Did You Know?
Modern Form of Surrealism
By Jaime Manuel
'\^^LLIAM L. STILL, bom in 1821 was the
youngest of 18 children bom to Levin and Sidney
Steel. William spent most of his younger years
working on his father’s farm in New Jersey. He
left New Jersey in 1844 and eventually settled in
Philadelphia. When Still arrived in Philadelphia he
was an illiterate farm boy. Within three years he
had taught himself to read and write. In 1847, he
married Letitia George, who made him a proud
father of four children. The same year. Still landed
a job as a clerk eith the Pennslyvania Anti-Slavery
Society. Still immediately became involved in the
broader activities of the Anti-Slavery Society. As a
result of the Fugitive Slave Act, Philadelphia’s
White Abolitionist community organized a
Vigilance Committee. The committee assisted the
increasingly large numbers of fugitive slaves who
were passing through Philadelphia. Still was
named chairman of the committee.
William Lloyd Still was one of the
Underground Railroad’s most remarkable conduc
tors. Under the threat of severe penalty if he was
caught. Still heroically assisted 649 Black men,
women, and children in their journey from slavery
to freedom. He published The Underground
Railroad in 1872 which was a record of the life and
death struggles of hundreds of runaway slaves. The
book provides the best and most accurate documen
tation of the Underground Railroad.
After the Civil War, Still devoted his time
to combating racism and discrimination. His
efforts had begun as early as 1859, when he started
a campaign to stop racial discrimination on
Philadelphia’s railroad cars by exposing the prac
tice in the press. In 1861, he helped orgamze
social, civil, and statistical association to collect
and preserve information about Black Americans.
Later in life, William Still became active
in philantropic cind business efforts. In 1880, he
organized one of the first YMCAs for Black youth;
served on the Freedman’s Aid Commission; and as
a result of his success as a businessman, became a
member of the Philadelphia Board of Trade. Still s
success in business resulted from a thnving stove
and coal business which he established during the
Civil War.
After a long and prosperous life, William
Still died in Philadelphia in 1902, at the age of
eighty-one.
By Tiffany Black
Hip-Hop is the modem form of surrealism for the younger generation
based on the lecture of Dr. Robin D. G. Kelley, author of the 1997 essay
collection “Yo’ Mama’s Disfunktional! Fighting the Culture Wars in
Urban America.” Dr. Kelley is a Professor of History and Africana
Studies at New York University. His lecture was the kick-off lecture in
the Black Cultural Center’s Blacks in the Diaspora Lecture Series.
“It’s always night or we wouldn’t need light,” a quote from
Thelonius Monk and the inspiration for Dr. Kelley’s lecture entitled “It’s
Always Night; Surrealism in the Black Worid.” The night represents a
time of pleasure but to our ancestors night meant danger as they escaped
the night riders and the terror that night time brought.
Surrealism was a political movement. The impact of surrealism
as a body of thought on modem black culture is that it bridges the gap
between our dreams and our actions. “Surrealism is freedom, revolt,
imagination,” says Dr. Kelley. “Sexuality can be seen as revolt by a surre
alist.” Black music is an example of surrelism in history and content.
Surrealism has lived in black music since 1910. However, the
first mention of surrealist thought in black music was in 1929 and black
music was labeled dangerous due to it’s bewitching lyrics and uncharac
teristic melodies to the time period. In 1932, “Hot Jazz” was identified as
the first surrealist music. Jazz and freedom go hand in hand. A chord can
be added or taken away and it all adds to the flavor of jazz music and
exemplifies the freedom jazz music allows.
Black music, including Hip-Hop, R&B, Blues and Jazz as we
know it today are the modem forms of surrealism. It is present particu-
laryly in rap. Hip-Hop is a reflection of the elements of black life that are
both light and dark, good and bad. Black music artists “see things you
can’t possibly imagine, see body images that don’t exist.” A good exam
ple of this is R. Kelly. Only R. Kelly could relate a jeep to a female and
capture the magical quality of sexuality.
The Blacks in the Diaspora Lecture series is dedicated to serious
academic investigation of the struggles and triumphs of people of African
descent. The next lecturer in the series is Dr. Steding Stuckey as he pre
sents “Paul Robeson’s Impact on the Carribean.” The lecture will be
Monday, February 15, 1999, at the Tate-Tumer-Kuralt Building.j^
Black Ink
Advertisement Fees
Business Pnce/StudenVNon-profit org.
1/8 Page $^2.50/$10.00
1/4 $25.00/520.00
1/2 Page $50.00/$40.00
1 Page $100.00/$85.00
For more information, contact Erica Smiley, business editor, at
smiley @ email, unc. edu
The Black Ink
17