Philip Merrill “The Negro History Detective” of Nanny Jack & Co stands in front of Lincoln University campus signage
I want to make you aware of a longtime interpreter of African-American history, heritage, and culture, Philip Merrill. Born in 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland The History Makers describes Merrill as a historian, writer, appraiser, and collector.
Merrill and his company’s digital programming Executive Producer, Veronica Carr, caught my attention with the content they distributed on Facebook. I was intrigued by their light-hearted, clean, direct way of teaching Black History. I would soon find that their sensory way of storytelling was due in part to the Black artifact collection that Merrill has amassed throughout his career. Again, The History Makers highlights a significant part of his illustrious career, stating:
In 1994, Merrill founded the organization Nanny Jack & Company, an archives and consulting agency specializing in creating projects that illuminate the African American experience through memorabilia, oral history and research.
“Visit Black History physically and digitally” – Philip Merrill. This video clip also includes an incident quite reminiscent of the Black Lives Matter movement of today. The incident occurred in 1929 with connections to Pennsylvania HBCU, Lincoln University.
During a time of mass social justice movements due to police brutality incidents across the U.S., Merrill “the Negro History Detective” seeks, finds, and then shares the correlations and differences between what has happened in the past versus what is happening today. Today, I encourage you to check out a recent story produced by Merrill’s Nanny Jack & Co. In an October 2019 episode of Artifactual Journey Executive Producer, Veronica Carr, sits down with Merrill to discuss a 1929 incident involving Lincoln University students. Just yesterday, the two filmed and published a supplement to the October 2019 podcast episode. “Black Lives Matter (raised fist emoji) 1929” can be found on Nanny Jack and Cos An Artifactual Journey with Philip Merrill Facebook page.
Have you viewed or listened to content produced by Philip Merrill a.k.a “The Negro History Detective” of Nanny Jack & Co.? Comment and tell us what you think.
Andra “AJ” Johnson, co-founder of DMV Black Restaurant Week. Photo by: Naku Mayo
“I didn’t know there were Black bartenders outside of T.G.I. Fridays or that bartending could be a viable career.” – Andra “AJ” Johnson, hospitality entrepreneur and co-founder of DMV Black Restaurant Week
Over the years, craft cocktails have gained popularity because consumers are becoming more educated on what’s in their glass and how it’s all made. Whiskey varietals (i.e., Bourbon, American, Canadian, Irish, and Scotch whiskeys) aren’t just associated with older men anymore. With brand stories becoming increasingly influential in purchasing decisions, various distilled spirits have regained popularity among younger drinkers. DC’s Black residents have been active participants in Black bar culture for quite some time. Still, many are unaware that the history of Black bar culture and bartending in DC dates back to at least 1898.
Last December, I attended a discussion called “The Beginnings of Black Drinking Culture in DC” at Allegory, a forward-thinking speakeasy inside the Eaton Hotel. The discussion was led by Andra “AJ” Johnson, co-founder of DMV Black Restaurant Week and co-owner of the newly-opened Serenata. The 18-year hospitality veteran gave attendees a bevy of Black drinking history. Here are a few of my take-aways:
Juke Joints, which were around during slavery but became more prevalent during the Reconstruction era, were mostly Black-owned
It is believed that the word Juke derives from the Gullah word joog or jug, meaning “rowdy or disorderly”
The Cotton Club in Harlem was initially Club Deluxe before heavyweight champion boxer Jack Johnson sold it to British-immigrant gangster Owney Madden in 1923.
Most Black customers did not patronize The Cotton Club. Preferring more welcoming spots like the Savoy Ballroom, Lenox Lounge, and Renaissance Ballroom instead
R.R. Bowie and J. Burke Edelin formed DC’s Black Mixologists Club in 1898
During segregation, Black people in Washington, DC, made their own party. Opening businesses such as Club Crystal Caverns, The Howard Theater, and the Whitelaw Hotel all located in what was known as “Black Broadway,” now the present-day U Street Corridor
“Soul Brother” was a safe word placed on black-owned DC businesses, in areas directly impacted the city’s 1968 Riots
Black bartenders experienced career and personal success in the years following the emancipation of enslaved persons.
Andra “AJ” Johnson and guests. Photo by: Naku Mayo
The final part of AJ’s presentation was about a black-owned members-only club that opened in DC’s Logan Circle neighborhood called The Foxtrappe Towne Club. Operating out of the National Association of Colored Women’s R Street building, “The Foxtrappe” (1975-1984), was founded and ran by Malcolm Beech, Bill Lindsay, and Claude Roxborough, Esq. – two C&P Telephone Company managers and an attorney. The three men sought out to create a sophisticated place for Black people to unwind while opening the doors to people of all races. The Foxtrappe’s clientele was made up of the “Who’s-Who” of Black DC, including current Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray and former councilmember and Mayor Marion Barry, Sr. We also learned of Don Baker, a photographer who captured hundreds of moments between 1973-1980 and experienced The Foxtrappe Towne Club in its heyday. He’s currently raising money for the production of a documentary on the history and social landscape that took shape inside “The Trappe.”
