Talk Tonight at Fordham about African Immigration

There's a talk tonight at Fordham University titled, “African Immigrants in the Bronx: New Cultural Currents."

According to a press release, the discussion will feature Wuyi Jacobs of Afrobeat Radio and noted African immigration scholar, Dr. Bernard Hayford of Southern Connecticut State College.

Where: Flom Auditorium in Walsh Library (on the Rosehill Campus). See here for directions.
When: 6 p.m.
Why: The talk is part of the Bronx African American History Project's "Bronx is Building" lecture series.

Tonight's event is free and open to the public. For more information, e-mail Oneka LaBennett at labennett[at]fordham.edu or call (718) 817-0594.

History Detectives Come to the Bronx

Tonight, after those of you with cable tune into to BronxTalk, move the digital dial over to 13.1 for History Detectives. The PBS show will, among other things, investigate the birth of hip hop at 1520 Sedgwick Ave.

For those of you not familiar with the show:

History Detectives is devoted to exploring the complexities of historical mysteries, searching out the facts, myths and conundrums that connect local folklore, family legends and interesting objects.

Traditional investigative techniques, modern technologies, and plenty of legwork are the tools the History Detectives team of experts uses to give new - and sometimes shocking - insights into our national history.

The Bronx African American History Project and Dr. Mark Naison of Fordham University will be featured in the segment. Here are the details:

BIRTHPLACE OF HIP HOP
AIRING: Season 6, Episode 11
THE DETECTIVE: Tukufu Zuberi
THE PLACE: New York City
THE CASE:

A hip hop enthusiast from New York City has always heard that 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx is the birthplace of hip hop.

The story goes that on August 11, 1973 DJ Kool Herc, a building resident, was entertaining at his sister’s back-to-school party, and tried something new on the turntable: he extended an instrumental beat (breaking or scratching) to let people dance longer (break dancing) and began MC’ing (rapping) during the extended
breakdancing.

This, the contributor believes, marked the birth of hip hop. The music led to an entire cultural movement that’s altered generational thinking – from politics and race to art and language.

History Detectives sets out to examine an inner city environment that helped lay the foundation for a cultural revolution.

More on 1520 Sedgwick here.

Also, check out Manny Fernandez's piece in the Sunday Times about illegally partitioned apartments in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. With the affordability crisis and the economic downturn/implosion following the burst of the housing/credit bubble, dividing up apartments and subletting rooms isn't about to go away anytime soon -- often with deadly consequences.

Ray Abrams Big Swing Band and Hoofer's House Tap Dancers Thrill Huge Audience

More than 150 people attended the Bronx Museum of the Art's First Friday event on July 11th. The large audience was treated with a delightful performance of jazz history, music, and tap dance, along with an incredible spread of food and drink.

The night opened with a brief introduction by Maxine Gordon, Senior Interviewer and Jazz Researcher for Fordham Univeristy's Bronx African American History Project. Ms. Gordon is a Ph.D. Candidate in History of the African Diaspora at NYU and talked about the history of jazz music in the Bronx and its connections with the better-known Harlem jazz scene.

Following the talk, the Ray Abrams Big Swing Band took hold of the audience with two sets of swing and jazz music. The band, comprised of five saxophones, four trumpets, three trombones, an upright bass, drummer, keyboard player, and one frenetic conductor, fed off each other's individual performances in a traditional jazz performance style.

Tap dance performances by members of Hoofer's House, a talented group of improvisational tappers based in Harlem, were interspersed throughout the band's sets. While the band provided background music, the dancers tapped out melodic rhythms with style and sass.

The next First Friday event at the Museum will be an outdoor African Film Screening and music performance on August 1st from 6pm to 10pm. The event will take place at the Andrew Freedman Home at 1125 Grand Concourse at McClellan street.