WIADCA preps for virtual event
Caribbean Life, July 17-23, 2020 29
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Life, if you think about it, is
somewhat like a necklace.
Imagine the first bead is
birth, starting off a chain. This
bead represents your fifth birthday,
here’s your tenth, graduation,
your first job, your first
home, your firstborn. Some
beads are larger but the smaller
ones are not unimportant. And
so it goes, but when building
that metaphoric chain, as in
the new book “Pauli Murray:
A Personal and Political Life”
by Troy R. Saxby, be aware of
the links.
Almost from the day she was
born, Annie Pauline Murray
was challenged.
When she was three years
old, her pregnant mother
died, leaving six children to
a husband who was abusive
and mentally ill. Shortly afterward,
Murray’s father entered a
“psychiatric facility,” where he
died when Murray was twelve;
between those losses, Murray
was taken in and raised by
an aunt in a poverty-affected
but “respectable middle-class”
household that contained more
mental illness.
Though many of Murray’s
Black family members “passed”
as white, her closest guardians
“gloried in the achievements
of African Americans.”
Young Murray had a “rebellious
streak,” but she embraced the
education her elders demanded,
and was driven to excel: at
college, many officials doubted
that she could do the work
required to succeed, and they
told her so – but that “streak”
made her more determined,
which helped her achieve several
college degrees, including
one in law. Her accomplishments
were many: Murray was
an early feminist, she worked
tirelessly and ingeniously for
the Civil Rights Movement and
for social justice, but her successes
didn’t buoy her.
Always a “tomboy,” Murray
had love affairs with women
through the years, but furtively,
given the times and lack of tolerance
for homosexuality. She
seemed to embrace that love,
but it also seemed to bother
her: she asked doctors if there
was something inside her that
was more male than female,
as if she were a “hermaphrodite.”
This, perhaps, as well
as racism, self-pressure to succeed,
confrontationalism, and
mental illness that plagued her
family caused “almost annual
breakdowns…”
While it starts out fascinating,
with descriptions of the
era in which Murray’s forebears
lived and of her earliest years,
“Pauli Murray” becomes too
much, too quickly. It’s comprehensive,
that’s a fact – author
Troy R. Saxby seemed to leave
no stone unturned – but infinitesimal
details of Murray’s life
are abundant here, every argument,
movement, and visit, and
that can be overwhelming.
And yet, there’s so much to
glean from this book, so many
milestones Saxby says Murray
set, that you almost can’t stop
reading despite watching the
discomfort, obvious pain, and
inner struggle she endured.
Through letters and articles
she wrote, readers get to know
Murray as she perceived herself;
those personal peeks are
engrossing, especially given the
legacy she left when she died
almost exactly 35 years ago.
If you have the patience, or
the ability to skim when overpowered
with minutiae, “Pauli
Murray” is ultimately, absolutely
worthwhile. Especially now,
any reader who wants to know
more about social justice pioneers
should get a bead on it.
“Pauli Murray: A Personal
and Political Life” by
Troy R. Saxby
c.2020, The University
of North Carolina Press
$34.95 / higher in Canada
353 pages
Book cover of “Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life” by Troy R. Saxby.
By Nelson A. King
In lieu of the usual, weeklong
carnival activities, the
Brooklyn-based West Indian
American Day Carnival Association
(WIADCA) says that it
is going viral, as it inaugurates
its 54th year using technology
and digital media.
“COVID-19 will not break
us,” said WIADCA in a statement
“We refuse to give in.
As the tip of the spear that
leads into the future, the show
must go on for generations to
come.”
WIADCA said its online virtual
offerings highlight art,
music performances, fitness
health, and culinary masters
in which it pays special tribute
to the youth, families and
seniors.
“A compendium of footage
of previous festivals and workshops
led by certified instructors
and industry professionals,
outline history and legacy
as education is key in a time of
generational shifts,” the carnival
group said.
“Our programs provide
essential activities that COVID-
19 will not pause,” it added.
“They address the immediate
need for enhanced mental
health and wellness specialization,
community awareness
and camaraderie, familial
bonding, youth education and
development, intergenerational
learning, successful minority
business enterprise, moral
uplift and edification and local
economic stimulus.
“It is through this call to
action to service our community
and promote our culture
that our work, our contributions,
our voices and our lives
matter,” WIADCA continued.
“Because of this, we know that
our young people will protect
and transmit our culture to
future generations.”
To celebrate its new way
of presenting, WIADCA said it
will be producing for the very
first time a virtual Youth Fest
to kick off its New York Carnival
Week season, continuing
with a virtual Music Fest
featuring popular artists representing
the Diaspora, and
a Steelband Showcase highlighting
history, musical masters,
and pan virtuosos, among
others.
Portrait of a life of struggle