Connecting to Black History Month
Assistant Editor-in-Chief: Claudia Rispoli
Photographer: Armando Merino
On February 23rd in the basement of Clark Chapel was a drum circle event. So popular that the spots filled up within a few days of the event being announced. The event was hosted by BSU and lead by Jordan Golding and Maria Meras. The drum circle attracted a variety of ages from toddlers to students and from staff to the local newspaper. This was held in honor of Black History month to remember their ancestors and to communicate the celebration of their powerful history of not just freedom from slavery, but the power and the culture of the drums they played. Before they began Jordan showed the participants how to hold their drum, pointed towards their bodies and held tightly between their legs, for the sound they were looking for the participants also had to sit upright and learn different hand motions to play the drums. For example: if the hand was cupped and hit the middle of the drum it would produce a lighter sound than it would if they hit the center of the drum with the palm of their hand. He then began to move on to a little bit about the drums. There were two types in the circle: gembes and congo drums. Each participant got only one but together they would create powerful tunes such as pe, te, and te, pe. This exercise was when the music started to come alive.
The first song that was played was called Tumble, a traditional Jamaican theme used in celebration. Jordan began with a sentence where he would say “Tambo Tambo Tambo Ye,” and the participants would respond with, “Tambo Ya Ya.” This got the room excited, and the vibe started to become electric. After that they moved on to a song called Nyabinghi, also another Jamaican theme that was paired with singing and it carried a very spiritual feel. It had a softer, calmer tone and the drums vibrations became almost soothing, then as the song went on the vibrations became stronger and got faster. Soon even the spectators were joining on the singing (the lyrics were from a song called By the River of Babylon) and beating the desks to the drums beat. Nyabinghi quickly became a harmony of passion and electricity as the entire room shook with joy. The last song they played was Rukins. It was made to celebrate the emancipation from slavery and had a strong, determined rhythm in the beginning ad turned to a quitter one in the end. The beat came to life created visions of people dancing and celebrating into a quiet panther in waiting.
The entire event left my legs shaking and my spirit soaring. It is a total recommendation for anyone and everyone who needs to just let the music take them away. This event meant something special to BSU as Jordan lived in St. Andrew and his father, who he learned from, was a professional drummer. Maria connected with the drums and began singing, to describe it in one word she chose soulful. Entirely accurate as those who didn’t even know the meaning of the songs connected with them. Even the BSU president Marquetta Felder was proud of this event. She said it was amazing and great to see everyone learning their culture and history through the drums. Using this event, they hope that people don’t just remember Black history month as the freedom of slaves is remembered, but the happy and good times where they changed the United States one beat at a time.
Photographer: Armando Merino