Throughout the evening, we were served variations of classic cocktails, each influenced by the time periods discussed. Our first drink was a “Black Manhattan” with the variant ingredient being Averna Amaro (a traditional Manhattan is made without the Italian herbal liqueur). The base spirit was Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey, appropriately used with the brand’s namesake being Nathan “Nearest” Green, a once-enslaved Black man who showed Jack Daniel the ropes to whiskey distilling.
The final cocktail was AJ’s very own creation called Night Flights, an “Aviation-meets-Vesper” blend that would make vodka haters recant their disdain – I’m one of them. This cocktail is featured on Liquor.com and Allegory’s BLKNWS menu, in conjunction with the art installation of the same name created by Kahlil Joseph (now on view at the Eaton Hotel Library).
AJ’s very own creation called Night Flights
We ended the night with a Q&A, examining a range of questions about the presence of craft cocktails and bar culture in the lives of DC’s Black residents. A discussion ensued that was relevant to both Black bartenders and consumers. Together we discussed the possibility of reviving the sophistication of DC’s Black bar culture, once experienced at places like The Foxtrappe Towne Club, in a town where African-Americans are no longer the majority. Although this discussion was focused mainly on DC’s bar culture of yesteryear, I’m sure a similar story can be told for American cities that were once home to large Black populations. While I feel continued research on the history of Black bar culture is needed, it is equally vital that we spread the word about today’s Black bartenders. They continue the legacy established by pioneers like John Dabney and Cato Alexander. Many with the goal of not only educating consumers but also demonstrating what it takes to make a great cocktail.
Ingredient list for craft cocktails mentioned above:
Dyana Williams being interviewed by The Breakfast Club’s Angela Yee and DJ Envy
In 1979 President Jimmy Carter hosted the first June Black Music Month event. Today, June 7th 2020 marks the 41st anniversary of Black Music Month. Dyana Williams got her start on DC’s Howard University Radio (96.3 WHUR FM). She worked alongside Kenny Gamble, Clarence Avant and others to have June designated as Black Music Month. Williams currently serves on National Museum of African American Music’s Board of Directors. The Museum is scheduled to open in September 2020. In this interview Williams talks about the economic impact of Black music, the Black Music Month legislation process, protests taking place in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the significance of the National Museum of African American Music.
Dyana Williams chats with The Breakfast Club’s Angela Yee and DJ Envy about June Black Music Month and More
Black Music Month 🎵 🖤 #VisitBlackHistory ⚡️
(l to r) Ghetto Priest and Graham Fagen. London. By David Levene 10/3/15.
Written by Ali’a B. Edwards
Graham Fagen and Ghetto Priest’s The Slave’s Lament is a digital artwork on display at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Part of the New Symphony of Time exhibition, The Slave’s Lament, is situated in the Migration, Movement, and Home gallery. Museum curator, Elizabeth Abston, explained why The Slave’s Lament is included in the exhibition’s Migration, Movement, and Home gallery. “We started realizing that Mississippi is a home, but it’s also been a place of constant movement and constant change. This is a space where we can tell the stories, not just of diaspora, of people moving in, but of people getting pushed out.” (EA, 1:47 – 2:03)
Abston described artist Graham Fagen’s influences and motivations for this interpretive piece. “He really fell in love with Caribbean culture and reggae music and the freedom that [it] represented. So he’s dealing with these clashing cultures. And as he started to think about his artwork, he started thinking about these cultural inroads and the way that culture travels across continents. And also the tangled history of colonialism that is embedded in everything we experience today and that shaped everything back then.” (EA, 3:00 – 3:30)
Scottish artist, Graham Fagen, conceived of his interpretation of The Slave’s Lament while conversing with an artist and friend, Ghetto Priest. In 2000, while researching for a commissioned work, Fagen designated time to address his “idle curiosity” about Burns. (GF, 1:25) What Fagen discovered angered him and set him on a course to address and, potentially, redress the miseducation he received as a child in school. In 1786, Scotland’s celebrated poet, Robert Burns accepted a position to work as an overseer on a Jamaican slave plantation. Burns is widely recognized for having written a poem entitled, The Slave’s Lament. Many regard Burns as a “poet for freedom, liberty, and the common good of humankind.” It came as a surprise to Fagen that the author of The Slave’s Lament considered working for a plantation. Fagen knew this bit of information was missing from his grade school history books, which made him determined to create a piece of art that could amplify this critical detail. Fagen sought artists that could help increase awareness about this overlooked piece of Robert Burns’s history. He called on reggae musicians whose artistic voices have inspired him over the years.
