All Matters African

Famous African Americans

When I was a liitle girl, 2 of my parent's most favorite black entertainers were the famous African Americans Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr.

They literally drooled over Nat's crooning and Sammy's irrepressible tap dance routines. Of course had I ever brought home an African American fiancee they would have been mortified. My parents were not unlike a lot of white people at the time, they thought in boxes, famous African Americans were simply there to entertain the white folks.

As far as my parents were concerned, Nat King Cole didn't signify any race or represented any political statement. He was pure and simple, just Nat King Cole, a famous African American entertainer whom they liked. He lived and existed in the magical world of TV and when they turned the television off, he was gone.

Certainly hardly a thought was spared to the fact that when Nat and his relatives relocated into a better neighborhood, due to his roaring success, none of the neighbors would speak to them. Just imagine he'd had the audacity to step outside the so called magic box.

Let it be known this mindset of semi acceptance for famous African Americans was also very prevalent in the world of sport. My Mother was a lawn tennis fanatic and greatly admired the serene dignity of Arthur Ashe. She also enjoyed boxing and loved nothing better than to watch Muhammad Ali buzz like a bee and float like a butterfly.

It was a relatively safe enthusiasm for easily one of the most famous and greatest African Americans in history and was it never seriously challenged by any demands of reality.

I do not think my parents were prejudiced in the sense of believing that being white was in any way superior to other races. Being a white person was simply the acceptable norm for them.

Black or colored people coming into the towns or the immediate family circle were altogether a different matter, and being different was not certainly not acceptable. Being different was in fact very disturbing and troubling, similar I suppose to men with long hairdos. As far as they were concerned Famous African Americans were there to entertain the whites and definitely not to start a social revolution.

For the majority of Middle America, Elvis Presley represented the acceptable face of black music. Famous African Americans, like Aretha Franklin and James Brown, could never achieve the same jevel of superstardom as the white boy who sounded black but for all intents and purposes looked like the all American hero. Famous African Americans planted the foundations and the white upperclass lived the dream.

Of course there were many attempts to redress the balance. For instance the Rolling Stones once refused to preset themselves on a British television show unless Muddy Waters was also invited to come on AS well. The famous African American was a big hero of theirs, and they duly did a fantastic show together.

Naturally it's been a long, ardous road for famous African Americans. It's not that long ago that singers and musicians were not allowed to enter via the front door of the club they were billed to perform in. Billie Holliday is one who knew all about going in via the back door.

So, has anything changed today? It seems, Eminem is the acceptable visage of rap music. Certainly Shades of Elvis there. Many famous African Americans of the pressent generation make absolutely no attempts to ingratiate their way into the so called picket fence territory, instead they celebrate their race and their place within the urban mythology.

White boys of today like to pick up on black pop culture and their brand of language, but albeit from a safe distance. They may all fantasize about gorgeous,sexy and famous African Americans like Halle Berry, but really, how many of them are willing to take her home to meet their parents?