author Zora Neale Hurston
Beverley Harry is the Historical consultant on #BlackLivesMatter. During rehearsals for the show she was asked about the some of the works that most inspired her.
What are your favourite or most inspiring political music tracks and tell us why?
Ol' Man River sung by Paul Robeson – is one of the most thought-provoking tracks because you are submerged in the beauty of Robeson’s rendition whilst the relationship between the Mississippi river and the suffering of black people wrenches at my soul.
What’s Going On Marvin Gaye. The phrase "what’s going on" prefixes the thoughts of so many for so many issues. At the revelation of yet another atrocity or tragic incident, I say, in the immortal words of Marvin Gaye,
You know we've got to find a way, To bring some lovin' here today.
Do any books or films inspire you?
Wow…too many to cite
The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois. First real sociological essay on race I read that made me think.
Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by bell hooks where she talks of growing up in a racially segregated America was an eye-opener and it was the first book I read from an entirely female perspective.
Roots…enough said!
Which Black heroes, historical and current do you look up to and why?
I admire and am indebted to the artists from the Harlem Renaissance. Words cannot express how I feel about the sacrifices they made to create such a rich legacy of dance, theatre, poetry and literature:
These include Langston Hughes (author), Zora Neale Hurston (author), Aaron Douglas (visual artist), W. E. B. Du Bois (intellectual, activist, author), Duke Ellington (musician), Claude McKay (author), Marcus Garvey (activist) and Josephine Baker (entertainer) to name a few.
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What are your favourite or most inspiring political music tracks and tell us why?
Ol' Man River sung by Paul Robeson – is one of the most thought-provoking tracks because you are submerged in the beauty of Robeson’s rendition whilst the relationship between the Mississippi river and the suffering of black people wrenches at my soul.
What’s Going On Marvin Gaye. The phrase "what’s going on" prefixes the thoughts of so many for so many issues. At the revelation of yet another atrocity or tragic incident, I say, in the immortal words of Marvin Gaye,
You know we've got to find a way, To bring some lovin' here today.
Do any books or films inspire you?
Wow…too many to cite
The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois. First real sociological essay on race I read that made me think.
Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by bell hooks where she talks of growing up in a racially segregated America was an eye-opener and it was the first book I read from an entirely female perspective.
Roots…enough said!
Which Black heroes, historical and current do you look up to and why?
I admire and am indebted to the artists from the Harlem Renaissance. Words cannot express how I feel about the sacrifices they made to create such a rich legacy of dance, theatre, poetry and literature:
These include Langston Hughes (author), Zora Neale Hurston (author), Aaron Douglas (visual artist), W. E. B. Du Bois (intellectual, activist, author), Duke Ellington (musician), Claude McKay (author), Marcus Garvey (activist) and Josephine Baker (entertainer) to name a few.
.
