No More, No More

Listening to "No More Auction Block" on spotify this morning got the blood flowing again. Versions of the song by Bob Dylan, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Paul Robeson, Ella Jenkins, Odetta, Pete Seeger, The Harvesters, Frantz Cialec, and others stirred my soul, especially Dylan's and Odetta's. That reminded me of a stirring several months back when the muse was active, to put words to that marvelous old tune that would chronicle in some ways the stories of black farmers.

On these pages and in thousands and thousands of other pages the stories have been told.  To the white farmer goes the advantages, and especially to the large corporate farmer, and goodbye to the small family farm, and more so to the black-owned family farm.

Here is Robeson's version:



Here are Waymon's words reflecting upon the plight of the black farmer. These words are copyrighted to me, but feel free to sing them.  Sing them loud and sing them with feeling.

No more sleepless  nights for me,

            No more, no more
No more sleepless nights for me,
            Many thousands gone.

No more wonderin’ when for me,

            No more, no more
No more wonderin’ when for me,
            Many thousands gone.

No more govm’t threats to me,

            No more, no more
No more govm’t threats to me,
            Many thousands gone.

No more idle fields for me,

            No more, no more
No more idle fields for me,
            Many thousands gone.

No more courthouse steps for me,

            No more, no more
No more courthouse steps for me,
            Many thousands gone.

No more land loss tales for me,

            No more, no more
No more land loss tales for me,
            Many thousands gone.

No more hangin’ from a tree,
            No more, no more
No more hangin’ from a tree,
            Many thousands gone.

No more empty promises for me,

            No more, no more
No more empty promises for me,
            Many thousands gone.

No more IRS duns for me,

            No more, no more
No more IRS duns for me
            Many thousands gone.

No more injustices done to me,
            No more, no more
No more injustices done to me,
            Many thousands gone.

No more courthouse steps for me,

            No more, no more
No more courthouse steps for me,
            Many thousands gone.

Things to ponder. Many things to ponder.

Satchel Paige: Graphic Novel

There are several comic book readers in my family. Comics got me onto the path of reading.  My youngest son gifted me recently with a 1955 Classic comic about Davy Crockett.  It brought back a lot of memories.  Those were the days of Archie,  Batman and Robin, the Green Lantern, and Superman.  In my personal collection are the Book of Genesis Illustrated, word for word from the King James text, and Miller's Holy Terror, and a couple of others, along with a few others.   Rumor has it that justice oriented graphic comics are here somewhere, gifts of my oldest son, but I can't find them.  Maybe they've been misplaced in our moves over the last few years.

While my sons and grandsons still read and collect those comics, my reading interests have changed.  I enjoy keeping up with the old favorites via them. My interests lean toward social justice themes.  One overlap popped up recently.

Satchel Paige:  Striking Out Jim Crow, written by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso with an introduction by Gerald Early, and published by The Center for Cartoon Studies, is a wonderful graphic novel.  Written through the lense of Emmet Wilson, sharecropper and former baseball player, the story gives the historical background of farming while black on someone else's land and how it was simply another version of slavery and the plantation days.  It was dangerous to speak out against the white landowners. You might wind up wounded or dead.  Ask Mr. Wilson.

Against this story of pain, suffering, and humiliation arises Satchel Paige, one of the most notable players from the Negro Leagues, a rookie for the Cleveland Indians in `1942, and an inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.  His story is remarkable.  He helped change history. Though he came across as the consummate showman, he was a serious and gifted athlete.

I'll not rob you of the pleasure of reading the entire book.  I hope you'll purchase it and read it to the children so that our future can be different from our past.  One quote though. Long after Emmet had retired from baseball due to an injury, and during the hard days of working the land, he also had a son,  Emmet, Jr. One day he pulls out a souvenir from his baseball days, the day he got a hit off Satchel and got an autographed baseball from him.  As he gave the ball to his son, he said, "For the first time, I told Emmet, Jr. the story of how his daddy went head-to-head with Satchel Paige. And unlike them Tuckwilla boys, his daddy came out on top. For the first time since I played ball, since Emmet, Jr. was a baby, I felt somethin' on the inside. I remembered the type of man I am. I gave Emmet, Jr. that ball....I hope it reminds him of who he can be."

Here are some links.  Here is the book.  Here is a review of the book.  Here is the official Satchel Paige web page.