Salt on every table.
January 15, 2021 1:49 PM Subscribe
"Somewhere in This Brain": Memories of Segregation, Soul Music & Macbeth with Al Bell. While researching the cultural history of the high school literature canon, Andrew Newman came across a reference to Black students memorizing passages of Macbeth at their segregated Little Rock high school 1958. One of the named students was Alvertis Isbell, known today as Al Bell of Stax Records. Bell spoke to Newman about his high school education, his career as student council president and what it taught him about politics and music, and the connection he realized between Macbeth and "I'll Take You There."
Thank you! Suggesting this to a friend for their Shakespeare syllabus this semester! :)
posted by youarenothere at 4:21 AM on January 16, 2021
posted by youarenothere at 4:21 AM on January 16, 2021
That was a great interview, thanks for posting.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:57 AM on January 16, 2021
posted by soundguy99 at 6:57 AM on January 16, 2021
I’m not even that into music, didn’t know who Al Bell was, and I still enjoyed this post. Thanks!
posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 7:46 AM on January 16, 2021
posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 7:46 AM on January 16, 2021
Great post. This interview finds new ways to be incredible every few hundred words.
That’s what got me into the music business, was those girls. The next thing they did was they came to me and said: “Listen, Alvertis, we want you to go to the principal and get us permission to have [what they called] record hops,” then, discos today. To have record hops after the football games and the basketball games on Friday night.
I said, “I can’t do that. I can’t go and talk to him about this.” They said, “Listen. We elected you president of the student council.” [laughing] That’s when I first began understanding politics. I’m not joking.
I want a TV show with a young student council president Al Bell constantly being operated like a puppet by these amazing women
posted by Rinku at 8:17 AM on January 16, 2021
That’s what got me into the music business, was those girls. The next thing they did was they came to me and said: “Listen, Alvertis, we want you to go to the principal and get us permission to have [what they called] record hops,” then, discos today. To have record hops after the football games and the basketball games on Friday night.
I said, “I can’t do that. I can’t go and talk to him about this.” They said, “Listen. We elected you president of the student council.” [laughing] That’s when I first began understanding politics. I’m not joking.
I want a TV show with a young student council president Al Bell constantly being operated like a puppet by these amazing women
posted by Rinku at 8:17 AM on January 16, 2021
What an amazing piece of history. Thank you so much for bringing our attention to it!
posted by brainwane at 5:57 AM on January 19, 2021
posted by brainwane at 5:57 AM on January 19, 2021
« Older Can this new app filter out Twitter harassment? | "a miniature world, inhabited by stylish ants" Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:19 PM on January 15, 2021 [1 favorite]