Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Cue-Be-Rab!
Today in my modern American history seminar, we were discussing cultural politics and the rise of the New Left and somewhere along the line the Black Panther were mentioned as an example of a radical organization whose extreme political views risked alienating its intended audience. My professor is something of an expert on the history of the American civil rights movement and popular responses to it, and his enthusiasm for the subject was contagious.
It was perhaps a result of this that I, someone with far less historical familiarity with the subject, mentioned shortly before our regular coffee break that I had actually met one of the leaders of the Black Panthers.
Yes, it's a heretofore untold tale of the Invisible Ben! Way back during my first year of teaching, in the time before the auditorium's roof collapsed under the weight of decades of shoddy maintenance work, the social studies department, the social studies department at Underwood High arranged for Bobby Seale to come and speak to the students. When the school had an auditorium, such assemblies were commonplace. Musicians, motivational speakers, etc. They were par for the course.
This was in the late spring...maybe May or June 2004. I'm relatively certain of this because the students crammed into the auditorium's balcony (Yes, Virginia...the auditorium DOES have a balcony! If you visited in the past few years you might also be surprised to learn it had a stage.) spent most of their time: a. sleeping b. fanning themselves c. rubbing sweat off of their faces using their school shirts d. complaining about the heat
You'll notice that there was a distinct lack of "e. listening to the historically significant personality"! But why should that be expected?
It's not like the majority of the students there were in a history or social studies class...
(Oh wait...they were!)
And it's not like the speaker was culturally relevant...
(Oh wait...he was!)
And it's not like they wouldn't get to see a nationally recognized member of the Black Panther party again soon...
(Oh wait...they wouldn't!)
In fact, only the teachers seemed to be paying attention throughout the whole talk. Maybe that was why I was invited to attend, along with my freshmen...there was a chance of increasing the listening audience by a whopping 10%, assuming I didn't doze off. (which I didn't!)
At the end of the talk, which covered about what one might expect regarding civil rights in the 1960s and 70s, Seale did two things which I brought up in my history seminar this morning.
1. He signed an autograph for me which I now keep wedged inside the autographed copy of Crisis by Henry Kissinger which the Invisible Sister obtained for me. What can I say? I enjoy irony!
2. He mentioned his new brand of barbecue sauce.
A few people didn't believe me when I mentioned that Bobby Seale, formerly of the Chicago Eight and the New Haven Black Panther trials, had attached his name to a line of fine barbecue related condiments. A quick trip to Bobby Seale's website, however, reveals the truth, alongside an array of tasty looking recipes. (Saucy Hickory Pit-Qued Chicken anyone?)
But more importantly, Seale has taken it upon himself to codify the unspoken zeitgeist of America's grillers, smokers, and outdoor cooks of all stripes. He has written and published online the ultimate manifesto of the barbecue chef: The Barbeque Bill of Rights.
Just like the writings of Jefferson and Madison, this document speaks pretty much for itself. And just like the original Declaration of Independence, it is a decisive fight for freedom, not from tyrannical government, but rather the "over commercialized bondage of "cue-be-rab," which for those not in the know, is barbecue backwards. No longer should Americans feel bound to buy sauce in the bottle when they can make their own using tastebud-tingling recipes. And Bobby Seale, revolutionary to the end, can show us the way.
I urge you all to read the Barbecue Bill of Rights and follow its teachings. People have fought, been imprisoned, and even died to preserve your ability to properly pit-smoke a chicken and properly glaze a homemade sauce on a meat entree. Do not let their sacrifices be in vain.
Fight the power!
Today in my modern American history seminar, we were discussing cultural politics and the rise of the New Left and somewhere along the line the Black Panther were mentioned as an example of a radical organization whose extreme political views risked alienating its intended audience. My professor is something of an expert on the history of the American civil rights movement and popular responses to it, and his enthusiasm for the subject was contagious.
It was perhaps a result of this that I, someone with far less historical familiarity with the subject, mentioned shortly before our regular coffee break that I had actually met one of the leaders of the Black Panthers.
Yes, it's a heretofore untold tale of the Invisible Ben! Way back during my first year of teaching, in the time before the auditorium's roof collapsed under the weight of decades of shoddy maintenance work, the social studies department, the social studies department at Underwood High arranged for Bobby Seale to come and speak to the students. When the school had an auditorium, such assemblies were commonplace. Musicians, motivational speakers, etc. They were par for the course.
This was in the late spring...maybe May or June 2004. I'm relatively certain of this because the students crammed into the auditorium's balcony (Yes, Virginia...the auditorium DOES have a balcony! If you visited in the past few years you might also be surprised to learn it had a stage.) spent most of their time: a. sleeping b. fanning themselves c. rubbing sweat off of their faces using their school shirts d. complaining about the heat
You'll notice that there was a distinct lack of "e. listening to the historically significant personality"! But why should that be expected?
It's not like the majority of the students there were in a history or social studies class...
(Oh wait...they were!)
And it's not like the speaker was culturally relevant...
(Oh wait...he was!)
And it's not like they wouldn't get to see a nationally recognized member of the Black Panther party again soon...
(Oh wait...they wouldn't!)
In fact, only the teachers seemed to be paying attention throughout the whole talk. Maybe that was why I was invited to attend, along with my freshmen...there was a chance of increasing the listening audience by a whopping 10%, assuming I didn't doze off. (which I didn't!)
At the end of the talk, which covered about what one might expect regarding civil rights in the 1960s and 70s, Seale did two things which I brought up in my history seminar this morning.
1. He signed an autograph for me which I now keep wedged inside the autographed copy of Crisis by Henry Kissinger which the Invisible Sister obtained for me. What can I say? I enjoy irony!
2. He mentioned his new brand of barbecue sauce.
A few people didn't believe me when I mentioned that Bobby Seale, formerly of the Chicago Eight and the New Haven Black Panther trials, had attached his name to a line of fine barbecue related condiments. A quick trip to Bobby Seale's website, however, reveals the truth, alongside an array of tasty looking recipes. (Saucy Hickory Pit-Qued Chicken anyone?)
But more importantly, Seale has taken it upon himself to codify the unspoken zeitgeist of America's grillers, smokers, and outdoor cooks of all stripes. He has written and published online the ultimate manifesto of the barbecue chef: The Barbeque Bill of Rights.
Just like the writings of Jefferson and Madison, this document speaks pretty much for itself. And just like the original Declaration of Independence, it is a decisive fight for freedom, not from tyrannical government, but rather the "over commercialized bondage of "cue-be-rab," which for those not in the know, is barbecue backwards. No longer should Americans feel bound to buy sauce in the bottle when they can make their own using tastebud-tingling recipes. And Bobby Seale, revolutionary to the end, can show us the way.
I urge you all to read the Barbecue Bill of Rights and follow its teachings. People have fought, been imprisoned, and even died to preserve your ability to properly pit-smoke a chicken and properly glaze a homemade sauce on a meat entree. Do not let their sacrifices be in vain.
Fight the power!
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