He found Robert Burns’ slave song to be problematic. Fagen was displeased with Burns expressing what he thought were the laments of a chattel slave when he too was willing to participate in the oppressive institution of slavery. In 2015 Fagen recreated the original song with friend and frequent collaborator, Ghetto Priest. He says he didn’t initially set out to remake the poem as a song. His conversations with the reggae musicians, whose ancestors likely experienced the trauma described in Burns’ poem, inspired Fagen to reinterpret the poem as a song. When Fagen asked Ghetto Priest to collaborate with him, Priest’s response was, “your man Burns was born in 1759 to write the song, and I was born to sing it.” (GF, 7:14)
Graham Fagen’s The Slave’s Lament digital artwork is comprised of four screens. Each one shows a separate component of the collaborative piece. There are three musicians and a vocalist, Ghetto Priest. The camera is unflinching, as it shows us Ghetto Priest’s interpretation. Black facial features that are typically hidden or edited into the background are keenly and closely featured. The viewer can’t help but visually and sonically take Ghetto Priest in as he offers his voice to these haunting lyrics and melody. He sings with sorrow, power, and pride.
“Whether you believe it or not, I believe I was contacted via that Spirit to sing this song.” Of his performance Ghetto Priest says, “I am real and what you saw and whatever you received of what you saw in The Slave’s Lament is true.” (GPIII, 12:25)
When asked to give his opinion on the original song, Ghetto Priest asked incredulously, “Can you imagine a white man singing this song? And the first person to redo this song is someone who looks like the person he was writing about. Here I am, I’m keeping that fire burning. Just like Black Lives Matter, all these things have got to go on, but one can not lose sight of one’s self.” (GP III, 0:40 – 1:20) “When you hear this song it just comes to remind you that this ain’t over yet. There’s still things that need to be addressed. It’s still resonating to this day.” (GPII, 11:17) He addressed the emotion in his performance, “This is the beauty of our ancestors. Our ancestors never sleep. Remember, we come from before slavery, hence why I have this pride.” (GPII, 15:07)
Of this artwork, Fagen stated, “The key thing, I suppose about the work is about expanding or raising an awareness of the influence, the continued influence, the historic and contemporary influence the transatlantic slave trade has to this very day.” (GF, 17:23 – 17:50)
“The thing that’s important for me about the work is what you’re seeing is four people making an action, and what you’re hearing is the sound of their action. For example, through Ghetto Priest’s singing you hear the lyrics. And the musicians pressing their fingers on the string. That action has a reaction. And if you’re able to speak or understand English, hopefully you’ll begin to listen to the words that Ghetto Priest is singing. So hopefully, there is a primary relationship between the artwork and the viewer.” (GF, 20:39 – 22:47)
The conversations this work can stimulate give credence to the artist’s intention. As protests against police brutality and state-sponsored oppression of Black lives continue around the world, people are inquiring, listening, reflecting, and strategizing the appropriate actions to take to bring about change, justice and peace. Some state and local governments have acquiesced to public demand for the removal of statues that commemorate controversial historical figures. Removing these images of oppressors and colonizers from the public square helps alleviate some of the tension and trauma of living as a Black person in America and abroad. As politicians, organizations, and corporations pledge their commitment to reimagine our collective social justice narrative, those in leadership positions can take inspiration from Fagen’s interpretation of The Slave’s Lament and begin by including Black voices at the center of these conversations.
I have been in deep thought about the importance of self-care during these times. In 2015, Bree Newsome made national headlines when she scaled a 30-foot flag pole at the South Carolina statehouse and took down the Confederate flag. In an article entitled, “Charlottesville Reinforced That Self-Care Is an Essential Part of My Activism,” Newsome shares the importance of self-care stating, “I have a tendency to go, go, go until I burn out…self-care did not come naturally to me at first…since committing myself to social justice a few years ago, it’s something I’ve developed out of necessity.”
For Psychology Today, Dr. Diane Raab provides a list of self-care suggestions, including “Get out in nature and unplug. When possible, turn off your cell phone, and take a walk or sit in nature.”
The trauma in learning that Breonna Taylor was murdered by police while resting in her home. The mental injury caused by being subjected to horrifying videos of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd’s final moments of life has impacted our hearts and minds. Being mindful and intentional about our self-care and healing is of extreme importance at this time. I am committed to helping amplify this necessity and circulating information on ways to do so.
Image 1: “Cooking on an outdoor grill at Catoctin Mountain Park. 1970” here young people are participating in the Washington, DC area’s Summer in the Parks program. This program started in the summer of ’68, a couple of months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the subsequent DC Riots. “After the riots, the program took on a new meaning as a way to help heal a troubled city.”
Image 2: information for #BlackBirdersWeek. Sharing because Christian Cooper should not have experienced what he went through. Also, being in nature is a suggested self-care method.
Image 3: information for Girl Trek’s “Black History Bootcamp” 21-Days of Walking in the Footsteps of our Foremothers.”
VisitBlackHistory.com 