A Good Cry by Nikki Giovanni

Author:Nikki Giovanni
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

STEP A LITTLE CLOSER

There was a man, Denmark Vesey, who gathered some of the enslaved men and women around and planned a rebellion. The irony is, had he been white, he would now be the name of a mall or there would be a great big statue of him for the pigeons to roost upon . . . but he was not. So he was considered a threat, a terrorist, something to be removed from the community. Being, rightfully, I’m proud to say, afraid of the enslaved, the planters were not content to be rid of Vesey and his followers, they also wanted to be rid of the means and methods of rebellion. They outlawed the drum.

In Africa there is a talking drum, much like the Native American smoke signals or the prairie dogs’ squeals or mothers stifling cries in the night for their sons in jail or their daughters in trouble. There is a sound to let the community know something different is coming.

The planters were content that they had successfully put the rebellion down and by outlawing the drum they thought there would be no more disturbance. But the people, the enslaved, those without voices would not be quiet. The people used their feet for circle dance; used their fingers to snap; flipped their jaws with their baby fingers to set the beat; used their thigh muscles to “hambone.” Every rhythm carried a meaning. Not like a telegraph or SOS. but like a feeling. Dance was itself good since it released tension. It also became part of courtship much like a good-looking actor gets the pretty girl each time. Stepping comes out of the tradition of competition and communication. Being watched all the time the enslaved had to be careful of their movements but move they continued to do. Some things meant things and some things did not. Like the quilts which led to freedom and the other quilts which simply kept us warm. Much has been lost or forgotten. But we still Step. And though we don’t “hambone” much anymore almost everybody snaps his and her fingers and with the rise of rap the jaw pop is back not to mention the rhythmic breathing.

Cultures and cultural artifacts rise and fall as a people need to express themselves. This is good. “Hambone, Hambone where you been? ’Round the world and back again.”

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