic growth & expression. Although instruments making day in and day out might seemed boring after a while, it did set the stage of their success in the Brazilian reggae industry and beyond. Like all the musicians I mentioned Tribo da Jah left the school to pursue their career. As of now, there is very little written information in a form of a book that is out there on Tribo da Jah. However you can check their DVD entitled Tribe of Jah - Tribe of Jah - to the Living creature 15 Years which has interviews and live concert footage.

I cant see no better way to end this essay with a story of relationship, love and of course the power of music. Im talking about the talented blind married couple from Bamako, Mali, Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia. I found many articles on the internet about this incredible love affair and their extraordinary musical talents. Unlike The Blind Boys of Alabama, Israel Vibration and Tribo da Jah, Amadou & Marian found and crafted their talents before they attended the Institute for the Young Blind of Mali in the 50 and 60s. Another difference that Amadou & Mariam have compared to the above artists is that both have been apart of other bands before they decided to make their career together.

Just like Skelly, Apple and Wise of Israel Vibration Amadou wasnt born with his disability. He contracted at an early age that qualified him to attend the Institute for the Young Blind of Mali where Mariam was a rising star for her vocal and songwriting talents. Her first song she wrote translates to What Did I Do God to Deserve This? The title of this song brings up a lot of question for me. Is she talking about her disability, or her schooling or is it bigger to discuss her country etc? So in this situation the Institute was the place that nurture this early love affair, respect and what led into the first blind couple to step in the international music industry. Like the other musicians in this essay, Amadou & Mariam bonded through their music and past the time practicing their art. Like the musicians that make up Tribo da Jah who were also gifted in playing instruments, Amadou is not only a vocalist, he is also a plays an instrument, guitar.

As you have or will read, all was not rosy for Amadou & Mariam. Living under a military dictatorship was hard to find opportunities to grow as artists singing in their own countrys language. Being blind their parents and others did not approve of their relationship at first that led to marriage and three children. This and the urge to blossom their talents internationally made them to decide to move and leave their country to live in the Ivory Coast and Paris but like James Baldwin, Amadou & Mariam returned to their home after they reached international fame. It seemed like Amadou & Mariam had their own way of seeing, hearing and living their lives and perfecting their career from the beginning. From early on they were influenced and experiment with the pop of the Seventies, electric blues, reggae, Cuba and played a key role in what is Malian music today. As the common thread continues Amadou & Mariams music has socially and spiritual message to their people of Mali.

Like Ive been saying all along there is very small amount of written material out there on these artists including Amadou Bagayoko & Mariam Doumbia in a book form or even articles. I can say that all these true stories of: disability, struggle, discrimination, artistic expression, finding each other in an environment that separated them from their families and friends to change the face and sounds of the music industry in their own countries is an attractive story for an explosive book. Wow, disabled people of color, we have so much strength, beauty, talents and stories that need to be displayed and told. There are many more disabled people of color in all arenas of life that have similar stories that have grown to share their talents and have changed their societies. I realized that institutionalizing and segregation of anybody is not the way to encourage any kind of growth but the above stories should remind us today, Black disabled people and other people of color with disabilities, that we have a history of struggle that led to incredible achievements. As a Black disabled artist these stories are more than encouragement its my history that needs to be acknowledge and shared in our communities, institutions and in the publishing arena!!